Voices of /January • March, 1995

"With very little publicity, half a million people have visited the The restoration park during our first year," says Stephan-Otto, who expects the number to climb to 800,000 next year. "More people are beginning to realize of the miracle we've achieved here —a balance between nature and modem civilization, which had been lost." Miracle or not, everyone agrees ochimilco, or "place of on the busy Periférico Sur avenue that after years when its health was flowers" to the Nahua doesn't help much. Still, Stephan- neglected and its resources abused, Indians who settled there in Otto is pleased with the park's Xochimilco was a mess. Juan Gil 500 A.D., was always progress and sees it as a symbol of Elizondo, Xochimilco's representative Xconsidered a sacred, special place, and Xochimilco's rebirth. in the DF municipal government, says its significante has continued through the post-Columbian era. But over the past 40 years, the urban pressures put on Xochimilco's "floating gardens" by the sprawling Federal District (the "DF" — and its surroundings) have threatened to turn them into an environmental catastrophe —Mexico's version of the Love Canal. Government officials say only firm resolve, unprecedented cooperation between locals and a maze of DF agencies, as well as a huge chunk of public money, saved Xochimilco from the sad fate of its American counterpart. The reborn Xochimilco appears to literally be a love canal, replete with newly thriving agricultural, tourist and environmental zones. The latter zone, known as the Ecological Park, is the jewel of the three-year, 250-million-dollar Environmental Restoration Project completed last summer. But as the park celebrated its one- year anniversary on June 5, 1994, questions concerning Xochimilco's ecological and socio-economic sustainability in the face of continuous urban assaults proliferate like lily pads on canal waters. Erwin Stephan-Otto, Director of the Xochimilco Ecological Park, wears the harried, tired look of a father raising a needy year-old infant. And, running the 465-acre park with no telephone or fax service at its HQ , Nelhuayotl Xochitl (mural detall). 11 V Oices of Mexico /January • March, 1995 protections and the obligation (which we lack) to carry out those laws. For twenty years environmental protection WAN was a right, but only on paper," he NO notes. "Moreover, you have to see the context, that most countries with N3IN

environmental laws have fully 111. developed economies. We don't." O3

The tide began to turn in the N

mid-80s, when Mexico City received 33 international notoriety for its out-of- H N control smog and population growth. . Salinas, who was recently named International Ecologist of the Year by the U.S.-based National Wildlife Federation, has continued to stress the importance of environmental aspects of growth and development. He hasn't had much choice, Flowers and vegetables are grown using the rfloating garden") system. considering that 99 percent of lakes and 75 percent of forests in the Valley only three to four thousand people a sullied water flowing from nearby of Mexico have already disappeared. week visited Xochimilco during the mountain streams into such But it is Xochimilco that forms dark years of the late 1980s. Thanks to Xochimilco rivers as the San the centerpiece of>lexico's dark, polluted waters, terrible odors Buenaventura. Urban sprawl was embryonic environmentally due to clogged drainage and polluting clean water even before it sensitive attitude —an outlook encroaching urban development, could be piped out. And internal which seeks to balance the needs of Xochimilco's once-flourishing forces such as collapsing ground a massive urban populace with community was in danger of —surface levels had sunk 14 meters preservation of fertile, productive following the path to obsolescence of by 1990— exacerbated the problem, lands. In Xochimilco's case it was many preceding indigenous empires. causing flooding and a breakdown of more like an emergency room According to Francisco the drainage system. rescue, with three years of major Villalpando, a professor specializing in Finally, during his 1988 election surgery for the patient. the art and culture of Xochimilco, its campaign, Carlos Salinas de Gortari The slow road to recovery began decline began in the early 1950s, and promised quick action to cure in 1991 when the 2,000-acre restoration continued for nearly 40 years during a Xochimilco's ills. In November 1989, project —which now includes a period of industrial development and less than a year alter his inauguration sports/recreation complex, a nursery explosive population growth in Mexico as president, he approved the and a livestock farm— got underway. City. The government's policy of Xochimilco Environmental Work was divided into four areas: taking clean water from Xochimilco's Restoration Project, as part of his hydrological/drainage, agricultural, canals and underground aquifers, in 1991-1994 National Development archeological and historical. order to meet the city's growing Plan. Like the United States twenty The hydrological work was the demands, devastated its environment. years earlier, Mexico's economic most critical, since Xochimilco's Even today, Xochimilco and other development had come full circle, in polluted waters were the root of the delegaciones (sub-municipalities) in an attempt to protect the resources that problem. Stephan-Otto says that the south of the DF, such as , modem society requires. although the canals were always supply 60 percent of Mexico City's Stephan-Otto notes that Mexico richly muddied with nutrients, not drinking water. has had environmental protection laws crystal-clear as some claim, Stephan-Otto claims the on the books since the early 1970s, the contamination had reached extremely extraction of clean water from same period that nations such as the hazardous levels. Xochimilco was only part of the U.S. enacted similar laws. "In Mexico, Hydraulic improvement centered problem. He says the urbanization of however, you must distinguish on construction of approximately Tlalpan and other southern areas between a legal right to certain 125,000 feet of drainage canals to

Typicalflat-bottomed boat, when they still were decorated with flowers, used to carry visitors. keep residual water from mixing with out, allowing the basic, man- across the Periférico avenue. The fresh. The used water is treated at an powered boats that transport 2,400-stall market was built to provide experimental, third-stage treatment residents, farmers and their harvests job opportunities for some of the plant, then three new pumping stations to navigate the waters. Some zones 2,800 ejidatarios (ejido members) like send it back into the canals and are unofficial wildlife refuges, off- Roldán, whose farm plots were springs. In addition, the capacity of limits to tourist boats in order to expropriated by the restoration project. the two existing treatment plants was protect the hundreds of bird and But 13 months after opening, enhanced by 560 gallons per second. animal species that are returning most of the market stalls remain The hydraulic work also to Xochimilco. unoccupied, while merchants there are included construction of three small Once a huge but shallow lake, suffering from a dearth of customers. lakes, increasing storage capacity by second in surface area only to Many, including Roldán, blame low 40 percent and thereby helping Texcoco, Xochimilco is defined by the sales on a lack of publicity and control flooding in one of the maze of canals that were formed by information. "We're affected more, rainiest parts of Mexico City. the construction of . These because a lot of merchants also have Xochimilco's major canals were also three-foot-deep, square plots of land, spaces at Nativitas [Xochimilco's cleaned out, and a regular first built by the , created the main market], so if they don't sell maintenance program put in place. concept of the lake-city for which here, they sell there. We don't have Equally important to the Xochimilco is famous. Over centuries, that luxury." restoration project has been the DF the chinampas became a flori/ Patricia López is one of those government's agreement to decrease horticultura] heaven, an important merchants who run shops in both the amount of fresh water it extracts supplier of Mexico's flowers and markets. She says a lack of customers and to protect the chinampas vegetables, as well as a unique cultural at the new market has made her reduce (man-made islands) from urban and social attraction. flower prices by 3 to 5 pesos each. development. The result, along with Isaías Roldán's family was the She adds that because of poor the hydraulic work, has been an last of many generations to farm a publicity —there are not even increase in agricultural production chinampa plot in the ejido (communal billboards or street signs to identify and the reclamation of over 3,000 farm) that has given way to the the market— few shoppers are taking acres of chinampas. modem Ecological Park. They now advantage of the cheaper prices. Sixty percent of the canals in the run a juice stand in the new art and As for the 2,800 ejido members chinampa zone have been cleaned flower market opposite the park and whose 2,000 acres were taken,

13 V Dices Of Mexico /January • March, 1995

Stephan-Otto says all were policies. But the importance of fiscal even though more than a million trees compensated fairly. In addition to responsibility has influenced the and flowering plants were planted payment for their plots and park's development and operation. during construction. He points out that compensation for being uprooted, Remarkably, in its first year of better soil, stronger tree specimens, many, like Roldán, were offered existence, the ecological park has new attractions and exhibas and more spaces in the new market or jobs at achieved 100 percent economic self- publicity are necessary for the park to the park, which currently employs sufficiency, according to Stephan- succeed as a research and tourist center. 220 former ejidatarios. Total Otto. It receives no government The Xochimilco project's director monetary compensation paid to each subsidies, relying solely on admits that the ecological park, and displaced farmer was 16,660 dollars, concessions, facility rentals and the work of restoration as a whole, coming to 18 percent of the project's park admissions to meet its need plenty of nourishment and overall cost. operating budget. attention if the area is to fully recover Stephan-Otto claims it was this As head of the Ecological Park its grandeur and greatness. Still, he is "detail" which kept the private sector Foundation, Stephan-Otto is also happy that the project —like a child from investing in the costly restoration actively seeking donations and grants learning to walk— is moving one step project. Public/private partnerships in for badly needed capital improvements. at a time t infrastructure projects have become a The flat, windy landscape that flanlcs trademark of Salinas' modernization the park's two lakes is mostly barren, Colin Jones.

Beautiful view of one of the canals, bordered by ahuejotes, a common Xochimilco tree.