Impacts of Tourism in Mexican Communities

Methods, techniques and results for quality of life studies: impacts of tourism in Mexican communities

Rodrigo Espinoza Sánchez | Bryan H. Massam Rosa Ma. Chávez Dagostino | Yarely González Ríos Brian J. Hracs

2019 Primera edición, 2019

Methods, techniques and results for quality of life studies: impacts of tourism in Mexican communities

D.R. © María Salud Rodríguez Sánchez Rodrigo Espinoza Sánchez Bryan H. Massam Rosa Ma. Chávez Dagostino Yarely González Ríos Brian J. Hracs

ISBN:

Impreso en México/ Printed and made in Mexico

Queda rigurosamente prohibida, sin autorización escrita de los autores, bajo las sanciones establecidas por las leyes, la reproducción total o parcial de esta obra por cualquier medio o procedimiento, comprendidos la repro- grafía, el tratamiento informático, así como la distribución de ejemplares de la misma mediante alquiler o préstamo público. Table of Contents

Preface...... 5 chapter i Memories of Memorias de Puerto Vallarta...... 13 Bryan H. Massam and Rodrigo Espinoza Sánchez 1. Dedication...... 15 2. Introduction/ Introducción...... 21 3. The significance of memories...... 26 4. From the Krystal to the Azteca: an outsider’s Mexican journey over time and over space...... 36 5. Unforgettable Puerto Vallarta...... 42 6. Evolución económica de Puerto Vallarta...... 52 7. Evolución del ambiente natural de Puerto Vallarta...... 64 8. Evolución sociopolítica de Puerto Vallarta...... 73 chapter ii Lived Experiences...... 83 Bryan H. Massam, Brian J. Hracs and Rodrigo Espinoza Sánchez 1. Preface...... 84 2. Introduction...... 87 3. The good life and living well...... 91 4. Identifying activities that comprise experiences of living...... 97 5. Lived experiences for data collection...... 100 6. Protocol for data collection...... 103 7. Four case studies: Canada, Mexico, Poland, Sweden...... 108 8. Concluding remarks...... 135 9. References...... 143 10. Acknowledgements...... 145 chapter iii Tourism in Mexico: cui bono, autem cui malo...... 147 Bryan H. Massam and Rodrigo Espinoza Sánchez 1. Preface: personal remarks...... 148 2. Introduction...... 155 3. Cui bono, cui malo: causes and consequences...... 169 4. Overview of tourism...... 174 a) Tomatlán/Chalacatepec: into the unknown...... 174 b) Punta de Mita: one road, two world...... 184 5. A survey of opinions about impacts of tourism: expected and revealed...... 189 6. Envoi...... 196 7. References and website...... 200 8. Acknowledgements...... 203 chapter iv Tourism in Mexico: many faces...... 205 Bryan H. Massam, Brian J. Hracs and Rodrigo Espinoza Sánchez 1. Preface...... 206 2. Introduction...... 215 3. Perspectives of life that relate to tourism...... 227 4. Feelings and emotions: connections to senses and wellbeing...... 227 5. Overview of data collection...... 232 6. Tourism in Mexico: cultural setting & locus of control...... 236 7. A case study of attitudes toward tourism & tourists...... 242 8. Concluding remarks...... 264 9. References...... 268 10. Acknowledgements...... 271 chapter v Reflections on methods, techniques and results for quality of life studies: impacts of tourism in Mexican communities...... 273 Bryan H. Massam and Rodrigo Espinoza Sánchez 1. Ongoing reviews of literature on QOL...... 276 2. Formulations of problem context...... 276 3. Data collection...... 277 4. Data analysis...... 278 5. Dissemination of results and recommendations...... 278 6. Building networks for collaboration...... 279

Preface

This research publication has been made possible through the combined efforts of Mexican and Canadian people.The most important aspect of this research is on the development and application of methods and techniques, and they are used in case studies which are described in four extended detailed chapters (I, II, III, IV). In Chapter I Memories of–Memorias de Puerto Vallarta, Bryan H. Massam, John Everitt, Derrek Eberts, Rodrigo Espinoza Sánchez, Rosa María Chávez Dagostino and Edmundo Andrade present their individual tales of Puerto Vallarta. The tales are built around memories of Puerto Vallarta, and as such put emphasis on personal subjective opinions of a specific place, over a particular period of time stretching back almost 20 years. Some academics may argue that this approach lacks precision, as it does not rely on objective sets of data and formal analysis. We contend that a picture of a place that captures the mood and atmosphere and attitudes and values, as perceived by an observer, is a useful and worthwhile way to set the scene for scientific studies of tourism. In Chapter II Lived Experiences, Bryan H. Massam, Brian J. Hracs and Rodrigo Espinoza Sánchez identify and describe methods for identifying and describing Lived Experiences as used to study quality of life. This approach offers an interesting method for research on the lives of citizens, and it can relate to the local context or milieu where Mexicans are living their daily lives. The application of this method is described, and it is evaluated as a research method using responses from groups

9 of students in four different places in the world. The method is applied to the study of tourism as an important academic field. In Chapter III Tourism in Mexico: cui bono, autem cui malo, Bryan H. Massam and Rodrigo Espinoza Sánchez write about the impacts of tourism in two different communities. They make a comparison between a tourism resort that is already developed in the state of Nayarit, and another that is at the initial stages of trying to establish itself as a dynamic modern large-scale tourist resort. This community is located in the municipality of Tomatlan, Jalisco. In each case they describe and measure the ways that a community can be divided along the lines of those who win or benefit from tourism, and those who may lose or suffer as a consequence of tourism. The difficulties of identifying the winners and losers are examined. In Chapter IV Tourism in Mexico: many faces, Bryan H. Massam, Brian J. Hracs and Rodrigo Espinoza discuss the importance of tourism in the contemporary world, and more particularly in Mexico. They demonstrate an approach that identifies the basic dimensions of the life of an individual. The problems of selecting information to describe each dimension are described. They show how the method and technique using “locus of control” can be used to examine the impacts of tourism in some communities in Mexico. Detailed results are presented. In Chapter V Reflections on methods, techniques and results for quality of life studies: impacts of tourism in Mexican communities, Bryan H. Massam and Rodrigo Espinoza Sánchez offer a set of reflections regarding the use of studies of quality of life to help decision-makers and the general public improve the lives of all individuals, now and into the future. There are many kinds of impacts of tourism in a Mexican community: the impacts vary over time, and in the degree and significance as negative or positive.

10 We hope that all the methods, techniques and results presented in this book on studies of quality of life help academic researchers and other to make wise, wholesome and accountable decisions in a world of great uncertainty and change.

Rodrigo Espinoza Sánchez and Bryan H. Massam

CHAPTER I Memories of Memorias de Puerto Vallarta

Bryan H. Massam and Rodrigo Espinoza Sánchez

Life is not what one lived, but what one remembers and how one remembers it in order to recount it. Gabriel García Márquez, Living to Tell the Tale

Special thanks to Dominique Laborde for taking photographs of Puerto Vallarta and the cover painting which hangs in Rosita Hotel. Connie Ko provided superb help in preparing the manuscript for publication: this is much appreciated.

memories of memorias de puerto vallarta 15

We dedicate this publication to the memory of Carlos Munguía Fregosa: a man who believed that Puerto Vallarta is a very special place

Source: Dominique Laborde

memories of memorias de puerto vallarta 17

Dedicatoria A mi tío Carlos Munguía: Por haber sido un hombre que siempre tenía las palabras correctas para cada individuo y cada momento, así como, por sus obras de caridad, su espíritu de colaboración y cooperación en beneficio de jóvenes y niños, para que estos encontrarán la respuesta a sus interrogantes y, tuvieran un mejor mañana, por todo eso, en donde quiera que estés, gracias tío: Tu sobrino: Miguel Meza M.

Dedication To my uncle Carlos Munguía a person who was a man that always had the right words for every person and every moment, as well as many thanks for all your charity work, and your collaborative and cooperative spirit in benefit of children and young people, to make them find the answer to their questions, and they had a better day tomorrow, for all of that, wherever you are, many thanks uncle: Your nephew: Miguel Meza M.

memories of memorias de puerto vallarta 19 Source: Dominique Laborde

20 bryan h. massam | rodrigo espinoza sánchez 1. Introduction/ Introducción

The work examined a variety of topics relating to the impacts of tourism on quality of life, sustainability and environmental conditions, as well as land use developments and spatial planning. The projects involved data collection and analysis, as well as reviews of relevant literature and theoretical arguments. An overview of the work was published in The Canadian Geographer in 2008 under the title: The Imprints of Tourism on Puerto Vallarta: Jalisco, Mexico (Vol. 52, No. 1, pp. 83-104). The focus of the present monograph is to offer a series of short essays in English and Spanish by the six professors on memories of Puerto Vallarta using experiential and personal perspectives of their individual recollections, without detailed formal data collection, analysis and interpretation. Their memories cover a period of about one decade for the Canadian professors and almost three decades for the Mexican professors. Bryan provides overview remarks on the significance of memories as related to wellbeing, quality of life, identity, and human existence. John provides recollections and memories from the time he first visited Mexico in the mid-90’s when he stayed at the luxurious Krystal Resort Hotel in Puerto Vallarta, to his last visit in 2008 when he stayed in the old town at the “family economy” Azteca Hotel. Derrek offers memories of his impressions of Puerto Vallarta as a more recent visitor who has become aware of some of the so-called shadow sides of tourism, especially as manifest by the massive waste dump on the outskirts of the city. He adds comments on retailing and commercial activities of mass-appeal consumerism associated with tourism. A set of photographs is included to capture some of the images of Puerto Vallarta in bygone years. With the exception of the photograph of the plaque outside the Rosita Hotel, all the other photographs are

memories of memorias de puerto vallarta 21 copies of the original photographs that hang on the walls of The Ha- cienda restaurant which is part of the original home of Carlos Munguia Fregosa and his family. The cover painting is by an unknown artist and hangs in the lobby of the Rosita Hotel –one of the first hotels in Puerto Vallarta. The photograph was taken in February 2011. We believe this representa- tive painting is a suitable way to introduce a set of highly personal and subjective interpretations of memories of Puerto Vallarta. The essays will complement books on memories of Puerto Vallarta by two long-time residents of the city: Carlos Munguía Fregoso, 1996 Puerto Vallarta-Paraíso Escondido/History and Tales of the Hidden Paradise, Editorial Agata SA de CV, Guadalajara, Mexico, and Catalina Montes de Oca de Contreras, Puerto Vallarta: My memories, 1982, Universidad de Guadalajara, Puerto Vallarta.

22 bryan h. massam | rodrigo espinoza sánchez La construcción de memorias constituye un elemento esencial que la da significado e identidad a un lugar determinado. Las memorias generan recuerdos, añoranzas e intuiciones que permiten a los individuos recrear escenarios de vidas cotidianas y, a la vez, sirven de vínculo entre el pasado, el presente y el futuro de un lugar. Las formas de vida, los cuentos, los relatos acerca de una comunidad en particular recrean las vivencias de una población en una época específica y, éstas tienen un sentido de pertenencia para el que las construye, así como para el que las lee o el que las escucha. El sentido perene del ser humano en ese devenir histórico encierra sin lugar a dudas elementos de relativa importancia para entender el nacimiento y evolución de una comunidad específica en relación a varios aspectos que han ido cambiando con el crecimiento o desarrollo de la ciudad de Puerto Vallarta, esto puede ser para algunos intere- sante y, para otros, quizás pasar desapercibido, sin embargo, nuestro interés como académicos que hemos venido trabajando en proyectos de colaboración entre universidades, es plasmar lo que hemos percibido que ha ido evolucionando en algunas décadas del siglo pasado y lo que va de este siglo XXI.

memories of memorias de puerto vallarta 23 Source: Dominique Laborde

24 bryan h. massam | rodrigo espinoza sánchez Source: Dominique Laborde

memories of memorias de puerto vallarta 25 2. The significance of memories

Memories about a place are significant for those who tell the tales and for those who hear the stories as ways to understand reality, examine priorities and envisage the future. Each essay in this monograph about Puerto Vallarta is a story of memories by an individual, which may cause the reader to feel pleased or satisfied, or possibly concerned or troubled. Stories about memories can be entertaining or amusing nostalgic recollections: or elaborate embroideries and fabrications. On the other hand the stories of memories can be hard-hitting recollections of struggles, fears and despair or expressions of the good times in the past. Memories can be reflections on past and present wellbeing and quality of life (QOL), with hints and suggestions about what the future may hold. In this essay I want to elaborate on memories as they influence wellbeing and QOL as a major element in the significance of telling stories about memories of a place. In December 2011 I attended an international conference in New Zealand, which focused on the topic of Contained Memories.

The conference [brought] together multidisciplinary perspectives in a dis- course on contained memory. While memory is understood to be integral to the constitution of the self, it works in concert with external repositories of memory ranging from personal mnemonic objects to collective, social, and public memory residing in community traditions, artifacts in museums, and archives, including electronic and other recording systems. Memory is embodied in intergenerational rituals and practices and intangible forms of storytelling, song, and performance, as well as in natural elements and the physical memory forms of monuments and memorials.

Although there are distinct ways of thinking about or containing memory, the edges of containment are porous, enabling encounters between different expressions of memory. By encompassing a wide variety of ways of conceiving memory through different cultural and theoretical orientations and disci-

26 bryan h. massam | rodrigo espinoza sánchez plinary backgrounds, it is hoped this conference can build a nexus of contained memories.’

This collection of memories can be considered a nexus of contained memories about Puerto Vallarta. Much has been written about the significance of memory as applied to social conditions of a society. Luis Buñuel in his book Memoirs reminds us that Life without memory is no life at all … our memory is our coherence, our reason, our feeling, even our action. Without it, we are nothing. The philosopher Tzvetan Todorov, in his book The Abuses of Memory argues that ‘20th-century tyrannies have systematised their annexation of memory …’ and those in power often seek to reconstruct memories to suit their images of society. Milan Kundera reminds us in The Book of Laughter and Forgetting that ‘You begin to liquidate a people by taking away its memory.’ Of course memory is not an objective state of being in a society or for an individual. This notion of subjecti- vity is neatly expressed by Gabriel Garcia Marquez, in Living to Tell the Tale ‘Life is not what one lived, but what one remembers and how one remembers it in order to recount it ...’ Memory is an elusive multifaceted term: there are over 14 million references on a search of Google websites. Memory is in itself non self-subsistent i.e. independent of anything external to itself. Sharing memories contributes to group identity. The presence or absence of memory and forgetfulness affects our capacity to cope, fit in and interpret our place in the world. The philosopher Santayana reminds us that “Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it”. Shakespeare tells us that thoughts and memories are activities of the brain and consciousness, and as Hamlet says: “...there is nothing good or bad: thinking made it so”. Memory in humans involves the brain, mind and consciousness to acquire, store, retrieve, and interpret information

memories of memorias de puerto vallarta 27 about perceived reality, and as such generate emotions and feelings, and these contribute significantly to one’s wellbeing and quality of life. I have constructed four related schematic diagrams to capture the basic elements that connect the mind and brain to the world around an individual, and to show the essential ways that consciousness develops from lived experiences, and memories are created. If memories are repressed or distorted, or seen clearly, they can influence the compe- tence and effectiveness of the body’s immune system which in turn can affect wellbeing and QOL. The arrows and links on the diagrams are suggestive of connections rather than definitive links with specific types of causative relations. Let’s begin with the first diagram (Diagram: 1) that links memories to wellbeing. At the centre lies one’s mental space with its capacity to generate and deal with memories referring back in time, and to create prospects about the future, too. From the moment of birth and throughout one’s life, experiences of the world are dealt with by the mental space i.e. brain or consciousness. An individual also comes into contact in a variety of ways with other people, typically starting with parents and close family members and extending in some cases far and wide to embrace different styles of contacts and degrees of involvement and commitment to others. The individual is not only a participant in the world but may also seek to observe and evaluate the world and the situation he/she finds her/himself in. He/she may envisage a different world and judge the one in which he/she lives as deficient in some ways. The search may be for a better world: one of more opportunities, justice, fairness or excitement and entertainment and pleasure. Occasionally, an individual may struggle to differentiate between those experiences that give pleasure, and those that yield profound and long-lasting happiness. Some answers to question about the differences between pleasure and happiness may be revealed when memories are examined carefully.

28 bryan h. massam | rodrigo espinoza sánchez Diagram 1: Links memories and wellbeing

Source: Bryan H. Massam

The combined effects of lived experiences, contacts with others and physical spaces impinge on the mental space and give rise to patterns of behaviour and generate wellbeing. Physical spaces play a major role in creating memories, especially home, work places and public spaces. The second diagram (Diagram: 2) suggests that consciousness is the critical element of the mental space that reflects on memories and prospects, and through thoughts and emotions gives rise to wellbeing and quality of life that may range from very positive to very negative.

memories of memorias de puerto vallarta 29 Diagram 2: Memories, consciousness and prospects: QofL and wellbeing (WB)

Source: Bryan H. Massam

In the third diagram (Diagram: 3) the central element is the immune system of the body, which some argue is closely connected to consciousness and the mental space of the brain. The brain and consciousness receive signals about lived experiences through factual, or what we might call objective inputs for example, which can be observed and replicated and are in some senses within the ambit of a view of the world that embraces logos. On the other hand the signals can be derived from stories of many kinds that can be categorized as falling within the sphere of mythos. The distinction between logos and mythos is subtle and not easily identified even though some like to characterize events that an individual experiences and lives as real or imagined, objective or mythical. Memories are connected to beliefs as well as spaces of many sorts and the overall results can contribute to wellbeing.

30 bryan h. massam | rodrigo espinoza sánchez Diagram 3: How the immune system works

Source: Bryan H. Massam

The fourth diagram (Diagram 4) seeks to connect memories to the immune system and to wellbeing drawing on the emerging field of psychoneuroimmunology (PNI). This term was provided in 1975, by Dr. Robert Ader, director of the division of behavioural and psychoso- cial medicine at New York’s University of Rochester. Dr. Ader believes that there is a link between what we think (our state of mind) and our health and our ability to heal ourselves. This works stems from the early scientific work of Dr Hans Seyle and his well-established research on the causes and impacts of stress on the immune system, and the capacity of a compromised immune system to be less than fully effec- tive to fight infections and insults to the body. Recently the Canadian Dr Mate Gabor has documented numerous cases in his book When the body says no, in which he suggests that memory, or more particularly repressed memories, can generate anger and frustration and these in

memories of memorias de puerto vallarta 31 turn appear to influence the immune system in adverse ways, and as such can lead individuals to suffer a range of health conditions that a robust immune system may have been able to fight off, or at least use to reduce the severity of a sickness. Repressed and distorted memories are more likely to have adverse effects on the immune system than the effects individuals enjoy if they see their memories clearly. Of course there is no suggestion that memories directly cause sickness or good health. However, via the connections with consciousness and lived experiences and the immune systems there do seem to be significant connections to wellbeing and the quality of life of individuals. The schematic diagrams try to capture some of the complex connections among memory and wellbeing. Diagram 4: Links Memories-Immune system-Wellbeing

Source: Bryan H. Massam

32 bryan h. massam | rodrigo espinoza sánchez At a very personal level I have fond memories of the hospitality and kindness of colleagues I met in Puerto Vallarta: their daily lives are often tough going as they struggle with rapidly changing social and economic circumstances and young families, careers, and the myriad affairs that test their fortitude and spirit. It felt good to be in Puerto Vallarta especially to be with friends and colleagues there. In surveys of quality of life of residents from all walks of life in Puerto Vallarta I was struck by the very high attachment that individuals place on family relationships and friends as critical aspects of the good life. Access to financial resources, health care, education and housing are keenly sought but maintaining and relying on a strong extended family and ties to friends are vital, and consistently a top priority in life choices. I save many good memories of sharing meals with colleagues and their families. Often they made many sacrifices to spend time with me and to put my welfare high on their list of priorities. Will this element of life sustain the pulls of contemporary life where individuals increasingly seek to satisfy their own desires as of the highest priority? Is individualism on the rise in Mexican society? The gulf between tourists and local residents is wide and the memories I keep of the apparent freedom most tourists enjoy to spend, relax, and consume contrasts sharply with the living standards, consumption styles and life opportunities of many locals. Often I asked myself the question “Turismo: ¿a quién beneficia?” (Cui Bono: who benefits from tourism?) I leave this thorny question to colleagues in Mexico to struggle with and perhaps resolve. However, if benefits cannot be widely distributed and sustained then tensions are likely to arise with consequences that could test the integrity of the apparatus of the state, and most of all the notions of trust, justice, fairness and decency for citizens as they live their daily lives.

memories of memorias de puerto vallarta 33 The words which elaborate the four diagrams set the broad scene for the argument that the topic of memories is one worthy of examination especially as memory can influence wellbeing and quality of life. This collection of experientially based stories can be seen as more than a set of personal recollections but also as part of broader project on the understanding of matters of consciousness and wellbeing. As academics we might ponder if consciousness of men/women determines their social existence as Hegel argued, or is it social existence that determines consciousness, as Marx believed. The recent work on PNI adds a further dimension to the debate. The reader is encouraged to reflect on each story and draw their own conclusions: remembering that the story-teller is recounting a perceived past reality from their unique position. I hope that the collection seen in its entirety will contribute to a fuller understanding of the ways that Puerto Vallarta is perceived using memories of the recent past. This project may help to describe contemporary Puerto Vallarta, and project possible futures. The celebrated British author E.M. Forster in Aspects of the Novel tells us that ‘…memory and intelligence are closely connected, for unless we remember we cannot understand.’ To understand Puerto Vallarta it is imperative that we save and reflect on memories of this special place.

34 bryan h. massam | rodrigo espinoza sánchez Source: Dominique Laborde

memories of memorias de puerto vallarta 35 4. From the Krystal to the Azteca: an outsider’s Mexican journey over time and over space

My impressions of Puerto Vallarta have been coloured by three major events. The first of these concerns the Krystal Vallarta which I first encountered on a family holiday to Puerto Vallarta from California, where I was on sabbatical leave from Brandon University, in Manitoba, Canada. Some unkind people, who have little idea how much work takes place on a sabbatical leave, even if you are in Southern Cali- fornia, perceived this to be what the British call a “busman’s holiday” (a vacation during which one engages in activity that is similar to one’s usual work). But I digress. We stayed at the “Krystal Puerto Vallarta”, an all-inclusive resort located on the coast, just north of downtown, not far from the airport. In the best tradition of all “inclusives”, the facilities we enjoyed were great. The landscaping was excellent, the beaches and sea views wonderful. Nice rooms, bars, and restaurants too. My daughter, Alison, has never got over the pool, with bridges, swim-up bars and beach chairs galore. But it was like being “in America” in too many ways –not all of them good. When we were on the “Krystal’s Beach” we found it was surrounded by a rope barrier– to keep out the Mexicans in general and the beach traders in particular. These Mexican citizens were grudgingly allowed to come up to the barrier and sell their wares to the Norteame- ricanos, toasting themselves on the beach, but were not allowed inside. For me, this ruined much of the tourism experience. To jump ahead a few years it got worse on a subsequent visit to the Krystal. My colleague (Bryan Massam) and I went to lunch with our faculty host and his brother. His brother dropped us off and went to park the car. We slowly passed through the lobby heading through the restaurant. We then realized that our host’s brother had not yet joined us. We looked back and found that “Security” had prohibited him entry

36 bryan h. massam | rodrigo espinoza sánchez as he looked “too Mexican”. He was eventually, after many protesta- tions, allowed to pass. We should, of course, have all walked out, but nobody wanted to create more fuss and embarrassment. A decision I have always regretted. So it goes. Bryan and I returned for a “walk through” a few years later to see if anything had changed. It hadn’t. The Krystal was still, essentially, an oasis of whiteness. We haven’t been back. The second event (actually a series of events) took place a few years later. A number of Canadian professors were acting as emissaries for Brandon University to Jalisco where a Canadian Studies Institute was being opened in Guadalajara. We were guests of the sponsoring institution, the Universidad Autónoma de Guadalajara A.C. (UAG), a private university that is home to the ‘Tecos’ (“The Owls”), a professional football club in Mexico’s Primera División. We began with a stay in a lovely, but almost empty hotel in Ajijic, on the shores of Lake Chapala, Mexico’s largest freshwater lake, and home (or second home) to many US and Canadian retirees. The hotel was used by the university as a teaching laboratory for hospitality studies and courses. We then went to Mexico’s second most populous urban area of Guadalajara where we visited the Autónoma, made some presentations, had a magnificent dinner in honour of the Canadian Ambassador, and toured the city. Our final stop was at Barra de Navidad, “a small country beach town on the “Happy Coast” of Jalisco, some 200 km south of PV. We once more stayed in a hotel owned by the Autónoma. As the Barra de Navidad website says, “… with a small population of only 5,000 residents, this serene setting offers the ultimate in privacy and tranquility”. Sort of like a coastal Ajijic without the art galleries. The highlight for me was taking my daughter for a walk through a barrio in order to show her a non-tourist landscape, and buying her a Coke. Una mujer mayor carefully poured the Coke out of its ‘classic’ bottle and into a clear plastic bag. She added a straw and passed it to Alison. We realized that for this

memories of memorias de puerto vallarta 37 old lady, the liquid Coke was worth little, but the bottle was valuable and she couldn’t afford to lose it. I like to think that this partly explains why Alison is now majoring in International Development Studies at the University of Winnipeg. The third, most important, and longest lasting event began a year or so later. John Mallea, the President of Brandon University, who had arranged the Autónoma trip, asked me to go to PV as a guest of the Centro Universitario de la Costa, one of the campuses of the Universidad de Guadalajara, in order to promote university research. Bryan Massam, a colleague from York University in Toronto, who was an ‘old hand’ at researching in non-Canadian situations, expressed a willingness to work with me on this project. Our goal was to help build research programmes for some of the faculty, who wanted to gain graduate degrees and publish their research. We found that the best way to do this was to actually ‘do’ some research with the interested faculty. I like to think we were ultimately successful in reaching our goal. I soon found, however, that the faculty there mostly seemed to support ‘Chivas’ (“The Goats”), another professional football club from Guadala- jara, and also in Mexico’s Primera División. It seemed prudent to switch my incipient allegiance to Tecos, and dispose of the ‘owl paraphernalia’ I had been given by the Autónoma. Write this down: Don’t bite the hand that is feeding you, and putting you up! Looking back, the Lake Chapala region was very pleasant but very quiet. The retired Norteamericanos were after tranquility and supported art galleries rather than features of mass tourism. Barra de Navidad, as I mentioned earlier was like a sea-coastal Ajijic, and was –if anything– even quieter. Both were, perhaps, too relaxed for my tastes. In contrast Guadalajara was a huge metropolitan area which was noisy, and perhaps dangerous, with many sirens and wrought iron- covered windows. The downtown area was pleasant with many great buildings, museums and art galleries, but not at all relaxing. Puerto

38 bryan h. massam | rodrigo espinoza sánchez Vallarta seemed the perfect compromise. Lots to do, but you could still get away from it all if you so wished. Going to Puerto Vallarta, as Bryan and I did for over a decade, was like going home. OK, getting away from The Great Canadian Winter (we nearly always went in mid-February) was a factor, but in truth the “pull factors” in Vallarta were always stronger than the “push factors” in Canada. So each year Bryan and I would migrate south in order to involve a group at CUCOSTA –which changed in size and personnel from year to year, but retained a core of people that we still keep in touch with on research projects. We would usually spend some time in the classroom going over ‘theory’, and then some time ‘in the field’ gathering data. Bryan and I would then supplement the official data gathering with our own field research. We knew, of course, that one ultimate goal of research was the dissemination of the findings. It is important both in itself that is how knowledge is distributed –and as a way of measuring success. The former often meant conference presentations. The latter in particular meant publishing the results in credible places. In the beginning we published working papers in a series sponsored by the Rural Development Institute at Brandon University, and by the Geo- graphy Department at York. Later my and Bryan’s names appeared on some articles published in Spanish by our Puerto Vallarta cohorts, although now I am retired I can confess that I contributed little to their publication. We were thrilled by these latter articles in particular; however, as it seemed to us that our efforts at stimulating research had helped to bear academic fruit. The three key members of the team over the last few years in Puerto Vallarta are Rodrigo, Rosa and Edmundo, and it is gratifying to report they each now has their PhD degree and they are active teachers and researchers. I had meant to fill this account of my journey with more amusing tales and homilies, but I am running out of my allotted number of words. But I should make some other observations. When we first began our

memories of memorias de puerto vallarta 39 trips to Puerto Vallarta Bryan and I were put up in a failed condomi- nium development not far from the cruise ship dock. We hated it, as it had no life around it and was a bit of a desolate spot. We talked to our sponsors the following year and were moved to the Belmar Hotel in the old town “Romantic Zone”. Nobody could believe that we preferred this to living on the luxury Hotel Strip. They thought we were trying to save them money. But in truth we had learned the geography of PV and wanted to be in an area, a colonia perhaps, that we felt comfortable in. I’m not sure, looking back, whether two males, living together in the romantic zone, at the same time every year raised any eyebrows, as PV reputedly houses the second largest gay community in the world (after San Francisco). But so it goes. We were confident enough of our masculinity not to worry about it. In time the Belmar (which “Trip Advisor” tells me is ranked 25th out of 114 hotels in PV) became too noisy for us, located as it is on the busy Insurgents. So we finally settled in the Azteca, a few blocks away on Madero, which “Trip Advisor” tells me is ranked 57th out of 114 hotels in Puerto Vallarta: for me will always be #1. I’m over my word limit but must mention a little about transportation and food. The former is easy. Don’t you dare drive in Puerto Vallarta: at least not in your own car. Most of the drivers are crazy, and not just the locals. Even the Norteamericanos become crazy when they get to PV. Walk if you can, if not sort out the wonderfully cheap bus system. Those drivers are crazy too, but it is cheap and fast; perhaps too fast. But I digress. The latter (food) is hard. There are many, many restaurants and bars in Puerto Vallarta and even though we tried, Bryan and I did not sample enough to give a scientific opinion. We had our favorites, but I’m not saying where they are or we won’t be able to get in next time we visit. But as with hotels I think we would agree that you are better off staying downtown where there are lots of good choices, good prices and good food.

40 bryan h. massam | rodrigo espinoza sánchez And lastly I made some good friends who must be thanked. (First names only, as I don’t have space for the extended Spanish appellations.) Firstly, I must give special mention to Edmundo, Rosie, and Rodrigo –our main co-authors. Also, many thanks to Amilcar and Carmen: they looked after us, and worked with us, in our early days. At various times, Alma, Carlos, Jorge, Laura, Luis (“Señor Cellular”), Maria, Rafael, and Roberto were also members of our research group. And of course many kudos to Bryan Massam, without whom you wouldn’t be reading this missive.

Source: Dominique Laborde

memories of memorias de puerto vallarta 41 5. Unforgettable Puerto Vallarta

To better appreciate my impressions of Puerto Vallarta, it may be helpful to know a little about me. No more than necessary. I was born, raised, and currently reside in Canada’s prairies, a dry, continental climate, very hot in summer, and very, very cold in winter. I have lived for a short time in southern Ontario, and my travel experiences as an adult outside Canada have been relatively limited. I have been to the northern United States (North Dakota, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Mich- igan), Poland, and the Netherlands –in other words, nowhere ‘sun, sand, and sea’, until PV in February 2007. So my first steps off the plane and across the tarmac, rather than through an air conditioned tunnel, provided a genuine first taste, even inhalation, of a tropical experience for me. Although my flight arrived late at night, the warmth, and more especially the humidity, were a welcome shock to my system. I soon adjusted. The first smell of the ocean air too, though mixed with jet fuel, is one I should never forget. During that first visit, I stayed in one of the larger resorts in the hotel zone, north of Centro. While I regret that I have still (2 visits later) not stayed in one of the smaller, downtown hotels, I was fortu- nate that I was near the southern end of the strip, and could easily walk to Centro and the Zona Romantica any time I wanted –which was a lot. I am not the sort of traveler to lounge by the pool all day. I relish exploring the old city rather than the resort scene. I love to experience the restaurants and the shopping, the real, everyday shopping of the locals, not the tourist shops and flea markets, though one cannot help doing that as well. In other words, I want to experience the place and its culture, not the manufactured tourist experience barricaded behind the walls of the all-inclusive tourist programmers. What is there to remember of a visit, if not the place visited?

42 bryan h. massam | rodrigo espinoza sánchez The first trip to PV was exploratory. I was there to be withmy family, and to have a vacation and escape from the depths of Manito- ba’s winter; I sought an academic pursuit to keep me coming back. So I decided to try to map the restaurant scene in Puerto Vallarta. I couldn’t eat at all of them, but I could walk every street of Centro and the Zona Romantica –hours of fun for an urban geographer– and make notes. I have no idea if my interpretation of PV’s restaurant scene is accurate, but I did notice some trends. Certain parts seemed to be more populated with American-style, Mexi-tourist (or ‘gringo’) establishments, the type which seemed to caricature Mexican culture, perhaps giving the tourists what they expect: fajitas and cheap drinks. Some parts had concentra- tions of American-American joints –PV transplants of American chains (Hooters, Hard Rock Cafe, etc.). Some parts seemed more upscale, and others more casual and ‘neighborhood’ in feel. There were seafood restaurants, and ethnic restaurants (German, Chinese, Italian, etc.). I wanted to try to see how much of the cultural food experience was ‘authentic’ Mexican, and while some probably comes close, I’m not sure to what. Plenty of ‘Tex-Mex’ or ‘Cali-Mex’, and even ‘fusion’ (which might include all kinds of Mexican influence, but can really mean just about anything), but very few restaurants seemed genuinely Mexican. I turned to the ‘street food’ –roadside stands and those little hole-in-the- wall places that might not even have a name above the door. I found the PV equivalent of Mexican fast food –tacos, but not like Taco Bell or Old El Paso. Real (I think) tacos. Shrimp tacos. Tacos with ‘red sauce’ or ‘green sauce’. I figured I was beginning to experience something of the everyday of the locals. This food was cheap and tasty, and is perhaps the food I miss most when I leave, and look forward to first when I return. Perhaps more importantly, I had an angle on some research to revisit.

memories of memorias de puerto vallarta 43 Source: Dominique Laborde

Naturally, the weather was perfect; about 28°C every day, no clouds, and no rain, for my entire trip. I could get used to this. Getting around was easy. The taxis are cheap, the busses cheaper (and remarkably efficient once you figure out the routes you need). But walking was the cheapest and most enjoyable. Not knowing any Spanish, I wondered how awkward communicating might be. No problem there either. In three visits, I can think of only two occasions where I was limited to charades. Everywhere else, the locals spoke English well, or at least well enough. Whether I always wanted the conversation offered to me was another matter. The streets of Centro and the Zona Romántica are charming. The buildings have character (and characters), and everywhere I went, a new scene was just around the next corner. Thank your preferred deity for digital cameras. Mine was well used. If one street stands out, it has to be Basilio Badillo. It starts with Joe Jack’s. (By now, the reader may have noticed, as my students have, that I see the world first through my stomach.) Possibly the best fish and chips I have ever had, and certainly the best tartar sauce. If only they would share the recipe. Up and down,

44 bryan h. massam | rodrigo espinoza sánchez Badillo is filled with wonderful eating opportunities. I cannot visit PV without having several meals on that one street. Shopping was a new experience as well. Haggling is an unappre- ciated skill for those who have never had to do it. Yes, there are stores where everything has a price tag and a bar code, but the interesting tourist shopping is in the flea markets, like Pueblo Viejo Mercado de Artesanías –the colorful stalls filled with everything a tourist could imagine.

Source: Dominique Laborde

Some embarrassingly hokey, some real treasures. Counterfeit beside authentic. Every price is negotiable: “Special price for you today, sir”. I learned one trick –don’t go on the days the cruise ships are in port. Or, if you do, bargain to a point, and then offer to come back tomorrow. If you do, they will remember, and they will know you weren’t on a cruise ship (read on a schedule), so you really might take your business elsewhere if you don’t come to an agreeable price. The price will usually come down lower the second time.

memories of memorias de puerto vallarta 45 Source: Dominique Laborde

Outside PV, there was still more to interest the geographical mind. Mismaloya (south of PV) really does seem like a movie set, even after all these years. The scene was supplemented with a boat tour to see the local fish, and Los Arcos up close. It’s a tourist landscape, no doubt, but worth a day. As a bonus, it has possibly the cheapest ‘beer on the beach’ I have seen so far. Going the other way, Sayulita (northwest of PV) seems a bit like a village trapped in the past. Winding unpaved roads and small character buildings abound: another great spot for the explorer. I might wonder if this is closer to an authentic Mexican experience, if not for the souvenir shops. So I left PV after my first visit, filled with memories (both mine and my camera) –air, colours, food, perhaps too much tequila (I did say ‘perhaps’). Had I experienced at least a little of the authentic Mexico in Puerto Vallarta? Perhaps a better question might be: What is authentic about Puerto Vallarta? Does anybody remember the little fishing village

46 bryan h. massam | rodrigo espinoza sánchez PV once was? What does PV mean any more –to locals, to tourists, to academics-cum-tourists like me? On my second visit, I had serious academic intentions. I was here to work on a partnership with colleagues at University of Guadalajara’s Centro Universitario de la Costa, Campus Puerto Vallarta. The opportunity was a fortuitous one for me. John Everitt’s imminent retirement left a gap in the relationship he had built with a team of researchers in PV, which culminated in a formal articulation agreement between UdeG and Brandon University. We needed someone interested in continuing the cooperative research. I might have given my answer before the question was asked. So with great anticipation, I met Rodrigo Espi- noza Sanchez, Rosa Maria Chavez Dagostino, Edmundo Andrade Romo, and a few students at UdeG CUC. We spent some time thinking about potential avenues of new research. It may seem trite, but tourism and sustainability and development seemed to be themes we couldn’t avoid. Somehow, we got thinking about garbage. I don’t think it was because I worked as a garbage collector to fund myself through two degrees, but a psychologist might differ with me on that point. As an urban geographer, some of the questions about garbage management, facility location, and neighborhood impacts were naturally interesting. We put together our first survey, and a new research stream was rolling along.

memories of memorias de puerto vallarta 47 Source: Dominique Laborde

We went to the dump. Is this part of the tourist landscape? It is certainly not a part of PV that tourists are likely to see. Unless they look in the right direction from the bar at the top of the lighthouse at the Marina, and only then if they know what they are looking for. Some golfers seem to have discovered it. When I searched Google to see if I could locate the dump on a map (‘Puerto Vallarta’, ‘dump’), several hits popped up at a golf course nearby, because apparently a number of visitors had blogged comments about the smell from the dump being noticeable at the course. Otherwise, it’s a fairly invisible component of PV’s urban infrastructure, from the tourists’ point of view. On the other hand, we are told that approximately 50% of the waste processed at the dump is derived from tourists and tourism-related activities. Does this make it a part of the tourist landscape (or the tourism landscape, if the two are not the same)? No doubt the need to relocate it was accelerated by

48 bryan h. massam | rodrigo espinoza sánchez the volume of tourists’ contributions to it. Our research indicates that locals are mostly aware of this link, even if they don’t think much about it. Likewise, while tourism has facilitated a relatively thriving economy in PV, even while other parts of Mexico languish, the industry has indirect and negative impacts on the community as well. For instance, our research shows that the vast majority of residents of PV think that tourism is good for the community, and has a positive impact on their quality of life, while on the other hand, there are numerous indicators that aspects of garbage and the dump have negative impacts. Should we measure the positive impacts of tourism at 100% force, and the negative at 50% (since that is how much of the total garbage is generated by tourism)? Thinking about garbage also raised my awareness of the neocolo- nial attitudes among ‘expats’ and snowbirds that had apparently been growing in PV –as evidenced by articles in, and letters to one of the local (tourist oriented) English language newspapers. It seems Cana- dians and Americans think that PV (and Mexico in general) needs to do more to promote recycling. There are no blue bins. No collection depots for plastics, glass, and paper. No reduce-reuse-recycle educational campaigns. Why can’t PV do something about this? It would certainly make the tourists feel better, or at least less guilty of their unavoidable wastefulness. Well, after learning about the dump in PV, and the role of the garbage pickers –those informal workers who labour all day in the dump sorting the garbage as it is unloaded and picking out anything with even the smallest value– I have begun to wonder if they don’t recycle more than we do. The pickers at the dump do an incredibly thorough job of diverting the recoverable waste from the dump. Their livelihoods depend on it. The more they recover, the more they earn. Garbage leaves the dump, literally, by the truckload. I am doubtful that very much that has any value at all gets left in the dump. Yes, it is awful work (by our standards), but I suspect the system is very efficient.

memories of memorias de puerto vallarta 49 On that second visit, I also travelled about an hour into the highlands southeast of PV, to a place called El Tuito: another charming town. This one was much less touched by tourism than Sayulita or Mismaloya. It was much harder to get by without any Spanish –a pretty good indicator that tourism is not the main business here. It was also the site for a Hollywood film, but obviously was much less active or successful in marketing that history than Mismaloya has been. This trip became a quest to find a special kind of cheese, which I learned was unique to the region, as well as Raicilla, a drink very much like Tequila, but also very different. I found both without excessive effort: more memories. I have since accompanied a student to PV to continue our work with Rodrigo, Rosie and Edmundo on the dump. She too assures me she is in love with PV, despite having been dragged to both dumps (the old and new ones). I’ve decided PV is the perfect place to keep doing research. The climate is ideal (especially in February when ours is not). Our UdeG colleagues are wonderful to work with. I will never run out of new and memorable food experiences. As a Canadian traveller, it is comforting not to have to worry about water quality, immunizations, and all the other assorted trials of other international destinations. And there is nothing better than waking up each morning, and breathing in the ocean air from a balcony overlooking Banderas Bay. These are my memories of Puerto Vallarta.

50 bryan h. massam | rodrigo espinoza sánchez Source: Dominique Laborde

memories of memorias de puerto vallarta 51 6. Evolución económica de Puerto Vallarta

Hablar de la evolución económica que ha sufrido Puerto Vallarta desde mediados de la década de los setenta, es sin lugar a dudas un aspecto importante de tener en cuenta cuando se hace un análisis interpreta- tivo. Acorde a lo anterior, y bajo el adagio que dice “que recordar es vivir” en estos momentos traslado mis pensamientos a aquellos hermosos tiempos en los que la mente de un bachiller que cursaba sus estudios en el CECyT # 241 hoy CBTIS # 68, donde la vida parecía un escenario sin límite alguno e inagotable y, dentro de un espacio territorial lleno de exuberante vegetación que florecía en todos y cada uno los amplios espacios parcelados que rodeaban a la ciudad de Puerto Vallarta, famoso por su esplendor y su tradicional pueblito empedrado transitado por los entonces turistas que hacían alarde de sus gritos de alegría que referían al Hiupiiiii! Importado de California y Texas, pero que en este hermoso paraíso parecía que el tiempo se suspendía para dar paso al disfrute y la alegría en toda dirección. En este sentido, la década de los setenta manifiesta un crecimiento económico lento pero continuo, es en este periodo de tiempo donde la infraestructura hotelera de Puerto Vallarta es escasa pero con ciertos iconos que le daban al destino turístico ese sello distintivo que lo hacía único en su género y estilo, por una parte, ya estaba zonificado el desarrollo turístico, con una zona sur, zona centro y zona norte, de éstas se desprendían edificios hoteleros que comunicaban un encanto y poder inmaculado como el hotel Camino Real, Garza Blanca, Hotel Costa Vida, Hotel las Gemelas, entre otros, mismo que encerraban en su estructura vertical de dominio y, cuyo paisaje construido contenía un mensaje preponderante relacionado a la actividad económica que ya estaba teniendo sus repercusiones de manera rotunda en las actividades económicas agropecuarias.

52 bryan h. massam | rodrigo espinoza sánchez Lo referido en las líneas anteriores, conlleva a entender como la planeación para el crecimiento de esta franja litoral en la Bahía de Banderas ya estaba siendo impulsada a través de ciertos mecanismos sustentados en figuras jurídicas que daban certeza a la nueva actividad económica que hacia su aparición como colonizadora de las actividades convencionales agrícolas y las ganaderas engendradas en los modelos de producción precedentes y enraizados en el minifundio resultante del reparto agrario promovido por el cardenismo. La zona centro que se extendía desde la playa de los muertos hasta el icono tradicional de la hotelería en Vallarta como lo es el Hotel Rosita, en este espacio turístico predominaba la gastronomía y la misma hote- lería, la cual trasmitía destellos a través de edificios de concreto bien edificados alineados con el litoral, aspecto que les permitía tener el dominio visual de las playas, recurso natural que sustentaba el crecimiento de la mancha urbana de una manera paulatina y no acelerada. Por otra parte, en este lapso de tiempo un símbolo representativo en el sector de la gastronomía y específicamente en el restaurantero era el conocido restaurante Carlos O’Brien lugar en el que se mani- festaba el dinamismo económico de esta zona de la ciudad, ya que ahí era donde se visualizaba el encuentro de culturas y de modos de vida, entre el residente local representado por los meseros quienes a través del idioma inglés veían sus “bolsillos llenos” de propinas y los visitantes que se involucraban en el consumo de bebidas y platillos de mariscos al estilo vallartense; la imagen del mesero impactaba de manera plausible dentro del espacio urbano que habitaba y por ende dejaba una huella económica a su paso. Lo anterior, implica entender que la economía dentro de este espacio urbano se sustentaba en el turismo, y las actividades primarias como la pesca, la agricultura y la ganadería ya estaban siendo desplazadas por el turismo, sin embargo cómo no recordar aquellos hermosos momentos donde todavía la gente tenía una forma de vida pueblerina y, donde

memories of memorias de puerto vallarta 53 la mayor parte de ellos intercambiaban productos que les acomodaban para vivir mejor moldeando un estilo de vida cuyas raíces coincidían con la práctica del comunitarismo. Pero lo antes mencionado, inducía a analizar que al costado norte de la zona centro ya aparecían edificios de alojamiento que trasmitían un mensaje de ocupación del territorio de una forma diferente a la tradicional, donde eran terrenos destinados a la agricultura y la fruticul- tura ahora estaban entablando una competencia entre sectores, y por supuesto siendo desplazados los de la rama del sector primario por el turismo, ya que éste concentraba un nuevo emblema para la población local, misma que, al involucrarse en la actividad turística iba perdiendo el sentido de pertenencia de lugar para sentirse transportado a otro mundo lleno de oportunidades y de mejores condiciones de vida dentro de la nueva modernidad. En relación al párrafo anterior, en esta zona norte aparece la firma Holy Day Inn como uno de los edificios contiguos al núcleo de la pobla- ción vallartense que concentraba una nueva dinámica económica a las afueras de la ciudad y, que a la vez irradiaba paz y tranquilidad para el visitante y los propios trabajadores que atendían a estos huéspedes, y en ese mismo ritmo se integraba la industria turística de la hotelería que se iba extendiendo hacia el norte y se conectaba con los hoteles de Hacienda Buenaventura y Playa de Oro que se compactaban con el servicio marítimo terrestre del muelle de Vallarta, que en ese entonces contenía un ferri que conectaba a Los Cabos y, que los comerciantes locales utilizaban para trasladarse a Cabo San Lucas y La Paz para intercambiar mercancía de la costa de Jalisco por productos terminados que requería la población vallartense. A finales de la década de los 70’s y durante los ochenta se le conoce como la época de oro del turismo en Puerto Vallarta, a este sector se le confiere el peso principal para el crecimiento económico, y se empieza a

54 bryan h. massam | rodrigo espinoza sánchez visualizar varios aspectos en su dinámica económica que es importante subrayar, como fueron apareciendo otros elementos que empujaban a que la población tuviera un viraje de 100 grados en sus actividades tradicionales. Durante esta década de finales de los setenta y durante la ochenta se incrementa la llegada de inversiones en hotelería apareciendo grandes firmas de trasnacionales como: Fiesta Americana, Sheraton para ubicarse dentro de la zona norte generando así, un impacto en la industria de la construcción, misma que dio origen a un acelerado crecimiento de desarrollos habitacionales para la fuerza laboral de la masa trabajadora del sector turístico, generando así cinturones de miseria en la periferia de la urbe vallartense representada por diversas colonias irregulares con sus propias dinámicas económicas relacionadas al comercio y zonas dormitorio de la población trabajadora de las indus- trias restaurantera y de la hotelería. Aunado a lo anterior, aparece el desarrollo turístico sustentado en el atracadero de barcos, yates, y lanchas de empresarios locales y extranjeros insertos en la actividad turística, pero a la par o de manera simultánea la construcción de la Marina Vallarta con su clúster turís- tico de empresas de alojamiento y los paquetes de todo incluido y el tiempo compartido que hacían referencia a su dominio y colonización del espacio turístico, amalgamando la diversificación comercial a través de grandes centros comerciales en toda la región de Vallarta, pasando del viejo modelo de comercialización cimentado en las tiendas de abarrotes de esfera local microempresaria como la Tienda Gutiérrez Rizo, La Surtidora que tenían la hegemonía del comercio local a la apertura de mercado para los grandes centros comerciales o malls de patrimonio nacional o extranjero y, es así como parece Gigante, Comercial Mexi- cana, Tiendas Ley, Soriana, Walmart, SAM´S, Liverpool, entre otras, proporcionando una mayor apertura de compra al ciudadano vallar-

memories of memorias de puerto vallarta 55 tense y fomentando el consumismo a través de los expendios de comida rápida como McDonald, Kentucky Fried Chicken, Pollo Giro, etc. La ampliación de las vías de comunicación de las redes carreteras y el medio de transporte aéreo hecho realidad a través del Aeropuerto Internacional Gustavo Díaz Ordaz en las décadas de los 80’s incrementó no únicamente el flujo de turistas, sino que posibilitó estrechar la comu- nicación con la cabecera del estado y el Distrito Federal abriendo así una vía más para la dinámica económica de Puerto Vallarta. En relación a lo expuesto en el párrafo precedente, el transporte aéreo generó nuevas opciones para el dinamismo económico que atrajo a inversionistas que le apostaban a ser intermediarios de este sector y crearon agencias de viajes con sus anclajes de servicios de taxis y tours que encadenaban al aeropuerto con los centros comerciales tradicionales de Vallarta, formando así una economía dependiente del sector servicios y, marginando a los sectores primario y secundario cuyo origen se orientaba a la agricultura, ganadería y pesca. Los planes de desarrollo económico para el Puerto desde la década de los setenta se enfocaban hacia el sector terciario, ya que las políticas gubernamentales se orientaban a crear figuras jurídicas como el Fidei- comiso de Puerto Vallarta para que funcionaran en pro del crecimiento económico del subsector turismo. Estas figuras jurídicas facultadas para generar la compra venta de terrenos parcelados de manera coordinada con las autoridades ejidales del municipio condujeron a que creciera más la industria hotelera, ya que el ejidatario después de la primera compra-venta que hacía vio que obtenía más ingresos al lotificar sus parcelas que dándoles el uso original de labrar o cultivar la tierra. Un elemento clave o factor de crecimiento económico en todo espacio territorial es el relacionado con la educación, en esta región de Puerto Vallarta durante las décadas de los 70’s, 80’s y gran parte de los 90’s era algo codiciado y anhelado por los vallartenses, ya que la formación

56 bryan h. massam | rodrigo espinoza sánchez universitaria estaba lejos de su alcance, esto debido a que existía la educación formal hasta el Bachillerato, y los que aspiraban a tener una formación universitaria deberían emigrar a otros lugares para lograrlo, por lo que, primero aparece la educación universitaria privada con la Universidad ARKOS, la UNIVA, y a mediados de los 90’s, específica- mente en 1994 aparece la Universidad de Guadalajara con la educación pública dando acceso a gran parte de la población vallartense y, a su vez, reteniendo la fuga del capital humano que en su mayoría se quedaba en el lugar donde hacia sus estudios universitarios, como Guadalajara, Tepic, La Paz, Ciudad Guzmán, Colima, México, D.F entre otros. La universidad llega a Puerto Vallarta, y genera un “boom” de crecimiento económico, ya que la puesta en operación de la enseñanza universitaria, generó el aceleramiento del crecimiento de mancha urbana, a través de desarrollos habitacionales para estudiantes, familiares de éstos, y para los inversionistas que vieron en los impactos de la universidad una oportunidad de enriquecimiento a través de incrementar su inversión en bienes inmuebles, o a través de la lotificación de sus parcelas y, a la postre, fomentando la aparición de una homogenización de casas habitación para las familias vallartenses. Esta desconcentración educativa hecha por la Universidad de Gua- dalajara, condujo a que Puerto Vallarta (PV), retuviera a su capital intelectual y, éste iniciará con acciones empresarias dentro del sector terciario, además de impactar de manera en el crecimiento de la industria inmobiliaria en toda la Bahía de Banderas. El crecimiento acelerado de la ciudad conllevó a la reestructuración vial, con pavimentación de la infraestructura carretera de las princi- pales vías de acceso a la ciudad, acciones que le dieron una imagen diferente a PV, pero que condujo a que las concesiones y franquicias de los expendios de gasolina se extendieran a lo largo y ancho de la ciudad, aspecto que se presentó como novedoso, y con esa misma estrategia

memories of memorias de puerto vallarta 57 surgieron las tiendas comerciales OXXO y posteriormente su compe- tidor Kiosko, este factor comercial expandido en toda la ciudad generó más opciones de compra para el residente de PV, y a la par más diversi- ficación comercial para la satisfacción de los transeúntes. Las políticas federales del gobierno del presidente Fox relacionadas a la importación vehicular impactaron en nuestra ciudad de manera rotunda, ya que a partir de que dio facilidades para que la gente tuviera acceso a un carro usado o nuevo pagando las medidas arancelarias correspondientes, la vialidad vallartense ha mostrado su insuficiencia de manera notable, y ha generado especulaciones de diseño de políticas públicas para mejorar esto, prueba de ello es que en la actualidad se está discutiendo un plan de movilidad en la ciudad que espera modi- ficar rutas vehiculares y peatonales en ciertas arterias de la ciudad. En este mismo tenor, los poblados aledaños a la ciudad de Vallarta en la última década han manifestado un crecimiento desproporcional comparado con las décadas anteriores, y así se visualiza a la Delegación del Pitillal que anteriormente era un poblado distante de PV, como una colonia más, pero a la vez, sus sectores productivos se vieron modifi- cados de manera categórica, ya que gran parte de los usos del suelo ejidales actualmente cambiaron a uso habitacional y residencial, propi- ciando así, que la población dedicada a la agricultura y ganadería ahora esté inserta en el sector comercio, lo que ha implicado que el sector comercio se haya incrementado en un 100% o más, así como, la actividad de la construcción se haya proliferado en abundancia apareciendo colonias o barrios irregulares en las orillas de estas delegaciones que al principio, se manifiestan con indicadores de suburbios marginados pero que, posteriormente forzaban la construcción de infraestructura reque- rida para acceder al bienestar social y aminorar un poco la precariedad en cuanto a calidad de vida.

58 bryan h. massam | rodrigo espinoza sánchez El mismo aspecto, ocurre con las otras delegaciones municipales que integran a PV, mismas que han ido evolucionando para pasar de un modelo rural al urbano que concentra a la población en un mismo espacio en el cual facilite la construcción y desarrollo de la infraestructura vial, de salud, educativa, etc. que muestre un avance a la modernidad bajo el modelo de desarrollo sustentado en la ciudad, mismo que a posteriori genera de manera paradójica una transición no planeada al sector comercio de una gran masa de personas rurales insertas en una actividad nueva para ellos como forma de ocupación formal y a veces informal. La apertura de la licenciatura en medicina ha aparecido como un elemento de desarrollo económico, ya que sus vísperas propiciaron que el monopolio en el sector médico dejará de existir, y condujo a que se facilitara el acceso de las farmacias de productos de similares, gené- ricos, y las mismas consultas médicas se abaratarán y dejaran de ser exclusivas y excluyentes, ya que a través de éstas, se ha ampliado la atención a la salud, así como mayor acceso colectivo a este servicio vital para mejorar la esperanza y calidad de vida de la población. En el mismo sentido y en relación a lo expuesto en el párrafo anterior, la apertura de nuevos laboratorios farmacéuticos acompañados con consultorios de acceso a la mayor parte de la población amplio la cobertura de la salud y disminuyó una gran carga a las instituciones de salud del sector público como el IMSS, ISSSTE, y los Centros de Salud e inclusive la Cruz Roja. Por otra parte, en últimas fechas de este 2011 el seguro social ha puesto a funcionar varias clínicas de atención familiar en puntos estra- tégicos de la ciudad, lo que ha ocasionado que se realice una reubi- cación de derechohabientes y equipamientos clínicos y carreteros que conecten a dichas unidades médicas, y esto ha conducido al incremento

memories of memorias de puerto vallarta 59 del “ambulantismo” y comercio informal y las tiendas de comida econó- mica en estas nuevas unidades médicas localizadas en la ciudad. No obstante, el crecimiento urbano ha generado nuevos distritos comerciales que atienden a su propia dinámica económica y, éstos han propiciado la oportunidad para que nuevos actores se hagan presentes en el desarrollo económico de la ciudad. El vertedero municipal es un caso importante de mencionar, ya que el sólo hecho de generar empleo para personas que no han tenido la oportunidad de integrarse a la actividad turística en las cadenas hoteleras y restauranteras, por diferentes motivos, éstos se han involucrado en una unión o gremio que permite el trabajo de familias completas que separan y recolectan material para el reciclado, y en el mismo lugar se da la compra-venta de dicha mercancía, lo que implica la existencia de las fuerzas del mercado como es la oferta, la demanda, los intermediarios y la mano de obra barata para que estas fuerzas operen. En atención al párrafo anterior, el sector oficial ha hecho la gestión para la reubicación del vertedero municipal, y en la actualidad existe otro “DUMP” funcionando, sin embargo, el viejo vertedero inserto dentro de la colonia el magisterio funge como centro de operación comercial, ya que es ahí donde se hace la separación de la basura o material reciclable y se genera la competencia comercial. El sector gobierno, para responder a las tendencias del mercado global ha adaptado su discurso y acciones a dar cumplimiento a normas e indicadores impuestos por la superestructura internacional, como el de la Agenda desde lo Local, que busca en el fondo la certificación de los proceso de gobierno, que atiendan aspectos de cuidado ambiental, de donde han emanado programas como playas limpias, ciudades verdes, tendencias que a escala municipal es el primer mandamiento de la prác- tica de la familia política, y esto repercute en la mercadotecnia para el desarrollo económico del turismo.

60 bryan h. massam | rodrigo espinoza sánchez Por otra parte, las conexiones de vialidad entre la ciudad y la capital del estado han incrementado el flujo de visitantes a PV, esto amplia, por una parte, gastos en el comercio, pero a la vez, hace posible que la región sierra occidente se integre a los flujos comerciales que a la postre generan derrama económica, tanto para este espacio serrano como para el propio PV. Por otro lado, la imagen urbana que en el pasado posicionaba a PV como el pueblito añorado, con sus calles empedradas ahora se ha convertido, según las políticas de gobierno en programas de desarrollo con “soluciones para siempre”, lo que viene a contrastar, que ahora toda obra para mejorar las calles se haga en concreto, y eso ha modificado las formas de vida y por supuesto, incrementado el plusvalor de las propiedades. En relación a lo anterior, pareciera que las instituciones de gobierno con injerencia municipal en la prestación de los servicios se hayan propuesto atender aspectos básicos de la población, y actualmente, con apoyo de la federación se ha ampliado la cobertura de la red de agua y alcantarillado en la mayor parte de las colonias de la ciudad de PV, lo que ha aumentado la infraestructura de servicios básicos para el tratamiento de las aguas residuales, y a la par, esto ha impactado en el valor patrimonial construido, lo que ha conducido a la especulación de la compra-venta de terrenos en las diferentes colonias y barrios que integran la ciudad. En relación al turismo marítimo, en las últimas dos décadas el gobierno correspondiente amplio el muelle o terminal marítima y esta- bleció acuerdos para la llegada de varias líneas de cruceros turísticos que posibilitan que algunos actores del comercio se beneficien, entre ellos las joyerías, y algunas tiendas de artesanías, así como prestadores de servicio de taxis y autobuses para transportar a los turistas de la central marítima hasta donde se localizan las tiendas ya referidas anteriormente.

memories of memorias de puerto vallarta 61 En el mismo sentido del párrafo anterior, la llegada de estos cruceros ha generado una derrama económica para el sector gobierno, esto debido a las cuotas que los barcos o cruceros tienen que hacer para poder anclarse y desembarcar a los turistas que quieren bajar a conocer PV. Con la intención de cerrar, se puede decir que PV se visualiza como un escenario donde el desarrollo económico ha proliferado en las dos últimas décadas del siglo pasado, y lo que va del presente siglo vía la incorporación de la actividad turística, y que ésta, ha modificado los usos y costumbres de las actividades económicas convencionales, mismas que han sido desplazadas por no poder competir con dicha actividad, pero que ese dinamismo que genera el turismo condujo a que se hicieran inversiones en otros sectores como la educación, las comuni- caciones, la salud, el comercio, el gobierno, entre otros, que de manera coordinada han posibilitado que la población tenga una mejor calidad de vida.

Bibliografía

Olveda, J. (1993). Una aproximación a Puerto Vallarta. El Colegio de Jalisco. México. Munguía, C. (1996). Puerto Vallarta el paraíso escondido. Editorial Ágata, S.A. de C.V. México. —— (1997). Panorama Histórico de Puerto Vallarta y de la Bahía de Banderas. Secretaría de Cultura Gobierno de Jalisco, H. Ayuntamiento Constitu- cional de Puerto Vallarta. México.

62 bryan h. massam | rodrigo espinoza sánchez Source: Dominique Laborde

memories of memorias de puerto vallarta 63 7. Evolución del ambiente natural de Puerto Vallarta

La ausencia o presencia de memorias y su olvido afecta nuestra capacidad de encajar, de arreglárnoslas y de interpretar nuestro lugar en el mundo donde vivimos. Compartir las memorias, los recuerdos con- tribuye a la identidad de grupo. Comparto con ustedes las mías, aunque no sé qué tan valiosas puedan ser, sobre todo por el corto tiempo que implican. La primera vez que escuché sobre Puerto Vallarta me parecía algo distante y ajeno. Cuando era niña la familia de mi mejor amiga de la infancia Elvia Valdés iría a Puerto Vallarta de vacaciones. Pensaba –eso no era para mi familia. Nosotros no íbamos así de vacaciones. Mi papá como epidemiólogo, viajaba por el país todo el tiempo y lo acom- pañábamos en su trabajo, esas eran nuestras vacaciones y no venía a Puerto Vallarta, probablemente no hubo epidemias en ese tiempo. Creo que en ese tiempo Puerto Vallarta realmente era visitado casi exclusivamente por extranjeros y no se hacía promoción en la televi- sión nacional o radio, no recuerdo haber oído o visto nada. Dicen que entonces era muy exclusivo. Después de eso no volví a saber de Puerto Vallarta hasta que estuve en la Facultad de Ciencias cuando entré al equipo de nado con aletas y aparatos “Leones Marinos” de la Universidad de Guadalajara, allá a principios de los 80’s. En esa ocasión realizaríamos algunas de las prácticas con equipo de buceo y nuestro entrenador René Mendoza, decidió que sería Puerto Vallarta donde podríamos rentar equipo, ya que pocos teníamos. Entonces venimos a Puerto Vallarta, entre los que estaban mi mejor amiga de la juventud Beatriz Méndez y el que hoy es mi esposo, Miguel Ochoa. Acampamos en Mismaloya, no había allí hotel todavía. Sólo puedo decir que de Puerto Vallarta conocí el mar y

64 bryan h. massam | rodrigo espinoza sánchez hasta los 40m de profundidad en la Quijada del Diablo en los Arcos de Mismaloya, frente al malecón donde nos embarcamos y Playas Gemelas donde hicimos otros ejercicios de buceo. Volví una vez más para hacer los exámenes y certificarme como buceador dos estrellas con el mismo grupo. El río que desemboca en Mismaloya hacía un meandro hacia donde está el hotel ahora y la playa era de mayores dimensiones. Antes no había tantas pangas en el río y el pueblo de Mismaloya era mucho más pequeño, apenas se distinguían las casas entre la selva. De estas visitas a Puerto Vallarta recuerdo el oleaje fuerte, la arena gruesa, un pelícano que había perdido un ala y apenas podía brincar, los vende- dores que hacían pescado en-vara-asado en la playa lo alimentaban. Entonces se podía ver una gran cantidad de peces e invertebrados en la zona de los Arcos de Mismaloya. La siguiente vez que vine a Puerto Vallarta estaba embarazada de mi primer hijo Juan, a fines de esa misma década y no salimos mucho del hotel en la orilla del río Pitillal, entonces el hotel más alto de la zona. Fue la primera y única vez que me he sentido turista en Puerto Vallarta. Hoy esta playa tiene acceso para visitantes y está rodeada de rascacielos, algunos todavía en construcción. Una vez más vine a Puerto Vallarta como profesor de la Facultad de Ciencias por motivos marinos de nuevo: colectaríamos especímenes para montar las peceras marinas en el laboratorio de la escuela. Pasé por la ciudad de Puerto Vallarta y me di cuenta que había una plaza comercial, que habían adoquinado la calle de ingreso al puerto. Sólo llenamos tanques y nos fuimos a bucear de nuevo. En noviembre del 1993 la Universidad de Guadalajara estaba abriendo el último Centro Universitario de entonces de la red universitaria y me invitaron a colaborar en el proyecto de un Centro Universi- tario en Puerto Vallarta. Pensé que sería por un año y ya no regresé a Guadalajara a vivir; desde febrero de 1994 vivo aquí.

memories of memorias de puerto vallarta 65 ¿Cómo vi a Puerto Vallarta cuando llegué? ¿Cómo ha cambiado? ¿Cómo está ahora y cómo percibo el futuro? Voy a tratar de hablar sobre la parte ambiental que me corresponde, aunque de antemano debo decir que es difícil separarlo. La primera impresión fue que el camino para llegar a Vallarta era largo y sinuoso, pero al llegar se obtenía la recompensa: una selva verde que se abalanzaba sobre la carretera formando un túnel y obscurecía el sol y después de la última montaña, ya de bajada la primera vista de la bahía completamente azul. Olía a mar y se sentía la humedad. La bahía tenía algunas edificaciones, pero imperaba el verde y el azul. Ya en la ciudad había muchos espacios verdes que esperarían cerca de una década para ser construidos. Era difícil conseguir casa en renta, no había mucha oferta. Me llamaba la atención que en Puerto Vallarta no había palmeras como en otras playas de México, salvo el Palmar de Aramara, pero había otras nativas de la región como el coquito de aceite, la de coyul y la palma real, pero todas lejos de la playa. Defi- nitivamente la palma de coco de agua estaba ausente. Con el tiempo los hoteles sembraron palma de coco en sus propiedades y el Centro Universitario de la Costa haría lo mismo, los camellones se sembraron también, pero a principios de siglo vino una plaga para las palmas que provocaba “amarillamiento” y muerte. Durante varios años no se sembraron palmas de coco nuevas ya que corrían el mismo riesgo. Hoy sigue habiendo pocas de estas palmas y se han sembrado en la ciudad otras especies de ornato resistentes a plagas. Por supuesto volví muchas veces a Mismaloya, casi cada fin de semana con mi familia, hecho que fue espaciándose. Después iba más por cuestiones de trabajo. Los Arcos de Mismaloya, estaban protegidos como área natural con categoría de Parque Marino y a algunas empresas turísticas les interesaba colaborar e incluso financiar parte de las inves- tigaciones para su conservación, tarea en la que me involucré con otros profesores y alumnos del Centro Universitario de la Costa.

66 bryan h. massam | rodrigo espinoza sánchez Hoy la zona ha cambiado, la parte más visitada por los turistas que hacen snorkeling, ha perdido su colorido y diversidad. Las comunidades de corales han sufrido blanqueamiento (muerte) debido a cambios en la temperatura del agua, evento asociado al “Niño”, en al menos dos ocasiones. Ya no es tan fácil observar las diversas especies de pepinos, erizos y estrellas de mar. Hay menos playa por la construcción del hotel, el crecimiento del pueblo y restaurantes y, el más drástico cambio de todos: el hundimiento de la playa de Mismaloya en el 2001 debido al deslizamiento de toneladas de sedimentos acumulados durante años, en pendientes abruptas. El azul del mar podía verse casi de cualquier parte si uno se situaba en una calle que desembocara al mar o por encima de las construcciones. Todavía quedaban sin iluminar de noche muchas partes del borde de la zona urbana frente al mar. No había edificios altos salvo el hotel “Holy”, como le llaman algunos, en la desembocadura del Río Pitillal. Hoy el paisaje ha cambiado: más construcciones para la montaña y la línea costera ha sido tapizada de edificaciones, algunas de gran tamaño. Uno de los más drásticos en los últimos años que ha transformado definiti- vamente la fisonomía del puerto, ha sido la construcción de cerca de una docena de grandes edificios de más de 20 pisos frente a la playa, que superaron lo permitido o lo acordado hasta entonces. La imagen de un pueblo pequeño y horizontal cambió en menos de cinco años, quienes vinieron antes de la época de los edificios y luego volvieron después de que el conjunto de edificios de la zona hotelera hasta el centro había aparecido, lo comparan con un Miami cualquiera, algunos con orgullo, otros con tristeza. Otra de las cosas que me llamó la atención fue la sierra detrás de Puerto Vallarta por donde bajan los ríos. Pronto identifiqué elementos naturales importantes para los vallartenses: Río Cuale, Río Pitillal, Estero El Salado, Los Arcos de Mismaloya, árboles como la parota, el

memories of memorias de puerto vallarta 67 papelillo, el habillo y la primavera a los que habría que referirse de forma particular. A pesar de que Puerto Vallarta es un municipio es costero, cuenta con pocas zonas planas (cerca del 13%), principalmente en la planicie del Río Ameca. En general su superficie está conformada por zonas acci- dentadas localizadas casi todas en la zona noroeste, con alturas entre los 100 y los 1,900 metros sobre el nivel del mar. La vegetación del municipio se compone básicamente de selva subcaducifolia y caducifolia, machones de pastizal inducido y cultivado hacia la parte norte. La selva mediana subcaducifolia está compuesta por al menos unas 15 especies dominantes, como el papelillo, la habilla, el capomo, la primavera y rosa morada entre otros. También existe una zona de vegetación halófila que corresponde al manglar del estero El Salado. En la franja costera abundan las palmeras y otras especies tropicales. En los cerros hay cedro, caoba, nogal y parota. Hacia la zona sureste colindante con el municipio de Talpa de Allende existe una extensa área de bosque de coníferas y latifoliadas. El paisaje seguirá cambiando sin duda, pero los cambios en la montaña han sido más lentos, casi imperceptibles. Lo escarpado de las montañas ha hecho más difícil su uso y aprovechamiento. La deforesta- ción en el municipio se puede catalogar como un problema grave según autoridades municipales. La falta de vigilancia, la tala clandestina, tumba de cubierta forestal para cultivo y degradación química de los suelos por pérdida de fertilidad, son factores que lo propician. El tema de la deforestación en el municipio, sobre todo en la montaña, es un problema serio no sólo por las implicaciones ecológicas que esto conlleva, sino también por su posible impacto negativo para la actividad turística; la montaña verde es un recurso natural de alto valor como atractivo turístico que debe ser preservado.

68 bryan h. massam | rodrigo espinoza sánchez Como profesor de la universidad y como bióloga me tocaba atender asuntos ambientales que eran preocupación local entonces, una de las primeras demandas sociales fue sobre el Estero el Salado. Les recuerdo que entonces no existía la Secretaria de Medio Ambiente y Desarrollo Sustentable del gobierno estatal, ni un comité científico-técnico que velara por los intereses del estero. Visité las ladrilleras con gente local y lo que habían dejado las que se habían ido, como erosión y deforestación, pero atrajo animales como el cocodrilo. Todo alrededor de lo que hoy es el Centro Universitario de la Costa en Ixtapa era una zona lomeríos, que proyectos autorizados para aprovechamiento de material geológico terminaron convirtiendo en una planicie, las ladrilleras se encargaron de los socavones que se convirtieron en charcos. En cada charco había cocodrilos que habían sido desplazados de su hábitat natural. Las antiguas zonas de inundación se modificaron entre el Ameca y El Salado, las zonas bajas se rellenaron para poder construir casas habitación, acciones que hoy todavía se realizan. Los grupos ecologistas estaban tratando de proteger el estero y los cocodrilos también a pesar de que ya entonces había habido encuentros desafortunados entre cocodrilos y humanos. En el 94 se trasladaron varios cocodrilos que habitaban la planicie entre Ixtapa y Las Mojoneras, donde había ladrilleras aban- donadas y vigentes. Querían los grupos ambientalistas argumentos científicos para hacer del estero un área protegida de carácter federal, otros pugnaban por proponerlo como patrimonio de la humanidad, y ayuda para concretarlo a través de la universidad que culminó en el decreto como área natural protegida, pero de carácter estatal. ¿Cómo ha cambiado el estero? Cuando llegué había gente viviendo en las orillas del estero, un par de asentamientos que fueron reubicados después de mucho trámite y concertación de acuerdos. Había mucha basura, una vez con alumnos del Centro Universitario de la Costa y profesores sacamos cerca de diez camiones de objetos, loza y vidrio que se habían acumulado durante años. El estero era una especie de basurero para

memories of memorias de puerto vallarta 69 los grandes barcos que llegaban al puerto, pero también para sus pobla- dores. La superficie del manglar había sido disminuida a un estado crítico para aves y cocodrilos y el azolve había hecho estragos en la circulación de agua. Varios estudiosos de manglares se encargaron de recuperarlo, aunque sigue siendo un estero urbano amenazado por la cantidad y calidad del agua que lo alimenta. Probablemente siga recu- perándose la superficie de manglar y la población de aves y cocodrilos, pero lo más importante es la educación ambiental que pueda influir en los estilos de vida de visitantes locales y extranjeros. La basura es otro tema pendiente. El municipio produce cerca de 380 toneladas de basura al día, y por persona producimos más basura que el promedio nacional, no hay una separación de la basura eficiente ya que se hace solamente en el basurero, el reciclado es insignificante. Lo único que ha cambiado es que producimos más basura y ha habido una mayor cantidad de acciones para mejor el tratamiento de residuos sólidos, la educación ambiental y la colecta de basura, sin muchos logros a la fecha. Referente al tratamiento de los residuos sólidos municipales, se acaba de cerrar el vertedero municipal de la colonia magisterio y se creó el relleno sanitario de Los Gavilanes con una vida útil prevista de 22 años. Por su parte, se presume que sólo el 15% de los residuos sólidos que ingresan al relleno sanitario se reciclan. Los espacios verdes dentro la zona urbana eran muy pocos y total- mente descuidados y abandonados, se habían convertido en basureros. Hoy no ha cambiado mucho la situación, hay más parques, pero la mancha urbana ha crecido también, las áreas verdes siguen descui- dadas, nadie se responsabiliza de ellas. Varios de estos parques en zonas estratégicas se convirtieron en planchas de cemento para hacer estacionamientos. Si uno ve desde el avión la ciudad de Puerto Vallarta y la compara con lo que se ve cuando se llega a la ciudad de México por avión, se pensaría que no hay comparación alguna que hacer, a simple vista una gran mancha urbana que horroriza y sorprende por

70 bryan h. massam | rodrigo espinoza sánchez igual, pero si se analiza con detenimiento hay mucho más “verde” que, en Puerto Vallarta, todas las calles están arboladas y la cantidad de parques con árboles en una superficie similar es mucho mayor para la gran ciudad. Tal vez Puerto Vallarta confíe en el “verde” presente fuera de la mancha urbana, pero dentro hay una clara falta de árboles y vegetación en general. También es claro que la zona urbana crece y seguirá haciéndolo en tanto las condiciones físicas del suelo lo permitan, incluso a costa de la agricultura. En conclusión, puedo decir que el ambiente natural ha sido sacrifi- cado en la franja costera debido principalmente al desarrollo turístico, pero la mayor parte de los desmontes se hicieron antes de la consoli- dación del puerto como destino turístico, con fines agropecuarios. Hoy el uso dominante del suelo en el municipio es forestal (más del 70%), con restricciones para la siembra por la pendiente elevada del suelo. Solamente el 1% es urbano y cerca del 20% es de uso agropecuario. Hoy los ejidos empiezan a darle usos distintos a este suelo forestal: servicios ambientales y turismo de naturaleza. La mancha urbana crece, pero sus limitantes naturales son las planicies que están por agotarse y el suelo agrícola que se transforma en urbano. Por otra parte, crece la conciencia ambiental individual y de grupo tanto en locales como visitantes por lo que las prácticas responsables en términos ambientales deberán crecer a corto plazo. La existencia de grupos y organizaciones ambientalistas en la Bahía de Banderas que son muy activos forma parte de esta creciente manifestación. Las escuelas y universidades son parte importante en este rubro y deberán ser más “agresivas” en su participación en la definición de objetivos ambientales municipales consensados, así como su logro. La actividad turística, que ha sido una de las más agresivas en tér- minos ambientales en el mundo, debido a la nueva y creciente conciencia ambiental global, también está sufriendo cambios ante un mercado también cambiante y preocupado por las cuestiones ambientales,

memories of memorias de puerto vallarta 71 como las emisiones de carbono y el calentamiento global. Existen en la región más autoridades y trabajadores dedicados al medio ambiente y desarrollo sustentable de la región, también la capacitación de recursos humanos en este rubro ha sido importante. Referente a la problemática ambiental que afecta al municipio hoy, sigue siendo parte de la agenda; el manejo inadecuado de los residuos sólidos, la erosión del suelo, la deforestación, la contaminación hídrica y atmosférica y el aprovechamiento de recursos naturales de manera desordenada. De igual forma la falta de coordinación entre los tres niveles de gobierno por parte de las autoridades municipales, estatales y federales para resolver los problemas ambientales. Podremos resol- verlos de forma decidida y conjunta. Creo que estamos preparados para un Puerto Vallarta mejor.

Source: Dominique Laborde

72 bryan h. massam | rodrigo espinoza sánchez 8. Evolución sociopolítica de Puerto Vallarta

La sociedad vallartense se ha construido a lo largo de los últimos 160 años, sin embargo, sus antecedentes históricos datan de entre 5000 a 7000 años. Los primeros asentamientos humanos en la región se estiman aproximadamente en el año 2000 a.C., siendo el poblado de Ixtapa en el Municipio de Puerto Vallarta el más importante dado la existencia del centro ceremonial más significativo en la región. Con la conquista, la zona de la sierra occidental colindante a Puerto Vallarta se pobló de españoles para explotar las minas, durante esta época la Bahía de las Jorobadas o Bahía de Banderas, era un maritorio dominado por piratas. A principios del siglo XIX el auge y crecimiento de la región serrana cambió el paisaje costero en la bahía, ya que se optó por crear el asenta- miento humano permanente al margen y desembocadura del río Cuale, en un principio se llamó Las Peñas, posteriormente Puerto Vallarta. Oficialmente la fecha de fundación quedó establecida el 12 de diciembre de 1851, siendo de Don Guadalupe Sánchez Torres la figura de su fundador. Es hasta el 31 de mayo de 1918 que la Comisaría de Las Peñas se convierte en el Municipio de Puerto Vallarta y en este mismo día, pero del año 1968 se decreta su rango de ciudad y se consolida como destino turístico. La nueva sociedad vallartense experimenta el impacto del crecimiento económico nacional producto del auge petrolero y a su a vez Puerto Vallarta se consolida como destino, todo ello durante el periodo de 1950-1970 en que se alcanza la madurez económica, sin embargo, la década de 70’s bien pudiera considerarse como el periodo de la madurez sociopolítica y 1976 como el año de la madurez cívica de Puerto Vallarta. Lo anterior debido a la actividad sociopolítica por parte de la población y en particular de la mujer. La población en lo general se manifestó en contra de la imposición del candidato a presidente municipal por parte

memories of memorias de puerto vallarta 73 del Partido Institucional Revolucionario (PRI), que en dicha época era el partido hegemónico, el partido del poder. La sociedad vallartense se organizó ante la eventual toma de posesión del candidato triunfador para el cargo Presidente Municipal, Ingeniero Eugenio Torres, por lo que el 31 de diciembre de 1976 las mujeres del pueblo deciden tomar las instalaciones de del Ayuntamiento de Puerto Vallarta iniciando con un ello una resistencia política de forma pacífica, sin embargo, el ejército tomó el control de la ciudad estableciendo el orden público e imponiendo la voluntad política central en contra de la voluntad ciudadana. Este evento sociopolítico resulta importante en sí mismo, sin embargo, enmarcado en el contexto nacional, adquiere mayor importancia, ya que el país recién había experimentado la rebelión de los jóvenes estudiantes y las ideas de izquierda que se popularizaban en 1968, las manifestaciones sociales a principios de 1970 en el centro de país, así como las distintas expresiones políticas al interior del país, de grupos contarios al poder en turno, todas ellas controladas por la fuerza. Si bien es cierto en Jalisco, durante los 70’s, existieron más de un grupo de política urbana contraria gobierno, también lo es el hecho de que estos grupos no habían penetrado ni mermado al gobierno estatal. Ante este panorama, toda inconformidad social debía ser sometida, indepen- dientemente de la causa, este ambiente político resultó determinante para el derrotero de la lucha local. Durante el periodo comprendido entre 1980-1990, la ciudad se urba- niza de forma acelerada y la actividad turística se posiciona como la principal actividad económica, además, comercialmente, Puerto Vallarta se convierte en un referente regional desplazando a la ciudad de Tepic. Para efectos del peso político específico como sociedad se debe atender al crecimiento poblacional registrado en las últimas décadas: 1950 =10,801; 1960=15,462; 1970=35,911; 1980=57,028; 1990=111,457; 2000=1814,728; 2010=255,681. Estas cifras nos advierten de la impor-

74 bryan h. massam | rodrigo espinoza sánchez tancia de Puerto Vallarta, cada vez mayor, en cuanto al número de votantes, después del fenómeno de la conurbación de Guadalajara con los municipios aledaños. La década comprendida entre 1900-2000, se puede nombrar como el inicio de la etapa adulta de Puerto Vallarta, toda vez que en la década pasada había adquirido la mayoría de edad y había alzado la voz, en este nuevo periodo, tres acontecimientos resultan fundamentales: a) La Universidad de Guadalajara, a principios del año de 1994, autoriza la sede de Puerto Vallarta para un Centro Universitario, se convierte una realidad la oferta universitaria a nivel superior a través del Centro Universitario de la Costa; b) en el mismo año, la crisis económica a nivel nacional deriva en la mayor crisis política que a la postre concluye con la alternancia del poder en México en el año 2000; c) en las elecciones municipales para Alcalde de 1995, por primera vez gana un partido de oposición, con ello se rompe la hegemonía política y Puerto Vallarta se suma al nuevo proyecto de país a partir de la alternancia, la democracia aún debe esperar tiempos propicios y condiciones políticas que garan- ticen su tránsito de forma pacífica y participativa. Centro Universitario de la Costa. En palabras del Lic. Fernando Baños1: “El Centro Universitario de la Costa, vendrá a ser la columna vertebral de Puerto Vallarta”. La presencia del Centro Universitario de la Costa, efectivamente ha venido integrándose a Puerto Vallarta, a su comunidad y a sus políticas locales. Como parte de la sociedad, el Centro Universitario de la Costa es un referente en los últimos diecisiete años, en la institución que mayor oferta educativa, su capacidad de admisión es del 67.5% de un total de

1 Fernando Baños, licenciado en Filosofía por la UNAM. Director de Cultura del H. Ayunta- miento de Puerto Vallarta durante el periodo de 1992-1994. El comentario se realizado en la primera entrevista de trabajo que el Director de Cultura realizó con el Coordinador de Extensión del Centro Universitario de la Costa Baños en 1994, en las antiguas oficinas de la Dirección de Cultura.

memories of memorias de puerto vallarta 75 2,500 solicitudes aproximadamente por año, por ende, su participación social en incuestionable. A lo largo de sus 17 años, el Centro Universitario de la Costa, se pueden apreciar cuatro etapas en función de la gestión de cada uno de sus rectores: Creación, equipamiento, crecimiento y vinculación. En cuanto al primer periodo (1994-1998) se iniciaron los trabajos de dona- ción del terreno por parte de la comunidad de Ixtapa, por lo que en enero de 1995 se logró la instalación de las oficinas administrativas, aulas de las primeras cuatro carreras ofertadas que fueron Derecho, Contaduría, Administración y Turismo, en el actual edificio “A” se inicia la construcción de los edificios de aulas “B” y “C”, la Biblioteca y el Compulab I. Este periodo concluye con la oferta educativa ampliada con las carreras de Psicología y la creación formal de la División de Estudios Sociales y Económicos. En el segundo periodo se crearon las carreras de Ingeniería civil, Arquitectura, Cómputo, Telemática, Multi- media y Diseño gráfico, se abrió el laboratorio de CISCO y se crearon el Compulab II y el Edulab, el Auditorio y el Museo Peter Grey. En general se renovó el equipo de cómputo caduco y se equipó todas las instalaciones y a los profesores de tiempo completo. Durante el tercer periodo se ofertaron las carreras de Medicina, Enfermería y Biología, se concluyó el edificio de Investigación y postgrado, y se inician los talleres y laboratorios para ingenierías. Finalmente, el cuarto periodo se ha caracterizado por la vinculación, a un año de gestión el Centro Univer- sitario de la Costa ha establecidos una serie de trabajos regionales con la participación de municipios aledaños y con los distintos sectores de la sociedad vallartenses. Sin embargo, la importancia social del Centro Universitario de la Costa no radica tan solo en su oferta académica y crecimiento de infraestructura, sino en su capacidad de organizar eventos de nivel nacional e internacional, de establecer redes internacionales para efectos de

76 bryan h. massam | rodrigo espinoza sánchez trabajos docentes, de investigación y extensión, prueba de ello es el presente libro. La crisis económica de 1994, por otro lado, impactó a nivel nacional, Puerto Vallarta no fue la excepción, esta crisis logra incidir en la ciuda- danía local en el ámbito de lo político, por lo que las estructuras políticas y gremios organizados en torno al poder partidista del PRI, al grado que sacude la conciencia social y en este entorno de descomposición gremial, política y social, la sociedad inicia un proceso de democratización incipiente. Estos procesos democratizadores permiten distribuir el poder legislativo local, ya que la conformación del Cabildo local logra incor- porar a tres partidos políticos, el tercero en discordia y con un poder relativo con un escaño intermitente. La alternancia política en Puerto Vallarta se da en 1995, cuando por primera vez el Partido de Acción Nacional logra el triunfo con Fernando González Corona como candidato a munícipe. Este nuevo orden socio- político, moderniza las estructuras sociales activándolas y valorando la participación ciudadana. A partir de este fenómeno sociopolítico, Puerto Vallarta muestra la fuerza del sector social, ya que el político y privado ya estaban formalmente representados y fortalecidos. La condición de Puerto Vallarta por ser un destino turístico con un alto índice de residentes extranjeros propició, además, la multiplicación de expresiones sociales como las ONG’s, al grado que actualmente existe una coordinación de ONG’s, en años pasados la relación de organismos no gubernamentales registrados en esta ciudad rebasaba las cien. Durante esta gestión de gobierno demarcado temporalmente entre 1995-1997, se observó una gran inversión en referentes arquitectónicos urbanos con una gran carga identitaria con base a la técnica de muro viejo, ello junto con la recuperación económica y la percepción de un nuevo escenario político a partir de la alternancia de los partidos polí-

memories of memorias de puerto vallarta 77 ticos en el poder, incidió de forma positiva en la población de Puerto Vallarta. Ayuntamiento y Centro Universitario de la Costa, emprenden trabajos conjuntos entre los más representativos destacan los del orden cultural como la Versión local de la Muestra de Cine Mexicano, el Fes- tival de las Arte, el encuentro de poetas “Mar de palabras”, entre otros eventos. Con las nuevas condiciones sociopolíticas, con una sociedad recién barnizada de identidad serrana y con juventud política jugando a la alternancia, Puerto Vallarta llega al año 2000, al nuevo milenio. Durante tres trienios el nuevo partido gobernante, el Partido de Acción Nacional (PAN) de orientación conservadora, gobernó con un Cabildo plural. Si la democracia incipiente existía de alguna forma en Puerto Vallarta, fue en las sesiones de Cabildo, sin embargo, esta nueva práctica política no común en los políticos locales, impacta a la ciudadanía más por las diferencias y acusaciones que por los censos o acuerdos políticos, la nueva sociedad política de Puerto Vallarta lucha por posicionarse con modelos viejos partidistas y con jóvenes políticos con formación y educación universitaria. En este periodo de nueve años 1995-2004 en que gobiernan presidentes panistas con cabildo plural, y con la presencia de ONG’s cada vez más activas y las nuevas exigencias sociales de transparencia del ejercicio público transforman al pueblo de Puerto Vallarta en una nueva ciudadanía, más politizada, más participativa. Otro factor social que debe considerarse en este rubro sociopolítico local, es el fenómeno migratorio, en términos generales antes del año 2000, los migrantes se caracterizaron por ser miembros de comunidades indígenas del centro-sur del país, como Estado de México, Guerrero, Oaxaca, Chiapas, entre otros, estos flujos migratorios tuvieron su impacto político, ya que el Partido de la Revolución Democrática (PRD)

78 bryan h. massam | rodrigo espinoza sánchez de izquierda, tiene muchos adeptos en esta zona del país, sin embargo en Puerto Vallarta logra significar tan solo una posición en el Cabildo. Pero a partir del año 2000 el fenómeno migratorio local (inmigra- ción) da un giro en el sentido de que los migrantes ahora provienen de las grandes ciudades, como Cd. de México, Guadalajara, Monterrey, y en menor proporción de destinos turísticos consolidados en México como Los Cabos, Cancún, Zihuatanejo y Huatulco, esta ola migratoria fue motivada por el auge en el crecimiento económico y desarrollo regional, es la etapa en que despega y toma fuerza el concepto de Riviera nayarita, en un esfuerzo por la independencia de Puerto Vallarta y apro- vechando que la tendencia de la conurbanización y desarrollo apun- taron hacia la frontera con el estado de Nayarit, estos nuevos migrantes fortalecieron el bipartidismo PRI-PAN, por lo que el PRD registra en los últimos años un retroceso considerable, al margen del trabajo propio y sus resultados. En el año 2002, el ciclón tropical Kenna, de categoría 5, el más fuerte y destructivo de la temporada de ciclones en el Pacífico, especialmente afectó a México y particularmente a la ciudad de Puerto Vallarta, los daños causados por el fenómeno natural del 2002 ascendieron a unos 10 millones de dólares. 2004, políticamente resulta significativo, por el retorno del PRI al gobierno municipal, aunque la pluralidad del Cabildo se conserva, al menos de forma bipartidista. El siguiente periodo sociopolítico comprendido entre 2004-2009, la sociedad vallartense enfrentó tres grandes crisis: La crisis de segu- ridad, en 2006 el nuevo presidente de la república mexicana Felipe Calderón Hinojosa, de extracción panista y ante unas elecciones muy reñidas, inicia un combate abierto contra la delincuencia organizada y particularmente contra el narcotráfico; la crisis de la salud, causada

memories of memorias de puerto vallarta 79 por la pandemia de gripe A (H1n1) que se inició en 2009 en los Estados Unidos de Norteamérica y afecta a México a partir de abril del mismo año, no obstante que la influenza no fue de origen mexicano la mayor afectación la sufrió México; la crisis económica, en el mismo año, la crisis económica mundial, en particular la economía de los Estados Unidos de Norteamericana se desploma, México al mantener una dependencia con la economía norteamericana se ve afectado nuevamente. Estas tres crisis, crearon un mega Tsunami social, que impactaron a la sociedad mexicana y directamente a los destinos turísticos nacionales, Puerto Vallarta, vivió uno de los momentos más críticos en muchos años. A partir de este periodo el rector del Centro Universitario de la Costa, inicia un enfrentamiento político con los presidentes municipales de los periodos 2004-2006 y 2007-2009, lo que desgasta a ambas instancias públicas, quedando al margen los trabajos conjuntos, sin embargo, el debate político y la participación ciudadana incrementó su participación. El último periodo analizado es el que inicia con el año 2010 y está marcado por el triunfo del Partido Revolucionario Institucional (PRI), a pesar que las dos gestiones de gobierno anteriores fueron duramente criticadas, y aun hoy están siendo auditados por presuntos desvíos económicos. Políticamente, Puerto Vallarta, representa una plaza importante, por lo que el gobierno estatal y federal, siempre están atentos a la per- cepción y actitud de los ciudadanos. Socialmente, es uno de los destinos turísticos más importantes de México y por ende la economía aquí gene- rada es fundamental para los tres niveles de gobierno. Por otro lado el crecimiento urbano, la falta de consenso sobre planes de desarrollo y ordenamientos ecológicos a nivel municipal, están pola- rizando las posturas de grupos sociales, y el desarrollo y crecimiento

80 bryan h. massam | rodrigo espinoza sánchez crecen sin un orden adecuado y a merced de los intereses particulares, lo anterior ha provocado que los grupos sociales se organicen en pro o en contra de los nuevos planteamiento de transformación urbana, como es el caso de la movilidad del centro urbano, donde la discusión social, político y económico, bajo el tamiz del desarrollo y crecimiento turístico local. Finalmente, durante los últimos diecisiete años de Puerto Vallarta y que son los que he vivido en este puerto turístico, puedo asegurar que he observado cambios en esenciales en el quehacer político de un pueblo, hoy es factible aseverar que una nueva juventud de líderes polí- ticos está incidiendo en los gobiernos locales, existe una mayor y mejor participación ciudadana, y sobre todo una sociedad más organizada y crítica. Los problemas sociales a futuro están referidos en la conurbación, en el proyecto de desarrollo, en el progreso genuino de su población, en la calidad de vida, en otras palabras, en la condición de la justicia social que todos debemos participar para que ésta sea real en todos los sectores y grupos de Puerto Vallarta. He vivido en estos años las crisis más severas para Puerto Vallarta, sin embargo, también he constatado que este pueblo es trabajador. Ade- más, comparte los valores de tolerancia, inclusión y respeto para los nuevos avecinados, pero, sobre todo, que actualmente se está construyendo una sociedad más informada y justa.

memories of memorias de puerto vallarta 81 Source: Dominique Laborde

82 bryan h. massam | rodrigo espinoza sánchez CHAPTER II Lived Experiences

Bryan H. Massam, Brian J. Hracs and Rodrigo Espinoza Sánchez

83 1. Preface

Lived experiences have been envisaged by Buddhists to embrace impermanence, suffering, attachments, selflessness and equanimity. In the Zen tradition, Oxherding pictures have been used to represent consciousness, mind, awareness, fear, form, diversity, reality and the mundane in the journey of realization of Oneness. The painting on the cover is Bryan’s version of a man’s journey as he experiences life on his journey from birth to death via reflection and contemplation. Many have sought to describe, explain and understand the lived experiences of individuals. Authors of plays, poetry, novels and those who write autobiographies, have contributed to the literature that bears witness to the notion that each person has a story to tell and that the examination of a lived life is a worthy enterprise. Filmmakers have also made significant contributions to the portrayal of lived expe- 1 riences. The American writer and broadcaster Studs Terkel2 became famous by interviewing and listening to all kinds of people from many walks of life describe their day-to-day activities: fascinating tales were told in the conversations of the joys and pains of life, work experiences, the days of retirement and everything in-between. While these informal discussions offer oral histories of the lived experiences of individuals we are left to ponder how such histories could be used to enlighten policy makers and others who wish to improve lived experiences of individuals. The notion of human consciousness is a remarkable evolutionary achievement and some argue that we each have choices in life and the intellectual capacity and will to use our consciousness to make choices. However, as Duhigg (2012) clearly reminds us most of our behaviour is habitual and takes place without conscious consideration, pondering

1 2 Recovered on: http://www.studsterkel.org/

84 massam | hracs | espinoza sánchez and reflection that result in a choice. Our lived experiences are for the most part unconscious actions. To know a man it is suggested by the monk Thomas Merton it is sufficient to ask just one question: ‘what do you live for and what prevents you from achieving this state.’ He argues that answers to questions about place of birth, childhood, teenage years, parents and friends, career and the like tell you nothing of real substance about a person. At a more prosaic level the novelist Peter Robinson (1991) describes the lack of direction in the life of his character Keith. His friend Pratt remarks, “Oh, years ago we’d let loose once in a while, go get blind drunk and not care a damn. Sometimes we’d go fishing together. But over time, Keith sort of reined himself in, cut himself off. I don’t really know how to explain this. It was just a feeling. Keith was very private person …well, lots of people are …but the thing was, I had no idea what he lived for.” Pratt goes on: “… I’d be hard pushed to say what I live for. There’s the wife and kids, of course, my pride and joy. And we like to go hand-gliding ….I collect antiques, I love cricket and we like to explore new places on our holidays. See what I mean? None of that’s what I actually live for, but it’s all part of it.” The celebrated Tibetan Buddhist teacher Sakyong Mipham reminds us of the Sanskrit word samsara “…that describes an endless dark age in which we are completely distracted by the agitation that comes from trying to me make ‘me’ happy. Our mind is constantly volleying between irritation and desire, jealousy and pride. We are unhappy with who we are, and we are trying to destroy our own suffering, which reflects our basic discontent. … Bewilderment rules our days and nights.” Mipham (2005, 13). The challenge is to seek ways to find contentment and equanimity and so celebrate all lived experiences. Perhaps another way to know a person these days, and consider what they live for, is to look at the web sites they have visited over recent

lived experiences 85 days and weeks: or to look at their Facebook page or their messages on one of the burgeoning computer-based internet social networks.

2 Gerzon3 has long been fascinated by Socrates’ bold statement that “The unexamined life is not worth living.” Gerzon suggests that Socrates doesn’t say that the unexamined life is “less meaningful than it could be” or “one of many possible responses to human existence.” He simply and clearly says it’s not even worth living. Why does he make such a strong, unequivocal statement? Socrates believed that the purpose of human life is personal and spiritual growth. We are unable to grow toward greater understanding of our true nature unless we take the time to examine and reflect upon our life. We can speculate that most people fall short of this ideal way of life promoted by Socrates. Another philosopher, Santayana, observed; “He who does not remember the past is condemned to repeat it.” Examining our life reveals patterns of behavior. Deeper contemplation yields understanding of the subcons- cious programming, the powerful mental software that runs our life. Unless we become aware of these patterns, much of our life is unconscious repetition: a view that we have noted above as argued by Duhigg (2012). In a contemporary vein the work of Basu (2012) focuses on the lives of individuals in Toronto who arrive in this city as immigrants and refugees. In the modern world the lived experiences of individuals often must confront pluralism in a society and one’s place as an outsider who seeks to fit in and belong. In the words of Basu it is worthy project for academics and policy makers to help ‘in the search for Nimmathi [place of peace] as a place of social sustainability’. This book describes an initial attempt to offer a way to collect, display and organizes information about lived experiences for a small sample of individuals (undergraduate/graduate students) in four coun-

2 3 Recovered on: http://www.consciousearth.us/socrates-unexamined-life.html

86 massam | hracs | espinoza sánchez tries: Canada (Toronto), Mexico (Puerto Vallarta), Poland (Gdansk) and Sweden (Uppsala). We also offer introductory remarks about the concept Quality of Life (QOL), lived experiences and elements of living that capture notions of living well and the good life. We will suggest ways that this work might help individuals change their lived experiences, and also ways that possibly help in the formulation and implementation of public policies that purport to improve lived experiences.

2. Introduction

The term quality of life (QOL) has attracted much attention from academics, planners and the public as it implies a measure of success or failure in the lives of individuals, families, groups, society and places, and as such policies and styles of life that purport to improve or limit QOL can perhaps be identified. A critical review of the literature on QOL as a reflection of public policies and private initiatives by individuals is offered by Massam (2002). The topic of QOL and its related surrogate ‘happiness’ have generated a vast array of literature ranging from the earliest times of Epicurus, for example, to the latest contributions on websites and search engines like Google. Recent comprehensive overviews of relevant literature are provided by the Dalai Lama (1998), Gilbert (2006), Haidt (2006) and Layard (2006). A search on Google for the topic ‘definitions of QOL’ yields over 76 million- refer ences. While the term QOL is used by academics, politicians, bureaucrats and journalists to describe how life is lived in a particular place by individuals, it is far from certain that the term means much to the individuals it claims to describe. QOL is closely linked to notions of happiness and contentment, and the first World Happiness Report edited by Helliwell, Layard and Sachs (2012) was published under the aegis of the United Nations in 2012. The report provides a careful and comprehensive overview of the ways

lived experiences 87 that happiness can be defined and theevaluated in terms that impinge 3 on lived experiences4 . We offer suggestions on a way to collect, display and interpret empirical data about the lived experiences of an individual. Such interpretations may help the individual examine their own life critically with a view to make modifications to achieve more balance, wellbeing or a greater sense of equanimity, dignity and contentment: all of which can contribute to an individual’s efforts to live a good life well, and hence achieve a high QOL. Hindrances and obstacles to make changes can become more evident to an individual if an open mind is available. Also interpretations can be suggested as to how public policies may be used to allow and encourage individuals to succeed as they strive to improve their wellbeing. Van Manen (1990) and Lindseth, and Norberg, (2004) explore the rich intellectual heritage embedded in the notion of research on lived experiences. In the academic literature QOL typically embrace measures relating to a variety of social, economic, political and environmental indicators. Two internationally recognized academic journals that report on indicators of QOL and the psychological elements of well-being are: 4 5 Social Indicators5 and Psychology of Well-being6 . Often questionnaires are used to solicit opinions of individuals about the importance of the indicators and the level of achievement for each indicator, and then scores are combined arithmetically to derive an overall numerical score of QOL. From these scores individuals, families, groups, societies and places can be classified and the changes over time studied. Also it is often suggested that the impacts of public policies can be judged and assessed as to their effectiveness at improving QOL. We may interview individuals and ask them to

3 4 Recovered on: http://www.earth.columbia.edu/articles/view/2960 4 5 Recovered on: http://www.springer.com/social+sciences/journal/11205 5 6 Recovered on: http://www.springer.com/psychology/klinische+psychologie/journal/13612

88 massam | hracs | espinoza sánchez complete questionnaires about QOL and the indicators that supposedly relate to this nebulous term. The responses may be structured in such a way as to derive numbers to characterize QOL. A typical exercise of this sort underlies the work of QOL Research Unit at the University 6 of Toronto, Canada7 . A clear exposition of this approach as applied to lived experiences and the QOL of residents in suburbs around Gdansk in Poland is offered by Masik (2010). Asking a person to reflect or contemplate on the notion of QOL is to present them with a very difficult task. We can never be certain how an individual interprets or defines the abstract concept of QOL. So even if we have scores and numbers assigned by an individual to indicators that may contribute to QOL it is unclear what such numbers actually represent other than stated opinions: they are certainly not revealed behaviour patterns. Such opinions may not represent clearly and unam- biguously the experiences of an individual in his or her life on matters like satisfaction or distress as manifestations of QOL. The numerical approach is essentially one that asks the person to imagine and envisage the notion of QOL. The approach of using stated values and numerical scores appears to be scientific in the sense of transparency and replication of method used to derive scores. Is the method meaningful though? This is the issue addressed by Kahneman (2011) who argues that it is seriously flawed. The contributions of this renowned psychologist earned him the Nobel Prize in economics in 2002. Kahneman (2011, chapter 37) suggests that so many studies of QOL are based on surveys asking ‘how good is your life?’ The question should be “when you think about your life, how good you think it is?” or, “how good is your life at this point in time? Are folks introspective and can we ask them without prompting how good their life is and how good is their QOL? Selected web sites that relate to this argument are at:

6 7 Recovered on: http://www.utoronto.ca/qol/

lived experiences 89 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mihaly_Csikszentmihalyi http://www.ted.com/talks/mihaly_csikszentmihalyi_on_flow.html http://www.cgu.edu/pages/4751.asp http://ciw.ca/en/

In the nineties, Kahneman’s research focus began to gradually shift towards the field of “hedonic psychology.” This subfield is closely related to the positive psychology movement, which was steadily gaining in popularity at the time. According to Kahneman and colleagues, “Hedonic psychology... is the study of what makes experiences and life pleasant or unpleasant. It is concerned with feelings of pleasure and pain, of interest and boredom, of joy and sorrow, and of satisfaction and dissatisfaction. It is also concerned with the whole range of circumstances, from the biological to the societal, that occasion suffering and enjoyment”. (Kahneman, Diener and Schwarz, 1999, ix) An alternate approach suggested by Kahneman (2011) to the numerical one using questionnaires about ‘how good your life is?’ is to ask an individual to identify types of activities remembered in the near past, for example, the last 2-3 weeks, and to list the activities and experiences that were enjoyed and wished to be continued, these could be referred to as Type 1 activities; those activities that they found unsatisfying (Type 2) but perhaps necessary to some degree in the daily life, and those experiences when boredom set in and no clear feelings and emotions as to satisfaction or annoyance were evident (Type 3). If Type 1 activities and experiences occupy a lot of time that person is defined as probably happy and has a satisfying disposition toward life. However, if Type 3 activities and experiences occupy a large portion of time for an individual then we might suggest this person is bored, indifferent, detached, and suffers from malaise and perhaps anxiety or even depression. A

90 massam | hracs | espinoza sánchez modest amount of time spent on Type 2 activities and experiences is to be expected to deal with some of the daily matters of living that might be preferred to be overlooked and avoided, but have to be dealt with by the responsible person living in the world. Such activities cannot be sloughed off and discarded. Hence instead of asking for stated levels of QOL the approach suggested here is to observe the revealed patterns of activities as a surrogate for QOL. We will use this approach of asking individuals to describe their activities over a recent period of time (2-3 weeks) to derive data for the tests described in this book. Specifically we will collect four small sets of data from undergraduate and graduate students in Canada, Mexico, Poland and Sweden using the same protocol. The emphasis will be on testing the overall protocol for data collection, display and analysis, rather than a detailed extensive empirical analysis. If this test project appears to have merit then future detailed projects will be undertaken.

3. The good life and living well

While some individuals, perhaps most of us in fact, live and experience life without deliberate conscious consideration or reflection on existence and meaning, there are others who contemplate life and seek to define and understand what it is to live well and meaningfully. Do individuals actually think about the matter of living a good life or living well? Certainly, there is much evidence around us to suggest that individuals seek pleasure as a matter of possessing, craving and consuming. The Dalai Lama (1998) provides opinions derived from Buddhist philosophy about the consequences on wellbeing and happiness what are the result of attachments, craving, desires, wants and needs, and their significance in causing human suffering. The alleviation of suffering can be achieved if attachments to the ego are severed: a virtually impossible task for most people, but with the right intentions some individuals in

lived experiences 91 their lived experiences move in the direction of lessening attachments and so reach a level of contentment to cope with events in life with poise, dignity and equanimity. Epicurus, writing over 2000 years ago, believed that the greatest good was to seek modest pleasures in order to attain a state of tranquility, equanimity and freedom from fear, as well as absence of bodily pain –aponia– through knowledge of the workings of the world and the limits of one’s desires. The trilogy of close friendships defined by propinquity, openness, eating and living together, freedom as self-sufficiency and the necessary effort to analyse life to reflect on one’s troubles can lead to peace of mind, fulfillment and living well and the good life according to Epicurus. Perhaps little has changed through the centuries as in the modern world there are many who subscribe to these views as ways to have fulfilling lived experiences. A recent book by Klinenberg (2012) examines the dramatic rise in the numbers of adults who live alone. Are they happier than their counterparts who are in relationships? What explanations might account for this rise? What are the consequences on society in social terms, connectivity and civil relations? These and related questions are discussed. Struggles with loneliness continue and the search for complete life continues. ‘Going solo’ is not the secret route to happiness, in fact at times living alone not by choice can be a crushing experience especially as one ages, becomes sick and has limited means. A good example of a place where people can live alone in a communal setting is Fardknappen in Stock- holm where 60% of the dwellings are occupied by a person living alone. This community-owned facility offers opportunities to eat together in a communal dining room as well as communal spaces –a library, weaving room and an exercise room. Is this formula for achieving a place of contentment and a high QOL? Some reflect on the word happiness as related to acts of generosity, decency, forgiveness, reconciliation and civic behaviour toward others, not just family and friends, but strangers, as part of the good life. The

92 massam | hracs | espinoza sánchez concept of virtue has been carefully examined from socio-biological perspectives by Ridley (1996), and topics that embrace reason, trust, cooperation and choice have attracted much attention from philosophers for example, Hollis (1998) and Axelrod (1990). While self-examination of lived experiences may help some individuals make choices they feel are decent and dignified, solipsism as extreme preoccupation with an indulgence of one’s feelings, desires and egotistical self-absorption is hardly a desirable state of mind that yields personal or collective peace and equanimity. Some thinkers exert considerable intellectual effort to examine the human condition and seek answers to questions about the definitions of the good life and living well. Philosophers have reflected and speculated on ways an individual may lead his or her life, conduct their affairs and behave: notions of contentment, meaning and purpose, happiness and pleasure are frequently examined in the academic and popular literature, and self-help books abound. The poet Robert Browning tells us that ’Ah, but a man’s reach should exceed his grasp, or what’s a heaven for?’ In a series of lectures delivered in the 1930’s at the University of Glasgow as the Gifford Lectures the poet, historian and scholar of the English language MacNeile Dixon (1937) reminds us that as thinkers and humans who seek to understand the human condition ‘we journey and never arrive’: a sentiment that matches the Buddhist notion of the journey being the way, rather than a journey that leads to a destination. In this section we offer an introduction to views of two remarkable contemporary moral philosophers: Dworkin and Parfit. Jeffries (2011) interviewed Dworkin recently and writes ‘… [Dworkin is] one of the greatest legal and moral philosophers of the post-war era …’ Mac- Farquhar (2011) asserts that ‘Parfit is thought by many to be the most original moral philosopher in the English- speaking world.’ Moral philosophers seek to present arguments concerning questions of lived experiences and matters of ethical and moral behaviour as well as issues

lived experiences 93 of right and wrong. Whereas some philosophers suggest there are many truths and that they may be irreconcilable, Dworkin and Parfit continue to search for single truths that are in some sense absolute and all-embracing as guides to behaviour and desirable lived experiences. Dworkin’s book ‘… defends a large and old philosophical thesis: the unity of value.’ Dworkin (2012, 1). He explains that the title of his most recent book: Justice for Hedgehogs derives from a line of the ancient Greek poet, Archilochus, which was made famous by Isaiah Berlin: the fox knows many things, but the hedgehog knows one big thing. Value is one big thing. The search is for the truth about living well and being good as being coherent and mutually supporting must fit the view that ‘…what we think about any one of these must stand up, eventually, to any argument we find compelling about the rest. I try to illustrate the unity of at least ethical and moral values: I describe a theory of what living well is like and what, if we want to live well, we must do, and not do to, other people. That idea-that ethical and moral values depend on one another-is a creed: it proposes a way to live’. Dworkin (2012, 1) Dworkin (2012) argues that to fulfill our potential as a human we owe it to ourselves to live well and to live a good life: precisely what these terms mean is a matter of some conjecture, and how to follow the advice of Dworkin (2012) is also a matter of considerable speculation. Jeffries (2011) provides a succinct set of remarks that capture some of the essence of the views of Dworkin.

He [Dworkin] builds up a comprehensive system of value-embracing democ- racy, justice, political obligation, morality, liberty, equality-from his notions of dignity and self-respect. Again, Dworkin isn’t part of the zeitgeist. ‘Almost all moral philosophy nowadays is stepped in self-abnegation. Mine starts from self-assertion, which was popular with the Greeks like Aristotle and Plato but not now. Now morality is perceived as being about self-sacrifice. I try to show how that’s wrong’. Why is self-assertion important? ‘We have responsibility to live well. Our challenge is to act as if we respect ourselves. Enjoying ourselves

94 massam | hracs | espinoza sánchez is not enough’. But doesn’t self-assertion clash with our moral duties to others? ‘No, the first challenge is to live well-that is ethics-and then to see how that connects with what we owe other people-which is morality. The connection is twofold. One is respect for the importance of other people’s lives. And the other is equal concern for their lives’.

Without dignity our lives are only blinks of duration. But if we manage to lead a good life well, we create something more. We write a subscript to our mortality. We make our lives tiny diamonds in the cosmic sands.

Each person must take his own life seriously: he must accept that it is a matter of importance that his life be a successful performance rather than a wasted opportunity. I’m talking about dignity. It’s a term overused by politicians, but any moral theory worth its salt needs to proceed from it.

MacFarquhar (2011) suggests that Parfit ‘…thinks he can distill all morality into a formula. Is he right?’ Parfit asks ‘What makes me the same person throughout my life, and different person from you? And what is the importance of these facts? I believe that most of us have false beliefs about our own nature, and our identity over time, when we see the truth, we ought to change some of our beliefs about what we have reason to do’. According to MacFarquhar the views of Parfit ‘… resemble in some ways the Buddhist view of the self, a fact that was pointed out to him years ago by a professor of Oriental religions. … It is difficult to believe there is no such thing as an all-or-nothing self-no “deep further fact” beyond the multitude of small psychological facts that make you who you are. …Parfit finds that his own belief is unstable-he needs to re-convince himself. Buddha, too, thought that achieving this belief was very hard, though possible with much meditation. But, assuming that we could be convinced, how should we think about it? … Parfit believes there are true answers to moral questions, just as there are to mathema-

lived experiences 95 tical ones. Humans can perceive these truths, through a combination of intuition and critical reasoning, but they remain true whether humans perceive them or not. He believes there is nothing more urgent for him to do in his brief time on earth than discover what these truths are and persuade others of their reality. He believes that without moral truth the world would be a bleak place in which nothing mattered. This thought horrifies him. ‘We would have no reasons to try to decide how to live. Such decisions would be arbitrary … we would act only on our instincts and desires, living as other animals live.’ ‘… Parfit has always been preoccupied with how to think about our moral responsibilities toward future people. It seems to him the most important problem we have. Besides the issue of global warming, there is the issue of population. It would seem that if the earth were teeming with many millions of people, making everyone’s life worse that would be bad. But what if the total sum of human happiness would be higher with many billions of people whose lives were barely worth living-higher, that is, than with a smaller population of well-off people? He sees that we have the ability to make the future much better than the past, or much worse, and he knows he will not live to discover which turns out to be the case. He knows that the way we act toward future generations will be partly determined by our beliefs about what matters in life, and whether we believe that anything matters at all. That is why he continues to try to prove that there is such a thing as moral truth’. While it is true that the problems and approaches of philosophy are for the most part abstract and may appear to be far removed from the daily lives of individuals, we believe it is important to make the respondents of the surveys at least partially aware of the work of thinkers on matters of lived experiences. Such awareness may help individuals reflect on their lives, and evaluate matters concerning gaps between actual lived experiences and desired styles and levels, and the conse-

96 massam | hracs | espinoza sánchez quences of patterns of lived experiences on others, and whether all this matters or not. The internationally-recognized Canadian philosopher Charles Taylor (1991) has written and lectured extensively on modern life and the ways that current values differ from those of earlier times. He argues that self-fulfillment is a driving and dominant force today. While throwing off the shackles of repression and subjugation is a distinct advance for humans as we seek liberation, the trend toward what Lasch has called the culture of narcissism is disturbing. How to balance self-interest against the interests of others is a challenge for all who contemplate seriously their lived experiences.

4. Identifying activities that comprise experiences of living

Prior to offering a description of the protocol which we will use to collect empirical data we will present comments on the notions of lived experiences. Earlier we outlined Type 1, 2 and 3 activities. We argue that lived experiences involve a myriad of activities that embrace an enormous variety of ways to pass time, deal with life and assert individual preferences and habits. The activities reflect inter alia an individual’s circumstances, exigencies, values, attitudes and choices: rights, obligations and duties may conflict and cause an individual distress. The novelist Joanna Trollope captures some of the essence of the impacts of a significant and profound event on one’s lived experiences in this passage from Second Honeymoon (2006, 35):

Rosa reflected how odd it was that one hardly noticed details in life-or at least, didn’t dignify them with significance-until one was forced into some heightened state of consciousness by joy or grief or disappointment or fear, at which point the whole of existence, from the largest things to the smallest, seemed to take on a kind of meaningful drama.

lived experiences 97 Lived experiences may range from the apparent mundane ‘petit train train’ activities of daily untroubled life to dramatic life-changing situations of the sort described by Taylor (2008), a medical specialist on the brain, as she observed, experienced and documents her stroke. Other examples of crises that inflict great stress and trauma on an individual can involve, for example, the death of child as discussed so poignantly by Buckle and Fleming (2011). The psychologist Endler (1990) has described his life-changing experiences of suffering severe depression. Clearly the consequences of such profound events-stroke, death of child, severe depression-for an individual can cause radical effects on all dimensions of lived experiences possibly with long-term detrimental consequences. On some rare occasions they can provide opportunities for personal emotional and psychological growth toward contentment and equanimity. As an individual emerges from childhood into teenage years and on into adulthood, a set of values and expectations about life and the world tends to emerge. This context or milieu can be referred to as the assumptive world of normal expectations regarding events in life, one’s degree of self-confidence, and the way life is supposed to unfold: of course this set of expectations is not without events and circumstances that can cause an individual sadness, distress and pain. Typically the emotionally supported and secure individual emerges from such situations still able to function well in the world without too detrimental consequences. As Nietzsche suggests “what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger”. This phrase that has entered common folk wisdom was in fact written somewhat differently by Nietzsche: ‘Out of life’s school of war, what does not destroy me makes me stronger’. (Twilight of the Idols: maxims and arrows, section 8). Sadly events that disruptive the assumptive world in significant ways can leave the individual severely and permanently damaged emotionally. The concept of the assumptive world has been elaborated by psycho- logists and Parkes (1971, 1988) is credited with the introduction of the

98 massam | hracs | espinoza sánchez term assumptive world into thanatology literature. He defines the assumptive world as ‘The only world we know and it includes everything we know or think we know. It includes our interpretations of the past and our expectations of the future, our plans and our prejudices. Any or all of these may need to change as a result of changes in the life space’ Parkes (1971, 102). Janoff-Bulman (1992, 4) argues that the assumptive world is illusory believed to be reality. ‘At the core of our internal world we hold basic truths of ourselves and our external world that represent our orientation towards the total push and pull of the cosmos’. This is not the world of science and logic rather it the world of, and power over humans of assumptions in human beings. Some individuals suffer terribly in their lived experiences because their assumptive world has been shattered by a traumatic event. Janoff-Bulman (1992, 18) suggests that the illusory assumptive world is based on three basic assumptions typically derived from childhood experiences then applied to experiences occurring during adulthood:

1. The belief in personal invulnerability 2. The perception of the world as meaningful and comprehensible 3. The view of ourselves in a positive light

These illusions are shattered by trauma: in some cases a new assumptive world emerges and the individual thrives and flourishes: in other cases irreparabable psychological damage is suffered by the individual. The case of the person who has enjoyed what Rando (2002, 189) calls the curse of too good a childhood meets trauma and major loss ‘…with inherent specific deficits because of overly positive, unrealistic, over- generalized assumptions and/or insufficient experience in defending or revising their assumptive world’. Kauffman (2010) examines the ways that death, grief and trauma in life can give rise to shame in an individual, and he argues that the

lived experiences 99 silence that typically surrounds shame can be a debilitating influence on the achievement of lived experiences of a positive and rich variety. The authors in the collection of essays edited by Kauffman (2010) consider the psychology of shame which not only death, grief and trauma can create but shame also embraces related issues of social justice, social criticism, and morality as integral elements in the understanding of the phenomenon of shame as an element of lived experiences. The examination of lived experiences of a person whose assumptive world has been severely affected is outside the specific work we report here on the lived experiences of groups of students in Canada, Mexico, Poland and Sweden. However, it should be noted that this topic is a worthy one for discussion with subjects who complete the surveys in order to raise their awareness of the notion of the assumptive world so that individually they may reflect on it as they examine their own lived experiences.

5. Lived experiences for data collection

As an individual moves from birth to death through a variety of stages and circumstances-childhood, teenage years, marriage, old age, for example, experiencing losses, absences and deprivations, and the emotions of sadness, grief and mourning, joys, happiness, expectations and desires, the lived experiences can change significantly. Even over a short period of time-a day, week, month-the experiences can fluctuate enormously. We derived a long list of lived experiences from samples of individuals in Canada, Mexico, Poland and Sweden during the period January–April 2012. The individuals comprised:

1. Students in universities in Canada/Mexico/Poland/Sweden 2. Young academics and researchers in Canada/Mexico/ Poland/Sweden 3. Colleagues of the authors

100 massam | hracs | espinoza sánchez Three basic questions were used to prompt each respondent and the informal focus group discussions with respondents to yield a long list of lived experiences and activities.

Q1 which activities have you enjoyed in the last 2-3 weeks and which activities would you like to continue in the coming weeks

Q2 which activities have you undertaken in the last 2-3 weeks which you did not enjoy, but felt some responsibility, obligation or duty to undertake

Q3 which activities filled some of your time in the last 2-3 weeks which do not clearly fit into the first two categories

From the long list of responses we derived four basic clusters of activities which we portray as MIND (intellectual/thinking and reflection): BODY (state of being, health): WORK (activities that require effort and some degree of commitment to be busy): PEOPLE (interactions with others). The long list is summarized below.

MIND worrying, anxiety, sadness, distress, joy, pleasure, eroticism, happiness, prayer, meditation, reflection, contemplation, reading, spirituality, belief, moral and ethic considerations, aesthetics, fear, hope, acceptance, wellbeing BODY health, exercise, looks, clothes, aging, medical condition, pain, chronic distress, diet, weight, body shape, afflictions WORK paid employment, unpaid employment, studying, volunteering, caring, hobbies, responsibility for others, household chores-cooking, cleaning, shopping, cooking

lived experiences 101 PEOPLE Family, friends, virtual friends e.g. Facebook friends, colleagues, neighbours, strangers, community, clubs.

Each dimension embraces a range of activities which reflect the possibilities and choices an individual may make depending for example, on their age, gender, marital status, location, as well as their obligations, responsibilities and duties, and commitments and values, as well of course as their habitual patterns of behaviour that occur without premeditation and reflection. The socio-economic and cultural tradition in the milieu of the respondents also plays a significant part in defining activities. The four dimensions of lived experiences are presented schematically on Figure 1 as a template that is used for data collection.

102 massam | hracs | espinoza sánchez The protocol for collecting data from each respondent is presented below with three figures (Fig. 2, Fig. 3 and Fig. 4) that clarify some of the elements of the diagrams for those who are interviewed.

6. Protocol for data collection

During the data collection exercise the interviewer avoids using words and phrases like QOL, wellbeing and happiness. Toward the end of the exercise these terms are introduced in the general discussion with the respondents. At the outset it is stressed that there are no right or wrong answers or responses, and no judgments are made about the quality or nature of the responses. The protocol involves 8 steps as outlined below: 1. A brief preamble on the concepts of lived experiences and activities (type 1, 2 and 3) and an overview of the variety of responses derived from the long list. 2. Distribute the list for each cluster and discuss: ask each respondent to identify some relevant activities that apply to their unique lived experiences, and add others in order to identify the sets of activities for the individual for each cluster that suit the opinions of the individual. 3. Explain Fig 1 and the 4 clusters/dimensions of lived experiences/ activities. 4. Explain that for each axis the respondent is asked to reflect and think about and try to remember the activities that fit into each cluster for a specific time period namely the last 2-3 weeks. Distribute Fig 4 and discuss the implications of placing the (*) at the centre or the edge of each axis. 5. For each axis, after careful reflection, the respondent is asked to suggest a level of engagement (marked with a 0) with the set of

lived experiences 103 activities in each cluster: ranging from low (centre) to high (edge): this point is marked on each axis. 6. This step involves the respondent to make a judgment about the level they selected in step 5 in terms of satisfaction: is the level to their liking or not? Is it too low or high? By how much is it too high or low? Do not rush this step: stress again that there are no right or wrong answers. 7. Each individual is now asked to look at the gaps between the actual levels of activities and the desired levels: are they significant? Should the gap be closed? Should the responsibility for closing the gap rest with the individual? Should someone else help to close the gap for the individual? Would different public policies help close the gap? Which specific changes to public policies might help? Can the respondent suggest some reasons why the desired level is not actively sought? 8. What is the overall assessment of the exercise? Do the 4 clusters make sense and are they comprehensive? Does the notion of lived experience have significance to the respondent? Is the procedure useful to help the respondent think about their life and the role of individual responsibility and possible ways that others, including governments, may help to close gaps?

Somewhat simplistically and naively we might suggest that an ideal lived life would generate a pattern of the sort shown on Figure 2 in which for an individual they select high levels of participation on each of the four dimensions. Low level of participation is portrayed by placing the cross [*] close to the centre of the figure.

104 massam | hracs | espinoza sánchez If we then ask each individual to assign an actual level of their perceived level of participation on each axis a pattern of the sort shown on Figure 3 might be generated. If we assume that the ideal pattern is defined by the broken lines and this is a prescriptive pattern, then the actual pattern of lived experiences shown as solid lines appears to fall short of the ideal. To draw this conclusion from the two patterns shown on Figure 3 is misguided as there is no definitive prescribed pattern that applies to all individuals.

lived experiences 105 106 massam | hracs | espinoza sánchez Consider Figure 4. It is clear that a high level of participation might be the result of a positive and desirable level of lived experience; on the other hand a high level may indicate negative and undesirable lived experiences. Let us now consider the patterns of two hypothetical subjects named Michael and Susan as shown on Figure 5.

lived experiences 107 Each individual provides their estimates of their actual lived experience on each axis, and also their desired level for each dimension. Both subjects appear to have the same actual levels of perceived lived experiences as shown by the solid lines. However, whereas Susan’s desired levels of lived experiences for each dimension matches closely her actual levels, in the case of Michael there is considerable mismatch for each. On the basis of these patterns we might infer that the overall QOL for Susan is high and that for Michael is lower. However, to confirm this general conclusion we need comments from each subject about the significance of the gaps between actual and desired levels for each dimension. In the empirical tests we report in the next section for individuals these points are elaborated.

7. Four Case studies: Canada, Mexico, Poland, Sweden

The first part of this section presents a summary of the empirical results as a series of figures of the style shown earlier. Eight figures are provided for each case study. Each individual is identified with a code e.g. CA refers to individual A in the Canadian data set. This is followed by notes concerning the individual responses of the respondents for each case study. Each of the four interviewers conducted the survey using the protocol in the same sequence and style. The responses for the figures were recorded in a standard format to allow a set of comparable figures to be constructed for all respondents from the four countries. The opinions of the four sets of respondents were recorded in slightly different formats as reflective of the styles of the interviewers to interpret the protocol and to note the answers and comments. Hence the presentation of the opinions of the respondents noted after each set of figures vary slightly among the four sets of data, though substantively they record the same sorts of replies to the same questions.

108 massam | hracs | espinoza sánchez A summary of the overall results is presented in the conclusions section of this book.

lived experiences 109 110 massam | hracs | espinoza sánchez Canada (Toronto) data summary sheet (March 2012)

CA Male (23) single, lives alone, 15 months in Toronto, from Ottawa. MIND: contemplation, intellectual activities, happy thoughts. BODY: exercise, pain, weight, diet, body shape. WORK: paid & unpaid, studying, groceries, shopping. PEOPLE: friends (+virtual), colleagues, neighbours, my students. Gaps: Mind: Body: significant, my responsibility with friends and family. Work: significant, my responsibility. People: CB Female (23) single, lives at home, 2 parents, born in Toronto. MIND: joyful thoughts, worrying, contemplation. BODY: exercise, health dance WORK: studying, cleaning, shopping. PEOPLE: daily with family& friends, dance club. Gaps work gap insignificant, mind gap is important, I am responsible to close gap with help of family and reduce worrying. CC Male (25) single, lives alone, 2 years in Toronto. MIND: wellbeing, anxiety, contemplation, read, writes. BODY: health, exercise, chronic distress, medical condition. WORK: paid employment, shopping, household chores. PEOPLE: family, friends, colleagues, strangers, community. Gaps: significant gaps for mind, work people, I am responsible and government policies (health care/transportation). CD Male (26) single, shares with room-mate, from Montreal, 6 months in Toronto. MIND: worry, hope, contemplation, expectations, home. BODY: health, eating well/poorly, allergies/sickness, sleep.

lived experiences 111 WORK: teaching, studying, reading/writing, cleaning. PEOPLE: family, friends, dog, colleagues, supervisor/professors. Gaps: significant for mind, body people, I am responsible and for work, government policies (provide funds to help students) would assist me. CE Male (32), married, 2 children, apartment, from USA, 7 months in Toronto. MIND: anxiety, thinking, reflection, contemplation. BODY: health, exercise, stress. WORK: responsible for others (children), household chores, studying. PEOPLE: family, friends (+virtual). Gaps: very significant, I am responsible and government policies (daycare/fees/transportation) would help. CF Female (30), married, daughter, apartment, from USA, 7 months in Toronto. MIND: worrying, contemplation, intellectual activities, laughter. BODY: sore ankle, more exercise needed, need hair treatment. WORK: studying, housework, care for family. PEOPLE: daughter, and husband, friends (away), new friends. Gaps: significant gaps, I am responsible and government policies (reduce fees- hence reduce work hours) would help and more facilities closer to apartment (gym and daycare) less work would help me spend more time with family. CG Male (24), single, room-mate, in apartment, Toronto 7 months, from Kingston. MIND: worry, excitement, anticipations, creativity, appreciation. BODY: lethargy, comfort, fatigue, nervous. WORK: studying, song-writing, shopping for groceries/cooking, organizing PEOPLE: band-mates, housemates, friends missing family. Gaps: significant gaps, I am responsible and government policies (unspecified) would help.

112 massam | hracs | espinoza sánchez CH Female (47), married, 2 children, husband, house, 22 years in Toronto, India. MIND: joy, peace, sadness, curiosity, reflection. BODY: pains, health issues, exercise, meditation. WORK: writes, talks, read, teach, volunteering. PEOPLE: family, neighbours, students, colleagues. Gaps: body is very significant (I am responsible), other gaps less important but I am responsible.

SUMMARY NOTES: Canada data • Overall shapes are open and large with some gaps for each individual which in some cases are seen as significant and worth trying to close. • Limited sets of words comprise clusters Only one reference to pet. • Only one reference to volunteer work. • Oldest person (H) with 2 children has very significant body gap G also has significant body gap. • Married/single differences Male/female differences. • Individuals feel most responsibility lies with them to find will, ways and means to close gaps, with some government interven- tion/policies (transportation improvement to and from campus, fees reduced and student loan programmes need to be increased, accom- modation assistance, daycare). • All individuals thought that the exercise was useful to highlight the concept of Lived Experiences: better than using a numerical scale approach to calculating a number to describe the QOL of a person.

lived experiences 113 • More discussion on public policies could follow in later work with the group to elaborate specific details of policies they felt were important. • The long list of words for each cluster was deemed to be comprehensive. • All agreed that the four basic dimensions neatly capture the essential variety of lived experiences.

114 massam | hracs | espinoza sánchez lived experiences 115 Mexico (Puerto Vallarta) Data Summary Sheet (April 2012)

MA Female (19), single, born in Villa Corona Jalisco, at home with my family. MIND: worrying, happiness, fear, hope, acceptance. BODY: clothes, chronic distress, health, exercise, afflictions. WORK: studying, hobbies, responsibility for others, shopping, cleaning. PEOPLE: family, friends, neighbours, community, colleagues. Gaps: mind, work and body important gaps to be closed by me, I am responsible. MB Female (20), single, born in Vallarta, at home with my family. MIND: wellbeing, worrying, reflection, acceptance, happiness. BODY: health, looks, chronic distress, exercise, pain. WORK: studying, volunteering, responsibility for others, cooking, cleaning. PEOPLE: family, friends, neighbours, colleagues, community. Gaps: mind, work, body and people all are important, I am responsible to close the gaps, but friends can help to do it. MC Female (19), single, born in Llano Grande, Jalisco, but live in Puerto Vallarta with my family. MIND: spiritually, anxiety, happiness, pleasure, hope. BODY: health, clothes, chronic distress, afflictions, pain. WORK: unpaid employment, cooking, shopping, studying, hobbies. PEOPLE: family, friends, neighbours, colleagues, virtual friends. Gaps: mind, work, people and body gaps are significant, I am responsible but friends and owners of enterprises can help to close work gap. MD Female (22), single, born in Guadalajara, at home with my family. MIND: joy (passion), wellbeing, happiness, reflection, acceptance. BODY: diet, shopping, health, exercise, chronic distress.

116 massam | hracs | espinoza sánchez WORK: studying, caring, responsibility for others, cleaning, hobbies. PEOPLE: family, friends, virtual friends, strangers, neighbours. Gaps: mind, work, body and people gaps are important to be closed. I am responsible for in a general way. ME Female (25), single, born in Guadalajara, at home with my family. MIND: distress, reflection, happiness, reading, joy (passion). BODY: health, shopping, clothes, chronic distress, body shape. WORK: unpaid employment, studying, responsibility for others, cleaning, hobbies. PEOPLE: family, friends, neighbours, clubs, colleagues. Gaps: mind, work, people and body are important gaps, I am responsible for: mind, body and people, but for work the responsibility is the government because it isn´t generating enough job opportunities. MF Female (19), single, born in la Estancia de Landeros, Jalisco, at home with my family brothers. MIND: worrying, anxiety, happiness, reflection, prayer (religious). BODY: chronic distress, health, weight, medical conditions, exercise. WORK: studying, hobbies, cleaning, volunteering, shopping. PEOPLE: family, virtual friends, colleagues, neighbours, strangers. Gaps: mind, body, work and people gaps are important, I am responsible. MG Male (19), single, born in Mexico D.F., at home with my family. MIND: reflection, worrying, happiness, pleasure, joy (passion). BODY: clothes, health, weight, exercise, chronic distress. WORK: paid employment, studying, hobbies, shopping, cleaning. PEOPLE: family, friends, colleagues, strangers, neighbours. Gaps: mind, body, work and people gaps are important to be closed. I am myself responsible.

lived experiences 117 MH Male (21), single, born in Puerto Vallarta, I live at home with my family. MIND: worrying, acceptance, joy, anxiety, thinking BODY: medical condition, weight, exercise, diet, clothes. WORK: paid employment, hobbies, responsibility for others, cleaning, shopping. PEOPLE: family, friends, colleagues, neighbours, community Gaps: mind, body, work and people are important, I am responsible.

SUMMARY NOTES: Mexican data • All the individuals live in Puerto Vallarta, but only two of them were born there. All the individuals assumed that they were in March when they were responding to the questions about life experiences. The 2 weeks prior to the survey were vacation time for them. • All the individuals think that mind, body, work and people clusters or dimensions are very important for seeking equilibrium in life. • Limited set of words (5) compound each dimension. Only one reference to volunteer work. • Male and female don’t show any differences. • Only one individual refers on the work dimension that the government is responsibility for it. • Some individuals think that their distress is caused by no job opportunities. • All the individuals feel that they are the responsible for finding ways of closing the gaps in every dimension. • All individuals agreed that the list of words for each dimension was clear and comprehensive. • All individuals explained the importance of being in equilibrium in each dimension (mind, body, work and people).

118 massam | hracs | espinoza sánchez • All the individuals thought that this kind of exercise was useful to understand the sense of their lives, and also it can work as a measure life equilibrium and QOL.

lived experiences 119 120 massam | hracs | espinoza sánchez Poland (Gdansk) Data Summary Sheet (April 2012)

PA Female, 28, single, lives with boyfriend, born in Warsaw, 13 years in Gdansk. MIND: worrying, anxiety, refection, contemplation, hope. BODY: health, chronic distress, afflictions, diet, tiredness. WORK: paid employment, learning, responsibility for others, seeking different job, hobbies. PEOPLE: friends, family, virtual friends, motorcyclists, musicians. Gaps Mind: not significant. Body: significant, I work too much, no time for physical exercise, I eat in a car, fast food mainly, too tired to cook, I eat out as it is easier, more physical exercise facilities should be available, I am responsible for closing the gap. Work: very significant, I have to maintain my family without help, both parents dead, I have to work at job as I need money and am short of money, I work long hours, I am responsible but some better social insurance would help, my boyfriends should work more but I don’t think he will so I have to accept this People: not significant, I am a loner type and don’t mind being alone. Difficult to compare axes, it is good to examine life and I am not responsible for changing everything in my life but I could change some if I set my mind to it. PB Male, 24, single, lives alone, 5 years in Gdansk. MIND: reading, spirituality, intellectual development, contemplation, joy. BODY: health, medical condition, body shape, exercising, clothes. WORK: responsibility for others, learning, paid employment, volunteering, hobbies. PEOPLE: friends, colleagues, communities, strangers.

lived experiences 121 Gaps Mind: significant, days are too short to read all the books I wish, try to organize time but still not enough, probably I can’t close this gap so I learn to accept it Body: significant, but not most significant, physical condition is important and I am not in too good shape, and not so good body shape, I am responsible for closing the gap, I would like to overcome my laziness and stop eating so much piazza in the evenings. Work: significant, but it depends on my work some work is fast and easy, some is harder and takes longer to complete, government should limit the number of graduates so they find work, too many study and do not find rewarding well paid work. People: significant, I have to stop using computer so much and find time for so- called real people. An interesting and unusual exercise that makes me think about my life and policymaking and my ability to change. I already am aware of gaps and my responsibility to change if I have the will. Useful 4 dimensions. PC Female, 25, single and engaged to marry, lives with parents. MIND: intellectual development, wellbeing, faith, reading, writing. BODY: my looks, weight, body shape, health, chronic distress. WORK: hobbies, learning, paid employment, household chores, looking after people. PEOPLE: family, friends, virtual friends, colleagues, strangers. Gaps Mind: not significant. Body: difficult to say if this is significant, I may be responsible but family and friends could help if we exercised together. Work: not very significant, I am responsible, better insurance system would help and government helps with better tax system and less bureaucracy. People: significant, not enough time, I have personal difficulties relating to people, possibly this is psychological issue, I am responsible.

122 massam | hracs | espinoza sánchez I spend a lot of time thinking about my life so the gaps are not new to me and the dimensions are familiar to my way of thinking, the 4 dimensions helps me to clarify my thinking. PD Female, 30, lives with parents in Gdynia. MIND: worrying, moral and ethical matters, think, write, distress. BODY: aging, diet, weight, body shape, medical condition. WORK: paid employment, learning, hobbies, responsibilities for others, volunteering. PEOPLE: family, friends, colleagues, communities, virtual friends. Gaps Mind: not significant. Body: significant because great body shape makes me feel better, connected to my health too, I am responsible to close gap but my work life influences time available, I am lazy. Work: not significant, I spend a lot of time working and I do not mind, pay increase would be rewarding and make the work more satisfying. People: very significant, I do not spend enough time with my friends, my long hours of work including weekends cuts into time available to see friends. The project is coherent and important, the 4 dimension help me to clarify my thoughts about the areas of my lived experiences, and the exercise helps me to examine my life and my goals and other matters. PE Female, 37, single, lives with parents in Gdynia. MIND: moral and ethical considerations, thinking, intellectual development, distress. BODY: health, chronic distress, weight, afflictions, exercise. WORK: paid employment, missed some deadlines, too many duties, learning, household chores. PEOPLE: friends, family, communities, virtual friends, chatting to strangers.

lived experiences 123 Gaps Mind: significant, I am responsible, poor time management, too many duties and responsibilities, more green open spaces where we could relax and reflect on life would be useful. Body: significant, I am responsible; I am too lazy, free swimming pools would help exercise. Work: significant, my employer and I are responsible, I cannot say no and have many tasks, and other employees could help and equal wages for men and women. People: significant, I and others (friends/family) are responsible to close gap, I have few contacts with others. The 4 dimensions and clear and appropriate, the exercise made me think clearly about my problems, the figures are very useful. PF Female, 26, single, lives with parents. MIND: worrying, distress, joy, hope thinking. BODY: health, physical exercise, diet, effort, sport. WORK: learning/studying, volunteering, social work, looking for a job organizing debates and politics. PEOPLE: fiancé, friends, family, local society, local musicians. Gaps Mind: significant, worrying about finances, a crucial moment in my life is approaching; I cannot decide which way I should go in my life, I alone am responsible, but fiancé and friends help. Body: not significant. Work: significant, too many duties connected to university and work, looking for paid work, I am unhappy I have to work as volunteer, I am responsible to close gap but I am not well organized to manage my time, my colleagues are lazy and do not pay attention to work, friends and family could help me. People: not significant. Work and mind are critical dimensions: I should try to concentrate more on a single task, need for more opportunities for young entrepre-

124 massam | hracs | espinoza sánchez neurs, but I should try harder to find work. Better connections between universities and employers are needed. Sport is important for me my hobby perhaps I should add this to body or work. Overall a very interesting technique to help me think about my life: there is strong psychological aspect to this work as well as political and social. PG Male, 27, lives with a partner. MIND: anxiety, distress, hope, eroticism, intellectual development. BODY: health, looks, diet, weight, clothes. WORK: hobbies, paid employment, household chores, unpaid employment. PEOPLE: friends, transport enthusiasts, parents, colleagues, virtual friends. Gaps Mind: not significant Body: not significant Work: not significant. People: significant, no time, too much work, distance and shortage of money, I am responsible as well as my friends, after this session I intend to call some friends! I need to organize my time better; better public transport system would help and cheaper too. I think this procedure has no formal disadvantages. The procedure shows things I am aware of and maybe I was not so aware of their importance before. PH Male, 36, lives with wife and 3 children. MIND: worry, think, contemplate, intellectual activities. BODY: health, exercise, diet, weight, body shape. WORK: paid employment, learning/studying, hobbies, responsibility for others, personal development. PEOPLE: family, friends, bikers, tourists, volunteers. Gaps Mind: not significant. Body: significant, I am short of time, I work too much, I am responsible and nobody can help me close this gap.

lived experiences 125 Work: significant, not enough spare time, I work too much as my university salary is too low and I have a second job. People: significant, I work too much, I am responsible to close this gap, if I earned more as a university teacher then I would not need second job, I am short of spare time. Where is the dimension of spirituality? [NOTE-This is typically included in Mind dimension]. The exercise is not so useful.

SUMMARY NOTES: Poland data

Most of the respondents were very talkative and they expressed their views about their experiences and life. • Almost all of them have to work in multiple places, because they don’t receive enough money from the university (some receive no university monies)- they have to live with their parents and they admit that this is a problem for them. • They are tired and it can be seen on their faces – the women don’t wear any make-up, they don’t care about clothes, it is sad. • They don’t talk about any advantages of being a scientist; they only talk about problems connected with the duties connected to it. Being a scientist is not a privilege. • Many people admitted that they wanted to quit and start “working in a normal company”.

126 massam | hracs | espinoza sánchez lived experiences 127 128 massam | hracs | espinoza sánchez Sweden (Uppsala) Data Summary Sheet (April 2012)

SA Male, 28, lives with partner, born Amsterdam, 2 ½ years in Uppsala. MIND: happiness, reflection, intellectual thoughts, learning, progress. BODY: diet, illness, clothes, shoes, travel. WORK: studying, paid employment, life, mind, home. PEOPLE: friends, family, eating, colleagues, distance. Gaps Mind: not significant. People: significant as I am away from friends and family, working abroad, I should close this gap, public policies would not help. Body: significant, chronic illness, the gap cannot be closed, but it seems to be decreasing with time and I am learning to accept this. It is my responsibility to deal with this. Work: not significant: I work a lot and I am happy with this. The 4 dimensions are perfectly fine by me. I actually don’t really care about the actual names. In combination with examples they make perfect sense to me. Lived experience as a concept rings a bell with me. I think the procedure is useful. I do reflect quite frequently about similar things in my life. In that sense the technique does not add much to my reflections, but not because of the technique per se. SB Female, 26, in a relationship in shared flat, born in Italy, in Uppsala 8 months. MIND: intellectual activities, acceptance, pleasure, eroticism, reflection. BODY: body shape, eroticism, clothes, weight, diet. WORK: caring paid employment, responsibility for others, studying, volunteering. PEOPLE: family, friends, community, Facebook.

lived experiences 129 Gaps Mind: significant, I would like my environment to have more cultural activities, and more accessible ones: public policies could help-free concerts, museums, cheaper tickets for students in cinema. Body: not significant. Work: not too significant I could or should do more. People: significant gap as I live far from people I would like to spend time with: I don’t see how to close this gap because of physical distance …more ‘skypeing’ perhaps. Public polices can’t do much but perhaps reduce costs of eating out, pubs, open longer at night better public spaces. In a general way the 4 dimensions make sense, but lived experiences are also those activities we do not have, that are why the gap concept is important. Lived experiences+ expectations+experiences we will never have could be described as ‘life’. It is interesting to compare the figures with those I would draw if I lived in my home country; in that way I might be able to see who is responsible to close gaps-me or the context of the location. SC Male, 26, married, lived in Sweden 2 ½ years. MIND: worrying, happiness, reading, spirituality. BODY: health, exercise, body shape, looks, aging. WORK: paid employment, studying, household chores, cooking, shopping, retirement. PEOPLE: family, friends, relatives. Gaps Mind: significant, I should deal with this, I am lazy about this. Body: significant, I should deal with this but time is lacking and will. Work: not significant, but a more structured academic programme might help. People: significant, I am not good at dealing with this dimension of life. Yes, I find it useful to have snapshot of my recent experiences, the dimensions are helpful but they could be expanded perhaps. The tech-

130 massam | hracs | espinoza sánchez nique resonates and reminds me diary writing: it is useful to examine the gaps. SD Female, 26, live alone, born in Sweden. MIND: joy, happiness, intellectual activities, thinking, worrying. BODY: health, exercise, looks, strength, pain. WORK: responsibility for others, paid employment, cleaning, household chores PEOPLE: family, friends, relatives, community, colleagues. Gaps Mind: not significant. Body: significant, not enough exercise, unhealthy food, back pains, I need to close this gap by my efforts, some public programmes for exercise would help, I travel to work as accessible housing is unavailable so less time for exercise: public policies might address these issues. Work: not significant. People: significant as I away from family, I have not met friends and I expect his gap will persist even if I might wish to close it. I find the 4 dimensions suitable: perhaps ‘people’ could be ‘relations’. Lived experiences is a difficult concept to grasp, it is personal view of life. It is good idea to stop and think about gaps: I will reflect further on this and would like more time to contemplate the exercise. SE Female, 38, married with children, live with husband, born in Denmark, 9 years in Sweden. MIND: intellectual activities, worrying, reflection, reading pleasure. BODY: health, medical condition, exercise, clothes, body shape. WORK: studying, paid employment, responsibility for others, cleaning, cooking. PEOPLE: family, friends, colleagues, neighbours, club activities, children.

lived experiences 131 Gaps Mind: significant, my responsibility, no public policies feasible, itis good to thing but also to live in ‘real time’. Body: significant, my responsibility, some public policy assistance may help, I cannot control my medical issues. Work: not significant, but my responsibility if I wish to close gap, People: good interaction because of recent holidays. It can be useful to reflect on what you want in life and remember this from time to time: but external issues work and relationships can restrict desired choices perhaps. SF Female, 30, single, alone, born in Finland, 10 years in Sweden. MIND: thinking, moral and ethical considerations, acceptance, hope. BODY: exercise, health aging, body shape, looks. WORK: paid employment, studying, unpaid employment, cleaning, cooking. PEOPLE: family, friends, colleagues, community, virtual friends. Gaps Mind: not significant. Body: significant, my responsibility, work keeps me too busy for exercise. Work: significant, my responsibility. People: not significant. Observing gaps for various activities is a useful exercise. SG Male, 30, married, children 1 and 1 expected soon, 5 years in Uppsala. MIND: pleasure, acceptance, anxiety, wellbeing. BODY: diet, health, looks, clothes. WORK: paid employment, responsibilities for looking after others, household chores. PEOPLE: children, friends, colleagues, family.

132 massam | hracs | espinoza sánchez Gaps Mind: significant to be closed by me. Body: significant to be closed by me. Work: not significant. People: not significant. No public policy applications would assist in my case; there are already some economic incentives to do exercise. Gaps exist for me because of my poor planning and priority setting. A helpful exercise, the dimensions fit well and in my case I have high level of satisfaction with not too significant gaps. It is hard for me to separate out mind from work. SH Female, 28, in relationship, living together with partner ‘sambo’, born Stockholm, in Uppsala about 6-7 years. MIND: worrying, imagination, morals and ethics, hope, sadness. BODY: medical condition, gender/sex, skin colour, body shape, age. WORK: paid employment, household chores, cleaning, caring, studying. PEOPLE: friends, strangers, family, colleagues, community. Gaps Mind: not significant. Body: significant, but I will never reach my expectations to close gap,; my responsibility, but gym card paid by employer would help as would access to gym at work, but I do not make much effort to go to the gym as my priority for this is ‘incorrect’. Work: significant and it should partially closed; my responsibility, but I do not expect to reach my expectations as I am not as efficient as I would like and I have high expectation for myself on what I should accomplish. People: not significant. With respect to body and work the gaps identified help me to understand my lived experiences, but the words like ‘body’ and ‘mind’ are hard to grasp as they cover so much and it is hard to make connections to my actual life.

lived experiences 133 SUMMARY NOTES: Sweden data

• The PhD students participating in the survey are/were currently participating in a qualitative research methods course in which topics such as survey and questionnaire design are addressed. The students engaged in the exercise enthusiastically and with a critical eye on how and why the exercise was being conducted. • The students considered the exercise to be helpful overall but have some questions about the origin and effectiveness of the 4 dimensions. • Interestingly for graduate students ‘work’ was not often a significant gap. • Overall, people consider themselves responsible for addressing gap but there is some mention of ways in which the government or the university could help. • There are slight differences between males and females. Females have more gaps with respect to work, and they look to public policies more to address their gaps. • As the protocol describes the interviewer avoided making any mention of traditional QOL language before the exercise. He could tell the respondents were curious as to why they were doing the survey but the term ‘lived experience’ seemed to resonate with them. After the data were collected I explained the purpose of the study, the limitations other ways of probing QOL and that this exercise was somewhat of a methodological experiment. The respondents were interested in this idea and a good discussion as a group followed. We suspect, however, that they were more engaged with the logic and design of the study because of their engagement in the methods course, and because many of them are currently designing their own research projects for their PhD.

134 massam | hracs | espinoza sánchez 8. Concluding remarks

The main focus of this book is to present and test a new procedure to describe ‘lived experiences’: the term ‘lived experiences’ has been elaborated in an earlier section. Selected literature has been presented which links lived experiences to the concepts of QOL, happiness, the good life and living well. Empirical work was undertaken using the new procedure and it involved interviewing a small sample of students in four countries: Canada, Mexico, Poland and Sweden. The students are similar in certain respects, for example they are all have academic familiarity with matters relating to policy making (urban/social/ economic) and geographical aspects of societies. However, the four countries provide significantly different contexts within which each respondent lives their unique life. We begin this section by offering brief comments about the four countries to provide the reader with some background as to the social/economic/political contexts of the students. It is not suggested that the socio-economic and political contexts of each country directly cause specific types of lived experiences, but we feel it is important to have some understanding of each country when we try to interpret the expected and hoped-for levels of experiences in life which create gaps between lived experiences and desired levels, the significance of the gaps as well as the ways the gaps might be closed are also probably influenced by the situations in each country. We will leave close examination of these aspects of the work to future research. We will also offer a summary and remarks about the empirical results. Finally we will present an overview of the merits of the procedure and possible ways it could be applied in future research on QOL. Canada is a diverse multi-ethnic society with a stable economy: there are some challenges regarding opportunities that confront students as they seek employment. Mexico is a large country with long and rich historical traditions. There are significant disparities of wealth

lived experiences 135 and opportunities in Mexico. Mexico is a country with a long Catholic tradition as is Poland. Poland is the largest post-Communist state in Europe (post 1989) and this country is finding its feet within the Euro- pean Union. Sweden presents a well established and perhaps the finest example of a welfare state with high levels of living standards and opportunities for all.

7 Using the Human Development Report of 20118 we offer a brief comparison of the four countries: the full report defines all terms used in the chart below.

Selected extracts from Wikipedia capture some basic elements of the four countries.

Canada is the world’s eleventh-largest economy, with a 2011.

The economy of Mexico is the 13th largest in the world in nominal terms and the 11th by purchasing power parity, according to the World Bank.

Sweden has achieved a high standard of living under a mixed system of high- tech capitalism and extensive welfare benefits. Sweden has the second highest total tax revenue behind Denmark, as a share of the country’s income.

Sweden has one of the most highly developed welfare states in the world. The country has a higher level of social spending to GDP than any other nation.

7 8 Recovered on:http://hdr.undp.org/en/)

136 massam | hracs | espinoza sánchez Additionally it provides equal as well as comprehensive access to education and health care.

The Economy of Poland is a high income economy and is the sixth largest in the EU and one of the fastest growing economies in Europe, with a yearly growth rate of over 3.0% before the late-2000s recession. It is the only member country of the European Union to have avoided a decline in GDP, meaning that in 2009 Poland has created the most GDP growth in the EU. As of December 2009 the Polish economy had not entered recession nor contracted. According to the Central Statistical Office of Poland, in 2010 the Polish economic growth rate was 3.9 %, which was one of the best results in Europe.

The last section provided graphical and textual summaries of the data for each student in each of the four countries and also summary remarks. From this information we have constructed three tables of results. Table 1 presents information about the significance of the gaps identified on each figure. Table 2 describes the ways that the gaps could possibly be closed as suggested by each student, and in Table 3 we summarize comments about the perceived utility of the procedure. Following each Table we offer a set of specific points regarding the results. Table 1. Significance of gaps

lived experiences 137 – There does not appear to be any significant difference in terms of the number or type of gaps between male and female respondents across the samples. – The most significant gap across the samples is for the ‘body’ dimension. – In Canada and Mexico the gap for ‘people’ is slightly lower than the other three gaps. – In Poland the gap for ‘mind’ was the lowest. – In Sweden the gap for ‘work’ was the lowest. – If we compare the gap for ‘work’ between Mexico and Sweden we find total scores of 8 vs. 2 respectively. – Overall, the total number of gaps as they vary among countries may be significant. Whereas respondents in Sweden reported 17 total gaps those in Mexico report a total of 30. Canada and Poland reported 22 and 20 respectively. – In terms of age the notable difference in the sample comes from Mexico where the respondents were about 6 years younger. – The gaps may indicate too much e.g. ‘work’ and the desire is to reduce: ‘body’ is too low and the desire is to increase: ‘mind’ is typically not enough and the desire is to increase performance on this dimension, but if ‘mind’ involves worries and anxiety then the desire is to reduce it: with respect to ‘people’ and especially friends, if there are too few then the desire is to increase. – Do younger people in Mexico have higher expectations and hence larger gaps than in the pother three countries? This is a tentative suggestion to be examined in further research with more data, larger sample and stratified sampling design by age.

138 massam | hracs | espinoza sánchez Table 2. Who is responsible for closing gaps?

– Within the samples and the question about ‘who’ should be responsible for closing the gap, females were slightly more concerned with public policies then males. – In Poland 3 females looked to family and friends to close the gap but no males did. – Interestingly, across the samples individual responsibility was most significant with 31 out of 32 respondents reporting that they are responsible for closing the gaps. – Moreover, whereas Canada (5), Sweden (4) and Poland (3) looked to public policies, respondents in Mexico (1). – Whereas in Canada (0) and Mexico (1) respondents did not look to employers to close gaps, respondents in Sweden (2) and Poland (4) suggested roles for employers.

Table 3 Overall appreciation of procedure

lived experiences 139 – Overall 31 out of 32 respondents felt that the procedure and exercise are useful to organize information and opinions, present them in a way that helps think about lived experience and suggest ways to improve QOL by identifying possible strategies to close the gaps. – 27 out of 32 respondents found the dimensions clear and meaningful and only 4 out of 32 respondents reported some confusion.

The comments we offer after each table are general observations, and because the sample size is small we do not offer any formal statistical tests. However, we suggest that in future research sample sizes should be increased and data collection be organized to produce systematic and stratified samples so that formal hypotheses could be tested statis- tically. For example, it might be instructive to collect data to examine relationships between the significant gaps and a set of variables such as age, gender, and country of origin/residence, level of education, socio- economic status, immigrant status, health, and employment record. We also suggest it may be useful to examine the trends in the opinions of the respondents over a longer period of time by collecting repeat sets of data at interval of some weeks over a longer period of about a year for example. This would allow a clearer picture to emerge of the enduring strength of the opinions from each respondent. As noted, the individuals in our sample feel a strong sense of personal responsibility for closing the gaps, and this reflects wider societal trends toward the individualization of responsibility and decision-making. In the ‘Risk Society’ (1992) the German sociologist Ulrich Beck argues that individuals, regardless of class and human capital, now engage in elective and do it-yourself biography construction. As the state ‘rolls back’ traditional supports and certainties, and firms become flexible, responsibility is being downloaded to individual workers who are being encouraged to be self-reliant and self-governing. Thus, new

140 massam | hracs | espinoza sánchez freedoms to shape and coordinate one’s own life are accompanied by new trapdoors that can lead to exclusion, risk and uncertainty. The identification, and causes of the phenomenal growth of the number of individuals who live alone and the social consequences have been explored in the provocative new book by Klinenberg (2012). ‘In addition to economic prosperity and social security, the extraordinary rise in living alone stems from the world-historic cultural change that Emile Durkheim, a founding father of sociology, called the cult of the individual’. ‘The four countries with the highest rates of living alone are Sweden, Norway, Finland and Denmark, where roughly 40-45% of all households have just one person. By investing in each other’s social welfare and affirming bonds of mutual support, the Scandinavians have freed themselves to be on their own. (Klinenberg 2012, 9-10). Clearly self-reliance is seen as the most appropriate way to deal with lived experiences and as demonstrated in this empirical study the preferred way to close gaps on all the four dimensions we have used. With respect to the protocol we feel that in general it worked well. Possibly more time should be devoted in the early stages of the interview session to encourage each respondent to explore their unique lived experiences, in order to derive a list of attributes for each of the four dimensions, and so reduce reliance on words suggested by the interviewer. This exploration could be undertaken by asking each respondent to identify Type 1, 2 and 3 lived experiences as discussed in the Introduction. Possibly some introductory comments on the purpose of the procedure would be appropriate to introduce the notion that the work is part of a larger project on ways to examine QOL, and to search for ways to improve and maintain a high QOL for individuals. The matter of which public policies may help improve QOL is worth exploring further, especially with those who felt there was a role for

lived experiences 141 governments in helping to close the gaps. We suggest that following the initial interview sessions the researchers examine the data and prepare the figures to identify the gaps, then a second session be held with all the respondents to allow each respondent to look closely at the results for the whole group and to consider specific ways to close gaps in the light of the opinions of all members of the group. Such an exercise my produce specific public policy recommendations as well as more specific comments as to ways for individuals to take responsibility to close the gaps, and roles for family member, friends as well as employees could perhaps could be defined. We suggest that the procedure may have a useful role to play in dealing with specific groups in society who have special needs to improve their QOL, for example, senior citizens, new immigrants, and unemployed persons. Our final comment is that we strongly recommend this procedure as a suitable complementary way to the more traditional numerical methods for defining and measuring QOL. As we mentioned inthe introduction the earlier methods relied on asking people how good your life is and the responses were used as an indication of their QOL. We owe a debt to Kahneman (2011) for pointing out the consequences of this approach, and its inherent weaknesses which we hope are now acknowledged by researchers in the field of QOL research. The search continues for more appropriate ways to identify and measure the elusive notion of QOL so as to improve lived experiences of all as part of the challenge to lead good life and to live well and we offer this procedure as way to proceed.

142 massam | hracs | espinoza sánchez 9. References

Axelrod, R. (1990). The Evolution of Co-operation, (London: Penguin). Basu, R. (2012). (in press) In search of Nimmathi for social sustainability? Imagining, building and negotiating spaces of peace in Toronto’s diverse neighbourhoods, Canadian Journal of Urban Research. Beck, U. (1992). Risk Society: Towards a New Modernity, (London: Sage) Beck, U. and Beck-Gernsheim, E. (2002). Individualization: institutionalized individualism and its social and political consequences, (London: Sage) Buckle, J.L., & Fleming, S.J. (2011). Parenting after the death of a child: A practitioner’s guide (New York: Routledge). Dalai Lama, (1998). The Art of Happiness, (London: Hodder and Stoughton). Duhigg, C. (2012). The Power of Habit, (New York: William Heinemann) Dworkin, R. (2011). Justice for Hedgehogs, (Cambridge, Mass.,: Harvard University Press) Endler, N. (1990). Holiday of Darkness: A Psychologist’s Personal Journey Out of His Depression (Toronto: Wall and Thompson) Gilbert, D. (2006). Stumbling on Happiness, (New York: Alfred A Knopf). Haidt, J. (2006). The Happiness Hypothesis: finding modern truth in ancient wisdom, (New York: Basic Books). Helliwell, J. Layard, R. and Sachs, J. (eds) (2012). World Happiness Report, (Columbia University: Earth Institute). Hollis, M. (1998). Trust within Reason, (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press). Jeffries, S. (2011). Life according to Ronald Dworkin, The Guardian, 01.04.2011, pp 12-15. Kahneman, D. (2011). Thinking Fast and Slow, (Toronto: Doubleday). Kahneman, D. Diener, E. & Schwarz, N. (Eds.) (1999). Well-being: The founda- tions of hedonic psychology (New York: Russell Sage Foundation). Kauffman, J. (ed) (2002). Loss of the assumptive world: a theory of traumatic loss, (New York: Brunner-Routledge).

lived experiences 143 —— (ed.) (2002). Loss of the assumptive world, (New York: Brunner-Routledge). —— (ed.) 2010, The shame of death, grief and trauma, (New York: Routledge). Kenner, H. (1998). The Elsewhere Community, (Toronto: Anansi). Klinenberg, E. (2012). Going Solo: the extraordinary rise and surprising appeal of living alone, (New York: Penguin). Layard, R. (2006). Happiness: lessons from a new science, (London: Penguin). Lindseth, A. and Norberg, (2004). A phenomenological hermeneutical method for researching lived experience, Scandinavian Journal of Caring Sciences, Volume 18, Issue 2, pages 145–153, June. MacFarquhar, L. (2011). How to be good, New Yorker, September 5th. MacNeile Dixon, W. (1937). The Human Situation: Gifford Lectures 1935-1937, (Glasgow: University of Glasgow). Masik, G. (2010). The quality of life of suburbanites: a case study of the Gdansk conglomeration, Bulletin of Geography, No. 14, pp.91-101. Massam, B.H. (2002). Quality of Life: public planning and private living, Progress in Planning, Vol. 58, Part 3, pp. 142-227. Mipham, S. (2005). Ruling Our World, (New York: Morgan Road Books) Parfit, D. (1984).Reasons and Persons, (Oxford: Clarendon). —— (2011). On What Matters, (Oxford: OUP). Rando, T. (2002). The ‘curse’ of too good a childhood, in Kauffman (2002) pages 171-190. Ridley, M. (1997). The Origins of Virtue, (London: Penguin). Reisig, M. D. (2000). Experience, QOL and neighbourhood interests: a hierar- chical analysis, Justice Quarterly, Vol. 17, No. 3. Ridley, M. (1997). The Origins of Virtue, (London: Penguin). Taylor, C. (1991). The Malaise of Modernity, (Toronto: Anansi). Taylor, J.B. (2008). My Stroke of Insight, (New York: Viking). Trollope, J. (2006). Second Honeymoon, (New York: Bloomsbury). Van Manen, (1990). M. Researching lived experience: human science for an action sensitive pedagogy, (Buffalo: State University of New York Press).

144 massam | hracs | espinoza sánchez Web sites (last accessed on May 21st 2012) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mihaly_Csikszentmihalyi http://www.ted.com/talks/mihaly_csikszentmihalyi_on_flow.html http://www.cgu.edu/pages/4751.asp http://ciw.ca/en/ http://www.studsterkel.org/ http://www.consciousearth.us/socrates-unexamined-life.html http://www.utoronto.ca/qol/ http://www.earth.columbia.edu/articles/view/2960 http://www.springer.com/social+sciences/journal/11205 http://www.springer.com/psychology/klinische+psychologie/journal/13612 http://hdr.undp.org/en/

10. Acknowledgements

We would like to thank the 32 students who volunteered to answer questions and to assist with this project. Connie Ko (York University) provided excellent technical help to prepare all the Figures and Tables, and the cover page. The data were collected in Canada by Massam, in Mexico by Espinoza and Massam, in Poland by Nowicka and in Sweden by Hracs. We are very grateful to Klaudia Nowicka (doctoral student in The Department of Economic Geography of the University of Gdansk, Poland) for finding a group of graduate students to be volunteers for the project and for collecting the data.

lived experiences 145

CHAPTER III Tourism in Mexico: cui bono, autem cui malo

Bryan H. Massam and Rodrigo Espinoza Sanchez

147 1. Preface: personal remarks

Bryan’s words I have been privileged to spend time in many countries over a long career as an academic who is deeply concerned about the theories and practices concerning the public good and the ways that physical, social, economic and environmental planning can improve the lives of individuals. I have had the good fortune to work on projects that impinge on the well-being of citizens. Several of my books deal with these topics: – (1980). Spatial Search: application to planning problems in the public sector (Oxford: Pergamon Press). – (1993). The Right Place: shared responsibilities and the location of public facilities (London: Ed. Arnold). – (2000). Conditions of the Civic State (Jerusalem: Hebrew Univer- sity Press). – (2002). Quality of Life: public planning and private living, Progress in Planning, (Oxford: Pergamon Press).

I have visited Mexico each year over the last 14 years to work with colleagues at the Universidad de Guadalajara, Centro Universitario de la Costa in Puerto Vallarta, Jalisco on a range of topics relating to tourism. We examine the impacts of this growing industry in all its forms that include physical structures as well as economic, social, political, environmental, psychological impacts and experiential elements of lives of Mexicans. I work closely with several professors and students in Mexico, visit their homes, meet their families and spend time in villages. I have developed a deep admiration for many I see who are living in conditions that some of us in the privileged world of Canada might find challenging. The wit, humour, generosity and kindness shown to me on each visit are memorable.

148 bryan h. massam | rodrigo espinoza sánchez An overview and summary of our work has been published in several books and articles: Sánchez R. E. Rosa Dagostino M. C. Romo E. A. Ortega J. L. C. Zepeda Y. P. (2013). Pasajes de una década de colaboración académica para el desarrollo entre México y Canadá (Guadalajara: Universidad de Guadalajara Press). Massam B. H. and Sanchez R. E. (2012). Memories of-Memorias de Puerto Vallarta (Toronto: Swn y Mor). Massam B.H. Hracs B. and Espinoza R. (2012). Lived Experiences (Toronto: Martin Prosperity Institute, University of Toronto). Dagostino R. M. C. Romo E. A. Sanchez R.E. and Gamboa M. N. (2010). Turismo Comunitario en Mexico, (Guadalajara: Universidad de Gua- dalajara). Everitt J. Massam B.H. et al. (2008). The Imprints of Tourism on Puerto Vallarta, Jalisco, Mexico, The Canadian Geographer, Vol. 52, No. 1, pp. 83-104). So many Mexicans I meet are enterprising, tough, resilient and self- reliant in the ways that they cope with the varying degrees and kinds of material shortages, losses and deprivations, and the exigencies of life and reality. This latter comment poses the existential question: what is reality? I perceive that reality comprises not just what we see and experience through our five senses, but perhaps most importantly, all that we make of it: the dreams and impulses that arise out of it, all the ways an eternal, visible landscape plays out in an inner invisible landscape. Drawing on the concept of ayatana from Buddhism this suggests there are six internal bases that reflect experiences of existence namely • eye and visible objects • ear and sound

tourism in mexico: cui bono, autem cui malo 149 • nose and odor • tongue and taste • body and touch • mind and mental objects Buddhism and other Indian epistemologies identify six “senses” as opposed to the Western identification of five. In Buddhism, “mind” denotes an internal sense organ which interacts with sense objects that include sense impressions, feelings, perceptions and volition. I accept and understand intuitively and rationally that every experience I have consciously or unconsciously has cause and consequence. However, having made this claim I am left to figure out what to make of the components that comprise life as a participant and observer of tourism in Mexico. My visits to Mexico inevitable involve me in two roles as observer and as participant of tourism. The rational conceptual mind tends to seek the instruments, policies and practices to change or preserve the world using logic, data and arguments within the context of cultural norms and institutions, power relationships, uncertainty and risk. Consciousness can at times step beyond and outside the rational mind, beyond dualism and hypotheses to another realm. This is the realm of belief and faith that is profoundly part of being human. The non-conceptual mind is typically ignored by those who look at the world and the practices of planning, but surely this type of mind, or more precisely this aspect of each person’s mind, is critical in personal well-being. Some believe that the way we live is to some extent prede- termined by past history and in turn our current lives are a cause of future effects. The notion of karma in Buddhism touches on the impacts and causes of human experiences and behavior.

Karma means action, and refers to intentional physical, verbal, or mental actions. These actions leave imprints or seeds upon our mind-stream, and the

150 bryan h. massam | rodrigo espinoza sánchez imprints ripen into our experiences when the appropriate conditions come together. Chodron (2001, 59)

“In Buddhism, karma is strictly distinguished from vipāka, meaning “fruit” or “result”. Karma is categorized within the group or groups of cause in the chain of cause and effect, where it comprises the elements of “volitional activities” and “action”. Any action is understood as creating “seeds” in the mind that will sprout into the appropriate result when met with the right conditions. Most types of karmas, with good or bad results, will keep one within the wheel of samsāra, while others will liberate one to nirvāna”. This latter state is the desired and sought after 1 state of enlightenment and offers release from distress and suffering9 . The enterprise of Mexicans together with their faith and beliefs is of the débrouillard (resourceful person) variety, involving family, friends and neighbours. With the rise of living standards that Mexi- cans are experiencing, the conversion of so-called wants to needs, as observed in many countries in the modern age, assisted by the advertising industry and modern communications, as well as individualism, we find in Mexico the values and practices of cooperation among individuals are changing, and traditional support systems are evolving and being eroded. The challenges to change and adapt will increasingly face many in Mexico, and the impacts of tourism are playing major roles in offering new opportunities, and exposing Mexicans to new and different beliefs, faiths and ways of life and values. Can and will tourism engender and encourage more self-reliance and independence for Mexi- cans to control their lives, and find appropriate balances among compe- ting enterprises of private and public efforts to seek the good life. If tourism can provide opportunities to encourage self-sufficiency and independence for Mexicans who are currently employees for the most part in a burgeoning service sector of the economy, then the overall

1 9 Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Karma#Buddhism

tourism in mexico: cui bono, autem cui malo 151 benefits will be significant for the country. This is the critical test for the tourist industry in Mexico. All societies that face growth in prosperity are challenged by aspects of the malaise of modernity that Taylor (1991) claims has three distinct powerfully profound connected aspects: namely the rise of individualism and the consequent loss of higher purposes in life, the primacy of instrumental reason as the way to solve problems of the human condition without reflection of matters of beliefs and faith, and the reduction of individual freedoms by virtue of lessening of interest in the welfare of others. These elements of the modern world are elaborated in details by Taylor in the Massey Lectures he delivered in Canada in 1991 and available on the web site of the Canadian Broadcasting Company (CBC) at: http://www.cbc.ca/ideas/episodes/2011/04/11/the-malaise-of-modernity-part-1---5/ Thank you to all I have met in Mexico for allowing me to be part of your academic group. I wish you courage and tenacity as you continue to seek and find appropriate ways to incorporate tourism into your personal worlds in order to meet your particular needs and to ensure that future Mexicans will enjoy a life of safety, dignity, and decency. Bryan H. Massam Juniper Hill, Buddhist Retreat Centre, Ontario, Canada

Rodrigo’s words I have been blessed by God to have an academic vision of the world. In the last two decades I have dedicated most of my time trying to understand about life, and how people around me and in other places of the world live. I am grateful that the academic world has given me much satisfaction that I can share with my family, friends and colleagues, as well as in the classroom with my students where learning and teaching meets with the reality of each person’s lived experiences of the contem-

152 bryan h. massam | rodrigo espinoza sánchez porary world. One of the most important elements I have learned about the academic life is that a professor has a huge responsibility in the society where he lives. Students come to the classroom to discover knowledge, and to engage in a variety of inter-personal relationships, and the professor is one of the role models who may function as a second parent for the students. Consequently as a university professor I bear a heavy and most rewarding responsibility to help young people find their feet in an educational institution and also in the wider world outside academe. On September 1st 1994 I began to explore the university world in Mexico where I have found many ideas and ideals which give my life elements that encourage me to keep on growing and planning for my family and friends in every way, and in every moment of life. The most interesting aspect that I have encountered since 1994 in the university world is the opportunity to help people who have many needs, as they are looking for somebody who can help them to go on struggling in life. I can say with pleasure that life as a professor has brought to me happiness tinged with sadness when I have achieved something important, and when I struggled to achieve objectives that at first glance looked achievable in the short run yet they demand steady effort and patience over long periods to realize. In the passages of my life as an academic who undertakes research in the region of Puerto Vallarta, Jalisco and the surroundings states, I appreciate having recreated my childhood what gave me strength to identify and develop projects to aid local people, and to analyze their way of living. On the other hand, as a researcher I have understood that helping people makes me feel rewarded, because in the end I recognize that I am an individual just like those I seek to help. In addition, I have had the opportunity to visit some countries where I have undertaken research, and where I have also made friends, and this for me is something very special.

tourism in mexico: cui bono, autem cui malo 153 I have had the opportunity to know many individuals from the academic world with whom I have worked on some important topics like Quality of Life, tourism, sustainability and community development. The privilege for me has been that at the end of each research project I have established deep friendships, and I think this is a most precious gift I received from my academic work. In all the journeys of my life pursing research I have focused as my main goal to look for the means and ways to help people to understand their social development in the community in which they live. As researcher I have been supporting and encouraging university students to be involved on research topics. In the last decade of the 21st century I have worked with many students from many universities in Mexico in the summer season with the purpose to help in their academic formation with enthusiasm and curiosity as this is my passion. As an academic in the Universidad de Guadalajara I am very proud to have excellent colleagues who always have a word of encouragement and support for me in any situation, and Canadian research colleagues who have become like special family friends, and this friendship is thanks to the research world in which I work. In conclusion, I want to say that the academic life is a beautiful one in which we can travel to different places in a country, or to other countries, and in each place it is often possible to make a friend or meet a colleague who will be interested to start a research project or continue ongoing research work. I have found that whoever pursues research makes it a lifelong passion as I do. Rodrigo Espinoza Sánchez, Puerto Vallarta

154 bryan h. massam | rodrigo espinoza sánchez 2. Introduction Mundus vult decipi, ergo decepiatur. The world wants to be deceived, therefore let it be deceived. Petronius, a Roman satirist from the first century AD

It is often claimed especially by those who are developers, investors, promoters of travel agencies and related organizations, and some in the advertising industry, as well as certain politicians and bureaucrats that tourism brings general and specific benefits to people and places. Tourists have expectations and dreams that are fed and nurtured by advertising as to the pleasure and happiness that result from travel to other places to enjoy good weather, sea, sun, so-called exotic cultures and life styles; to savour relaxation, and escape from the toil and dreari- ness of everyday life by seeking change and new experiences elsewhere. But what about those who live in places that become significant tourist destinations? Do they enjoy benefits from the presence of tourists? And if so precisely what are they and how are they manifest? What about the significance of the changes that are wrought on the cultures and lifestyles of individuals and families, and the impacts on local social, political, economic and environmental ecosystems as well as belief systems and personal well-being? Brown (2013) offers the view that tourists can be viewed as colonizers: her study in Mexico provides much rich material for debate. In this book we will explore some of the notions of perceptions and opinions of the revealed and experienced benefits and impacts of tourism in two specific places in the states of Jalisco and Nayarit, Mexico using the concept of cui bono, autem cui malo: namely ‘to whom the benefit but to whom the harm’. We will describe opinion surveys conducted in April and May 2013 in Tomatlán and Punta de Mita.

tourism in mexico: cui bono, autem cui malo 155 In Mexico various government agencies have been involved with tourism over almost 50 years and the Secretaría de Turismo (SECTUR) is now integrally connected with all aspects of the industry. Since 1974 the federal government has intervened more directly in tourism when the Fondo Nacional de Formento al Turismo (FONATUR: the National Trust Fund for Tourism) was set up to raise capital and promote development in the tourist industry. The official web site for tourism in Mexico is: http://www.sectur.gob.mx/. This site complements the many official and informal web sites about particular tourist destinations in Mexico. The rule of thumb about using such web sites to determine and describe the features of tourism and their impacts is caveat emptor. A search on Google for the words impacts of tourism yields over 16 million references. A sampling of references is given below. Cocks (2013) reminds us that according to The United Nations World Tourist Organization global tourism, currently standing at 1 billion people, is expected to reach 1.6 billion by 2020, with Europe as the most popular destination. Official figures give Chinese tourists as 16.3% more numerous than in 2011. ‘The citizens of BRIC –Brazil, Russia, India, and China– are coming and it is only a matter of time before the crowds become intolerable, even hazardous, …’. Will future tourism in Mexico attract increasing numbers of people from all parts of the world? A comprehensive overview of the variety and intensity of impacts of tourism is provided by a report from the United Nations. Details are at: http://www.unep.org/resourceefficiency/Business/SectoralActivi- ties/Tourism/FactsandFiguresaboutTourism/ImpactsofTourism/tabid/ 78774/Default.aspx

Impacts of Tourism: On one hand, tourism yields tremendous economic positive outcomes: it is one of the world’s most significant sources of economic outcomes and employ-

156 bryan h. massam | rodrigo espinoza sánchez ment. However, tourism is a very complex industry involving numerous stakeholders (sometimes with opposite interests) and requiring significant amount of resources. As such, tourism can have very opposite effects according to the way activities are managed. Managed well, tourism can play a positive role in the social, cultural, economic, environmental and political development of the destination and as such represents a significant development opportunity for many countries and communities. On the contrary, unchecked tourism development can lead to very damageable impacts.

Further comments about the impacts of tourism are given by USA today:

Tourism can bring many economic and social benefits, particularly in rural areas and developing countries, but mass tourism is also associated with negative effects. Tourism can only be sustainable if it is carefully managed so that potential negative effects on the host community and the environment are not 2 permitted to outweigh the financial benefits10 .

Professor François Vellas, Toulouse University presented a paper: The indirect impact of tourism: an economic analysis at the Third Meeting 3 of T20 Tourism Ministers Paris, France, on 25th October 201111 .

Executive Summary The main purpose of this report is to show the importance and the role of the indirect economic effects of tourism on growth and GDP, employment and foreign trade. Tourism’s role in the economy is often perceived as being limited to the hospitality industry (cafes, hotels and restaurants) and outbound and in-bound travel agencies and carriers, which form the leading service sector in many countries. However, the economic impact of tourism is much greater, since many inputs are needed in order to produce tourism and leisure services, span- ning the whole range of farm, agrifood and industrial production, including the production of capital goods as well as construction and public works.

2 10 http://traveltips.usatoday.com/positive-negative-effects-tourism- 63336.html 3 11 http://www.revecon.ro/articles/2009-2/2009-2-8.pdf

tourism in mexico: cui bono, autem cui malo 157 Highlighting these indirect impacts of tourism is regarded as a priority by the T20 countries and the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO), which has produced methodological tools such as Tourism Satellite Accounts (TSAs). Assessing the economic impacts of tourism helps to inform the conduct of stimulus policies in response to international economic and financial crises. It shows that tourism can become a driver of recovery, fostering stable and sustainable economic growth, provided that sectorial support policies are 4 implemented taking the central role of tourism into account12 .

Tourism is seen worldwide and exists in many forms. It is of great importance worldwide as ‘tourism provides about 10% of the world’s income and employs almost one tenth of the world’s workforce.’ (Mirabayev 2006) This website aims to investigate and evaluate tourism in Cornwall. Cornwall is the most South Westerly county in England and one of its primary industry is Tourism.

‘In the 1980s, individuals questioned whether tourism was a blessing or blight, but the issue is now essentially academic, given the value of tourism as the world’s largest industry and its role as a global employer and customer’ Smith (2001). This highlights that the understanding and the academic value of tourism is very important as it is of great global significance and creates 5 impacts and consequences13 .

The World Tourism Organization believes the purpose of a visit or a trip is fundamental as it represents what motivates people and therefore highlights the main reasons for tourists to visit an area. The major categories that the World Tourism Organization outline are:

– Leisure, recreation and holidays – Visiting friends and relatives – Business and professional

4 12 https://sites.google.com/site/tourisminkernow/ 5 13 Mirabayev, B. Shagazatova, M. (2006). The Economic and Social Impact of Tourism (www. grips.ac.jp/alumni/UzbekistanTourism(2).pdf). And Smith (2001). (Cited by Archer B et al., (2005). The positive and negative impacts of tourism, Theobald W F, Global Tourism, 79-103, USA, Elsevier.)

158 bryan h. massam | rodrigo espinoza sánchez – Health treatment – Religion/pilgrimages

6 – Other (WTO, 1995)14

Today, tourism is one of the largest and dynamically developing sectors of external economic activities. Its high growth and development rates, considerable volumes of foreign currency inflows, infrastructure development, and introduction of new and educational experience actively affect various sectors of economy, which positively contribute to the social and economic development of the country as a whole. Most highly developed western countries, such as Switzerland, Austria, and France have accumulated a big deal of their social and economic welfare on profits from tourism. According to recent statistics, tourism provides about 10% of the world’s income and employs almost one tenth of the world’s workforce. All considered tourism’s actual and potential economic impact is astounding. Many people emphasize the positive aspects of tourism as a source of foreign exchange a way to balance foreign trade –an industry without chimney– in short manna from heaven. But there are also a number of other positive and negative sides of tourism’s economic boom for local communities, which not always considered by advocates of tourism perspectives.

International tourism is touted as beneficial in terms of helping strangers know more about each other, and so reduce the chances of conflict among them: the deepening of dependent relationship may flourish and enhance trade connections and partnerships in international organizations to promote peace. Security, regulatory systems, judicial practices and social, political and environmental policies can have global as well as local positive consequences. In recent years mass tourism has grown enormously and Mexico is no exception to this global trend.

6 14 World Tourism Organization, (1995). Concepts, Definitions and Classifications for Tourism Statistics, Madrid, World Tourism Organization. Batir Mirbabayev and Malika Shagazatova (2006) offer a report on The Economic and Social Impact of Tourism. (www.grips.ac.jp/alumni/UzbekistanTourism(2).pdf)

tourism in mexico: cui bono, autem cui malo 159 Does tourism create long-term employment opportunities for new generations of citizens? Are improvements to infrastructure, social capital and overall well-being and the quality of life evident, significant and appreciated by citizens? To what degree are benefits sustainable?

Mexico has the 14th largest nominal GDP and the 11th largest by purchasing power parity. GDP annual average growth for the period of 1995–2002 was 5.1%. Foreign debt decreased to less than 20% of GDP. Over 17% of the population lives below Mexico’s own poverty line, ranking behind Kazakhstan, Bulgaria and Thailand. The overall poverty rate however is 44.2%, while a full 70% lack one of the 8 economic indicators used to define poverty by the Mexican government. From the late 1990s, the majority of the population has been part of the growing middle class. But from 2004 to 2008 the portion of the population who received less than half of the median income has risen from 17% to 21% and the absolute levels of poverty have risen considerably from 2006 to 2010, with a rise in persons living in extreme or moderate poverty rising from 35 to 46% (52 million persons). This is also reflected by the fact that infant mortality in Mexico is three times higher than the average among OECD nations, and the literacy levels are in the median range of OECD nations. According to Goldman Sachs, by 2050 Mexico will have the 5th largest economy in the world.

Among the OECD countries, Mexico has the second highest degree of economic disparity between the extremely poor and extremely rich, after Chile –although it has been falling over the last decade. The bottom ten percent in the income hierarchy disposes of 1.36% of the country’s resources, whereas the upper ten percent dispose of almost 36%. OECD also notes that Mexico’s budgeted expenses for poverty alleviation and social development is only about a third of the OECD average– both in absolute and relative numbers.

Mexico reports the 23rd highest tourism-based income in the world, and the highest in Latin America. The vast majority of tourists come to Mexico from the United States and Canada followed by Europe and Asia. A smaller number also come from other Latin American countries. In the 2008 Travel and Tourism Competitiveness Index, fifth among Latin American countries,

160 bryan h. massam | rodrigo espinoza sánchez and the ninth in the Americas. Using longitudinal data for Cancun, Ambrosie (2013) develops impressive findings about the myths of wealth creation from 7 mass tourism15 .

Tourism in Mexico is a very large industry. Mexico has been traditionally among the most visited countries in the world according to the World Tourism Organization and it is the most visited country in the Americas, after the United States. The most notable attractions are the Meso- American ruins, cultural festivals, colonial cities, nature reserves and the beach resorts. The nation’s temperate climate and unique culture –a fusion of the European and the Meso-American– make Mexico an attractive destination. The peak tourism seasons in the country are during December and the mid-Summer, with brief surges during the week before Easter and Spring break, when many of the beach-resort sites become popular destinations for college students from the United States.

The majority of tourists come to Mexico from the United States and Canada. Other visitors come from Europe and Asia. A small number of tourists also come from other Latin American countries. There is also a burgeoning domestic tourism trade as a growing affluent middle class begins to go on holiday within their own country. While Mexico’s middle/lower class usually promotes national tourism, the middle/higher class usually prefers to travel overseas.

In Puerto Vallarta nearly 50% of the workforce is employed in tourist related industries: hotels, restaurants, personal services, and transportation. The municipality does however continue to have strong agricultural, industrial 8 and commercial sectors16 .

With respect to the overall changes in living standards the Human 9 Development Index 17 is often used to capture the status of a country’s well-being.

7 15 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mexico#Economy 8 16 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tourism_in_Mexico 9 17 http://hdr.undp.org/en/

tourism in mexico: cui bono, autem cui malo 161 Each year since 1990 the Human Development Report has published the Human Development Index (HDI) which was introduced as an alternative to conventional measures of national development, such as level of income and the rate of economic growth. The HDI represents a push for a broader definition of well-being and provides a composite measure of three basic dimensions of human development: health, education and income. Between 1980 and 2012 Mexico’s HDI rose by 0.9% annually from 0.598 to 0.775 today, which gives the country a rank of 61 out of 187 countries with comparable data. The HDI of Latin America and the Caribbean as a region increased from 0.574 in 1980 to 0.741 today, placing Mexico above the regional average. The HDI trends tell an important story both at the national and regional level and highlight the very large gaps in well-being and life chances that continue to divide our 10 interconnected world18 .

In previous work as cited earlier [Massam et al., (2012); Everitt et al., (2008) Rodrigo Espinoza Sánchez et al., (2013)] we have written about many interrelated aspects of tourism in Puerto Vallarta: a place which is one of the most successful tourist destinations in Mexico that is situated between the two study locations we will examine. Puerto Vallarta is the 2nd most visited resort in Mexico. An excellent overview of the site and situation of Puerto Vallarta as portrayed on maps is available from: www.mapajeff.com. We include a photograph of a painting of Puerto Vallarta from the late 1950’s when this fishing village was virtually unknown by the outside world. The painting hangs in a dark pool room on V. Carranza in Old Puerto Vallarta: a room few visitors frequent.

10 18 http://hdr.undp.org/en/

162 bryan h. massam | rodrigo espinoza sánchez Source: Own from the authors. With the construction of an international airport and many hotels the face of Puerto Vallarta today bears little resemblance to the original fishing village. The following set of five photographs capture some of ways that tourism has changed the face of Puerto Vallarta over the last 50 years. Are these the desired ways to change the landscape of the area around Tomatlán in the coming decades?

Sun sea sand for whom?

Source: Own from the authors.

tourism in mexico: cui bono, autem cui malo 163 How many people on a beach make it polluted and over crowded? 2013

Source: Own from the authors.

Traffic next to Malecon Noise, pollution, dangerous to cross 2010

Source: Own from the authors.

164 bryan h. massam | rodrigo espinoza sánchez Road closed next to Malecon: Pedestrian way, 2012

Source: Own from the authors.

Krystal Resort. Who can stay here? Who provides the services? How secure is the employment?

Source: Own from the authors.

tourism in mexico: cui bono, autem cui malo 165 Cruise ship arrives in PV. How long do tourists stay? How much do they spend in PV? What services does the vessel require?

Source: Own from the authors.

Eco-tourism. What kinds of damage to environment? Who rides the vehicles? Who services the vehicles? How long can the trails be used?

Source: Own from the authors.

166 bryan h. massam | rodrigo espinoza sánchez In the last few years massive developments have occurred north of Puerto Vallarta and the picture below shows the small fishing village of La Crux de Huanacaxtle in 2009, and later after the construction of a modern marina. Perhaps Tomatlán will be home to a similar marina in the coming years.

Source: www.google.com.mx The schematic map below shows the locations of Puerto Vallarta, as well as La Cruz de Huanacaxtle and the two areas (Tomatlán /Chala- catepec and Punta de Mita) which are the focus of our investigation of opinions about the expected and perceived impacts of tourism.

tourism in mexico: cui bono, autem cui malo 167 Source: www.google.com.mx We will collect opinions from groups of individuals in the two places, namely Tomatlán to the south and Punta de Mita to the north of Puerto Vallarta. In the latter case significant tourist developments have occurred over the last two decades, and in the former case there is currently no tourism, but ambitious plans are being developed and are in progress to construct a massive tourist destination that some have argued will be the New Cancun.

168 bryan h. massam | rodrigo espinoza sánchez 3. Cui bono, cui malo: causes and consequences

Bryan Massam in his Canadian Association of Geographers Presiden- tial address in 1999 on the topic of Geographical Perspectives on the Public Good asks a set of questions that he argues inform debates about planning and well-being. Who gets what, when, where, how? Does it matter? What are the consequences on well-being and greed, envy, jealousy, satisfaction as well as sustainability, efficiency, equity issues and fairness and justice in a society? We argue that these are relevant and pertinent questions concerning the possible impacts of tourism on a society. In essence the specific topic of this book embraces all these aspects of the public good. In the spirit of the western canon on the enlightenment it is often asserted that there is a rational logic to the relationships between actions and consequences. Voltaire makes the assertion that ‘Chance is a word void of sense: nothing can exist without a cause’. In simplistic terms concerning the impacts of tourism we might suggest that tourism requires infrastructure such as an airport, and the construction of such a facility required labour and materials, and thus the activity of building an airport will create employment opportunities for certain types of labour. This effect can be judged as a positive feature of tourism if there is currently a shortage of work in the area where the airport is to be built. There are numerous similar arguments that can be made concerning both the positive impacts of tourism and also the negative ones. An example of the latter concerns the construction of hotels at a location where mangrove swamps are destroyed. The negative effects impinge on ecological balance and cause disruptions to the region where sea water meets fresh water. The painting by Cassidy entitled Cui Bono? is striking as it reminds us in the strongest ways of the possible impacts of tourism on Mexicans. The accompanying comments with his painting are pertinent.

tourism in mexico: cui bono, autem cui malo 169 “At first glanceCui Bono? seems simple enough: it depicts a larger- than- life man from Taos Pueblo, wearing traditional dress from the early 20th century. However, Gerald Cassidy’s title also implies a deeper, philosophical intent. Cui Bono? –(Latin for “Who Benefits?”)– questions the future of Pueblo life. The painting seems to ask what will be the impact of tourism, economic development, and cultural change. Cassidy’s carefully divided composition implies the distinction among past, present, and a hesitant step into an uncertain future.

Cassidy’s painting also alludes to the belief in Manifest Destiny, a 19th century doctrine postulating that God sanctioned westward expansion to dominate and exploit the lands of America. Associated with the idea of Manifest Destiny was a parallel view known as the White Man’s Burden. This belief asserted that Christians had a moral obligation to ‘civilize’ Native peoples by converting them to Christianity. Many believed that Native culture would simply disappear through acculturation into mainstream American life-ways. Of course, 11 this did not occur19 .

Source: Cui Bono? ca. 1911 Gerald Cassidy, Collection of the Museum of Fine Arts, New Mexico. Gift of the artist, 1915.

11 19 http://www.nmartmuseum.org/site/explore/past/past-exhibitions-2012/how-the-west-is- one/who-benefits/duplicate-of-cui-bono.html

170 bryan h. massam | rodrigo espinoza sánchez A search on Google for the references related to the words cui bono yields over 800,000 results. We include a small sample of five recent web sites that describe the possible and envisaged distribution of benefits due to development projects and government initiatives. Each case study (Ireland/Brazil/Thailand/UK/Iraq)) attempts to throw light on the vexed question cui bono, autem qui malo: each case has its own set of impacts: their magnitude and significance are specific to the time and place and context of each project. However, it is clear that whenever a project is planned that is expected to yield public benefits it is a worthy socially responsible enterprise to attempt to examine basic questions about impacts, and to involve many citizens in the process as to ensure that traceable decision be reached that can be understood by citizens who ultimately will bear the long-term consequences.

• http://www.vindicator.ca/vindicator/cuiBono.html (Ireland: Planned by-pass road in Ballyshannon) • http://riotimesonline.com/brazil-news/opinion-editorial/opinion/ the-curmudgeon-on-cui-bono/# (Brazil: Rio de Janeiro: closure of 49 cultural locations) • http://www.bangkokpost.com/opinion/opinion/333096/big-spending-on-megaprojects-but-cui-bono (Thailand: government proposes mega projects) • http://faustiesblog.wordpress.com/2013/04/04/health-tourism-cui- bono/ (UK: who benefits from so-called health tourism?) • http://www.nytimes.com/2010/12/21/opinion/21iht-edcohen21. • html?adxnnl=1&adxnnlx=1368448718-sSZquHYXTjaUptQ+hH- vREA (Iraq: who benefitted from invasion?)

tourism in mexico: cui bono, autem cui malo 171 From a recent article by Cocks (2013) in which she reviews the massive impacts of tourism on Venice, and especially the impacts of cruise ships arriving in this city, we include a few quotations that clearly indicate how difficult it is to estimate the positive and negative aspects of tourism on a specific place, and the ways that information can be distorted to suit specific purposes.

The port of Venice is the most important in the Mediterranean for the cruising industry.

Most [of the ships] are over three times the length of an American football field with gross tonnage of 100,000 or more (the Titanic was only 46,000 tons). In 1997 there were 206 cruise ships, in 2011,655, and because they sail into and out of the city by the same canal, that means 13100 passages-blotting out the view, polluting the air, shaking the houses, and displacing water up into the canals off the Guidecca.

What is certain, though, is that the 200,000 cruise tourists embarking in Venice in 1990 became 337,000 in 2000, one million in 2007 and reached 1-8 million in 2011. …on just one day in July 2011, six of these ships tied up in port and 35,000 tourists were disgorged all at once.

There is no doubt that the port plays a growing part in the city’s economy. … it provides 1,600 direct jobs in services for the ships and passengers, 2,600 jobs in supplies, maintenance, repairs, bunker sales etc and 1,270 direct jobs created by tourist spending in Venice (at least 363 million euro a year) before and after the cruise, with one third of passengers disembarking or embarking there.

These are impressive considerations were there are fewer and fewer jobs outside the tourist industry. But nothing is revealed about what the port contributes directly to the running costs of the city and who benefits from its profits. As so often in Venice, information is lacking or withheld, given grudgingly, or used as propaganda.

There is no proper study of what the tourist industry is worth to Venice because so much of it is black economy. What is certain is that not enough of it ends

172 bryan h. massam | rodrigo espinoza sánchez up in the public coffers, while if it were exploited properly it could contribute very significantly to the city’s needs. But there has been no estimate of what the maintenance of Venice is going to cost even ten years ahead, let alone fifty or one hundred.

When we reflect on benefits and costs, or advantages and disadvantages of tourism, it is worth considering the types impacts and their relevance. In order to evaluate the merits of tourism it is necessary to try to identify the magnitude of the effects and also the significance of the effects. The latter tend to be subjective while the former may be analysed through technical evaluation methods. The loss of just a few acres of mangrove swamp may be catastrophic, or the creation of just a few new long-term jobs may have profound beneficial effects on the lives of some individuals and families. Are the impacts tangible and can they be measured or estimated accurately and convincingly? Are the impacts nebulous, vague and highly subjective: do they have credence in the minds of citizens? When will the effects be experienced and how intense will they be, and how long will they be felt? Are the beneficial impacts sustainable or short lived? With all these general points in mind we have designed a test questionnaire which is applied in the two communities: Tomatlán and Punta de Mita. Tourism in Tomatlán is planned for the future while in Punta de Mita tourism is fairly well established for the last decade. Hence in one case (Tomatlán) the impacts are envisaged, while in the other case (Punta de Mita) the impacts have been experienced and are revealed from the first-hand experience by citizens, albeit over just a few years as tourism is in its infancy here.

tourism in mexico: cui bono, autem cui malo 173 4. Overview of tourism a) Tomatlán/Chalacatepec: into the unknown

One day in April 2013 we drove south from Puerto Vallarta on highway 200 toward Tomatlán and Chalacatepec. We visited family members of Rodrigo Espinoza Sánchez who had long lived in this area and we saw first-hand their lives and ways they cooperated with friends, neighbours and family members. A new baby had just been born and was in the arms of her Mother in the house we visited. What would the world of Tomatlán and Chalacatepec be like in the coming years as this baby grew? Later in the day we walked across scrub vegetation and sand dunes toward the rolling waves and pristine sandy beaches of Tomatlán. We were alone and so grateful to be in this space so vast and untouched. Yet as we walked we saw a sign indicating we were on private property: some simple wire fences had been constructed beside the dirt track to designate ownership and we saw the early signs of change to the landscape. We plan to return often in the coming years to record the changes as they occur. The initial impulse for tourism development in Mexico was made by the former president Luis Echeverria Alvarez who was in power from 1970 to 1976. From 1964 to 1970 he was the federal secretary of government and he knew that the political world of Mexico was going to support activities related to tourism, and he started to initiate some important tourism projects called “Integrally Planned Centers” for example, Cancun, Cihuatlanejo, Ixtapa, Los Cabos and Huatulco (Espi- noza, et al., 2010). In concert with these initiatives he and his personnel begun to plan the tourism development for the Mexican littoral regions. Some of the most beautiful beaches were in the littoral of Jalisco state known as “Corridor of Costa Alegre” where there was land owned by the retired

174 bryan h. massam | rodrigo espinoza sánchez General Barragan who was a friend of President Echeverria: both had in common the vision of tourism for the development of this coastal area, and together they tried to project tourism as the most important activity for this part of Mexico (Andrade, et al., 2010). These kinds of personal positions in the Mexican political system made it possible to promote and activate tourist-related activities in most of the regions of Mexico. Tomatlán is a municipality in a tourism region called “Corredor of Costa Alegre” and it is not the exception because the former president Echeverria had in Tomatlán his brother- in-law, Ruben Zuno Arce, who was in charge of the control of this area and he was executing the decisions of the central government regarding tourism development. (Martínez, 2000; Andrade, et al., 2010). In summary tourist development projects were one of the largest state initiatives of government in the last three decades of the twen- tieth century. For example the government begun building one of the 12 largest artificial lakes called Cajon de Peña20 :

Day-to-day life was largely uneventful in the small town of Santiago in the municipality of Tomatlan back in the early 1970s. That was until progress required its inhabitants to relocate to make way for a new freshwater reservoir. Named Cajon de Peña, the monumental project was built between 1974 and 1976 at a cost of $928.8 million pesos.

Over three decades later, all is well in nearby Nuevo Santiago –whatever is left of Viejo Santiago lies underwater. And Cajón de Peña has been instrumental not only in the agricultural prosperity of the region– thanks to multiple irrigation canals –it also has become an attractive destination for recreational fishers, campers and nature enthusiasts alike.

Cajon de Peña is approximately two hours south of Puerto Vallarta, driving along Carr. 200 Sur. There is a clearly marked left turn at Km 130, a few minutes after passing the La Cruz de Loreto/Hotelito Desconocido intersec-

12 20 http://virtualvallarta.com/puertovallarta/read/readgetaways/cajon-de-pena.shtml

tourism in mexico: cui bono, autem cui malo 175 tion. The reservoir is located 11 miles from the highway. You will notice a multitude of cornfields, tropical fruit plantations and a few irrigation canals along the paved road.

The lake was built with the goal of giving the people what they needed in terms of water on their land for breeding cattle and irrigation of agricultural land. However tourism development projects were not completed due to many inappropriate government strategies to persuade the local people to become involved in this third-sector activity of tourism (Espi- noza, et al., 2013). In the 70’s the government authorities tried to gather together for meetings the owners of the land close to the shore, or on the areas that front on the sea, to explain that tourism was going to come very soon, and the ejidatarians and community people should be prepared to accept and they would benefit from international tourism. The federal government had already planned this tourist activity for the growth and the development of the municipality of Tomatlán, so the kinds of speeches were given to the people in some meetings had already been established, but some ejidarians felt that they were being forced to do things they didn’t wish for. And they, as owners of this land, could pursue other activities they preferred. Before this situation they asked in a literal and basic way the critical question: if tourism is going to be here as you are saying, what do you suppose we’ll do? The officials said it is better for them to accept the government decision as it is; some local people disagreed with this position and they forced the situation convincing their neighbors not to accept tourism, but they were persuaded to leave the country for a while for not accepting such decision. Nowadays, tourism development for Tomatlán municipality has returned and it is stronger than before. There are some critical aspects in the local community that gives an advantage to the promotion of tourist development, these critical aspects include: extreme poverty,

176 bryan h. massam | rodrigo espinoza sánchez lack of employment opportunities, poor agriculture, young people are leaving the municipality and economic activities are declining every day. Prior to this situation the people had accepted tourism as a necessary strategy for economic and social growth, but the old ejidatarians do not forget their way of life, and they claim that tourism is going to bring all kinds of distress to this land and people where they have lived quietly and healthily. They feel they are almost obliged to accept tourism as the only way to keep their sons with them at home, and so build families and close strong social networks that are so critical for day-to-day life in Mexico (Espinoza et al., 2013). Hence the Chalacatepec development tourism project is being pushed very vigorously by the authorities and the state government, since the former state governor Emilio González Marquez once baptized the project as the “New Cancun” that is going to be in the state of Jalisco. He announced its beginning using significant state funds, words that made his political party lose popularity, however the project is going ahead and the local people are expecting a lot of benefits to flow from this tourism project. The Chalacatepec tourism project is advancing with all the usual difficulties and challenges that a major development project encounters as it starts and evolves. At a recent general meeting of ejidatarians of Morelos Ejido where the beach for the project is located it was made clear that sooner or later tourism is going to be in the town. This will change everything and forcing locals out –‘we are going to be living a life we never imagined’. The tourism project has been progressing slowly in some of its stages due to federal regulations. Meanwhile the investors of the project are giving some quasi academic/public relations courses to the inhabitants of the municipality of Tomatlán in order to prepare them for the forthcoming massive impacts that will occur. It is hoped by many that the generation of employment opportunities will

tourism in mexico: cui bono, autem cui malo 177 create a new social and economic environment that will be sustainable and contribute to overall improvements in living standards. Only time will tell if these ambitious goals are realized (Espinoza, et al., 2012). Two recent web sites give summaries of the tourist development plans for Tomatlán and we include extracts from each report.

The New Cancun in suspense: GUADALAJARA , JALISCO (13/JUL/2012.)

The project involves an investment of 89 MDD (about 187 thousand MDP) Resources State Pension funds.

Project development depends on meeting environmental standards and their decision to take risks for investors: Setujal.

The definition of the project called the “New Cancun” on the South Coast of Jalisco, will depend on the decisions made by its investors as its shares under the guidelines focus on environmental law and what investors decide based on the trends of the international tourism market.

So said the director of planning of the Ministry of Tourism of Jalisco (Setujal), Mijangos Victor Castellanos, who stated that this project, like others who have in the portfolio of the South Coast, must meet the requirements of a sustainable approach in what will be its environmental impact.

In his view, said that changing scenario are no cause for objections, if the continuing investor interest in advance to finalize the project based on its business plan, after complying with all the requirements environmental matters. He said that so far, there is no known definite final design.

The Cancun called “New’’ is a purpose of a development Tomatlán thousand 200 hectares and was already a controversial investment of $ 89 million (about 187 million pesos thousand) of the State Pension resources to purchase earth. Aristotle elected Governor Sandoval has been questioned as to give support to his appointment as president. He mentioned that currently the state in this region have also been developed in a study of the National Fund for Tourism Development (Fonatur), has consider four projects that can trigger new economic alternatives within a sustainable approach. Such projects are

178 bryan h. massam | rodrigo espinoza sánchez a Spa in Cabo Corrientes, a yacht club in the dam Cajon de Peña, a resort with a crocodile in La Manzanilla and a natural park in Barra de Navidad. Promotion actions Mijangos Castellanos led a signing of a promotion between entrepreneurs also called Costalegre with Sandy’s restaurant chain with the intention of boosting the flow into boutique hotels of this tourist route of great natural Jalisco. This agreement adds another that already has existing since the Centro Magno Jewelry Plaza Tapatia. Setujal The official said that the South Coast captures annually on average half a million visitors from all social segments who visit their main posed an extension of up to 300 kilometers from Cabo Corrientes Cihuatlán. Escrow director Costalegre, Ricardo Zavala, said that it expects a good turnout in this holiday season with the influx of visitors 13 from the metropolitan area and El Bajio, natural markets of this region21 .

Jalisco’s Governor, Emilio Gonzalez Marquez, announced a new resort destination in Tomatlán, a municipality in Costalegre, south of Puerto Vallarta, in an area called Chalacatepec. This project, to be ultimately developed in approximately 1,200 hectares, is very similar to Cancun and, according to the governor; its environmental impact will be minimal. He also claimed that the project will provide employment for 2,100 individual.

The first phase of the project will be developed over the next few years, with an area of 400 hectares and an investment of just over $27 million dollars. The area is nestled between two natural protected areas: Chalacatepec, which has one of the most important mangroves of Jalisco.

This is historic, extraordinary, a truly sustainable tourism project,” said Gonzalez Marquez to officials and businessmen in a press conference that took 14 place in the state’s capital, Guadalajara22 .

We include a series of photographs of the region of Tomatlán that is to be developed and brief comments are appended.

13 21 http://www.informador.com.mx/economia/2012/389692/6/el-nuevo-cancun-en-suspenso. htm “New Tourist Resort Destination in Tomatlán Announced Published Feb 3, 2010, 12:14pm - (Updated Jun 8, 2012, 11:41am) 14 22 http://www.alexstark.com/pdfs/Chala%20Guadalajara%20Reporter.pdf

tourism in mexico: cui bono, autem cui malo 179 A modest sign that welcomes visitors to this region: a far cry from the advertising promotions that welcome visitors to Punta de Mita

Source: Own from the authors.

A single new concrete sidewalk that abuts derelict pieces of land: much development of infrastructure like roads, drains and sidewalks needed to make the town attractive for tourists

Source: Own from the authors.

180 bryan h. massam | rodrigo espinoza sánchez Original dirt roads: many improvements needed to make the roads amenable to tourist vehicles

Source: Own from the authors.

Pristine untouched magnificent beaches: for how long will they stay like this?

Source: www.google.com.mx

tourism in mexico: cui bono, autem cui malo 181 First signs of new airport construction: when will it be completed at what cost? Who pays?

Source: www.google.com.mx

Untouched open land next to beaches: is this land public or private? How much is the land worth? To whom? Who determines the price and value of the land? Who benefits from the transfer of ownership of the land to a private company?

Source: Own from the authors.

182 bryan h. massam | rodrigo espinoza sánchez Land ownership is declared and property rights asserted. What are the political, economic and social implications? How will land use be regulated and monitored?

Source: Own from the authors.

What is the value of this open land? Environmental value or commercial value: who attaches value?

Source: Own from the authors.

tourism in mexico: cui bono, autem cui malo 183 b) Punta de Mita: one road, two world

One day in April 2013 we drove from Puerto Vallarta to Punta de Mita. We followed Highway 200 north as it became a high quality highway and then a well paved route that hugged the coast line. As we drove we saw the signs on one side of the road advertising the new condos, the tourist resorts and clear evidence of high quality facilities being constructed to cater to and attract tourists. On the other side of the road we noticed some of the remaining original villages and the scrub vegetation, and evidence of an environment that had been untouched by tourism. We wondered and speculated about the two worlds, one on each side of this road to Punta de Mita. Would those living in the long-established villages have access to the high quality resorts, other than as service workers? Would the tourists who stayed in the condos and resorts ever venture across the road? Was this situation a version of apartheid in a new setting? Was the road a dividing line between the haves and have-nots? The so-called ‘boosterism’ model of tourism has been one of the main models for the development of this sector of the Mexican economy. Every action of the federal government toward the growth of tourism involves the three levels of authority in Mexico: national, state and municipal. Economic planning for the development of the country is based on a national plan that later has to be adjusted for each state in the country. Nayarit state is one of the 30 states in the Mexican Repu- blic: this state has eight political regions for development purposes, and Bahía de Banderas municipality, where Punta de Mita town is located, belongs to what is called ‘region six’ (Hall and Page, 1999; Espinoza, et. al., 2009). Tourism development reached the area of Nayarit at the end of 1960´s as part of the political vision on the state. The federal government clearly indicated at that time that the littoral was very isolated

184 bryan h. massam | rodrigo espinoza sánchez geographically, and there was a pressing need to improve national security of the region. Hence in 1969 the government started to apply specific rules to expropriate extensive sections of land on the coast of eight ejidos1 with a view that this would be part of a project to enhance national territorial security. However this security argument changed radically shortly after the expropriations had occurred, and the government later was in a position to allocate land to promote usages previously not publicly announced or perhaps even envisaged. This set the scene for massive tourism development in the area. The expropriation of land of these eight ejidos on the coast of this state was published in the official paper in November 10th 1970. The expropriated surface of land was in the amount of 4,136 hectares (H), 15 and every ejido23 yielded or gave the federal government the following allocations: Jarretaderas Ejido 332 H Bucerias Ejido 440 H la Cruz de Huanacaxtle 1083 H Higuera Blanca 544 H Sayulita 799 H Peñita de Jaltembs 799 H Las Varas 184 H and El Capomo 324 H (Gutiérrez, 1971). The expropriated territory was virtually abandoned for almost three decades: the land was not suitable for agricultural usage and no specific land use development projects were envisaged or implemented during this period. In due course the government convinced the ejidatarians to abandon their hopes to return to their expropriated land, and to accept that the government would control the destiny of the land usage when they decided. However, prior to the implementation of specific plans the president of Mexico, Luis Echeverria Álvarez, requested that the geographer Gutiérrez be contracted to prepare a tourism development project entitled: Tourism Development Project for the Complex Costa Alegre Nayarita: this became the site of the tourism development project named “la Riviera Nayarita” (Gutiérrez, 1971).

15 23 Ejido is a juridical figure made for a group of persons who had rights over a piece of land.

tourism in mexico: cui bono, autem cui malo 185 The federal government, once it had control of the total land of the Nayarit coast, started to create some statistics and documentation to give de facto and de jure authority to the new territory for the development of tourism. Hence after a short while the Fideicomiso of Bahía de Banderas was created which functions as an agency of real estate planning for the government. La Riviera Nayarit is an international tourism area with a variety of international hotel chains being involved there, for example, and most significantly The Four Seasons Hotel (FSH). Some details of this luxury resort are on their web site: www. fourseasons.com/PuntaMita. The tourism activities of the Four Seasons Hotel in Punta de Mita began in the early 90’s, and in 1999 the international hotel chain started to operate following a very careful analysis of the world market for luxury tourism. The tourist segment of the hotel is a very special one, and sometimes it was suggested that its focus is on golf tourism, but on closer examination we can observe a kind of tourism for international meetings of both a corporate and political nature, as well as for affluent private individuals (Merchand, 2011). At the beginning of its operations the hotel chain made a study of the labour market to examine the skills of the workforce in the region of Bay of Flags. The results highlighted a very interesting aspect relating to workers who did not have a fixed guaranteed sustainable salary. The Four Seasons chain implemented a policy to establish a general salary structure for all the workers, and consequently they were able to attract the most highly qualified workers in the region in this sector. These actions by FSH were a very positive sign for the local people who had contributed to build what they called ‘a huge castle in the sun’: the workers had very high expectations of the positive economic impacts, and particularly employment opportunities that would flow from tourism. However, over time since they were expecting more positive

186 bryan h. massam | rodrigo espinoza sánchez impacts for the community of Punta de Mita, they were disappointed, even though the Mexican legislature had suggested there would be positive impacts. The impacts of the FSH became negative correspon- ding to the claim of Merchand (2011) that “…every project done for the official sector in Mexico and supported in a territorial ordered plan at the end is to favor the international investment and not for the benefits of the community where the tourism is developed”. In conclusion, it seems highly probable that the FSH has brought more poverty to this area which was previously a fisherman village where the local people enjoyed a quiet peaceful life: now all this area is virtually inaccessible for locals, and the fishers have been removed from their original towns following governmental decisions to encourage private investment, and to overlook the goal of the public sector to protect the overall quality of life of all citizens. As an international enterprise the FSH bought some of the expropriated land from the government that was taken from the ejidos some decades ago, with an official claim that such action would secure the littoral as a public good: paradoxically the actions of governments have been to enhance the private good to the benefit of the few at the expense of the many. The three photographs below give a clear impression of the road and developments associated with tourism. The road is for the most part empty, occasionally a tourist bus passes and there only a few taxis and private cars.

tourism in mexico: cui bono, autem cui malo 187 Source: Own from the authors.

188 bryan h. massam | rodrigo espinoza sánchez 5. A survey of opinions about impacts of tourism: expected and revealed

Data were collected by a team under the supervision of Rodrigo Espi- noza Sánchez in April and May 2013. A series of specific questions was developed and tested with informal interviews with students and residents in Puerto Vallarta in early April. Finally a set of 10 questions was used in the survey. 1. age, occupation, and income levels of respondents 2. Who will benefit from tourism and what kinds of benefits? 3. When will benefits occur? 4. How long will benefits endure? 5. Who is likely to suffer? 6. What kinds of costs will occur? 7. When will the costs occur? 8. How long will the costs endure? 9. comparison of overall advantages and disadvantages of tourism 10. How can tourism be planned to maximize benefits and minimize costs?

Slightly different protocols were used in each place due to the availability of respondents and the variations in their willingness to answer questions and express opinions. We accepted each response without trying to force them to answer specific questions in explicit ways. Rather, after we had posed the general question we let them express their views in their own ways, and then we compiled data sets and graphical and numerical summaries of the responses. The summary charts are shown below. With respect to Table 1 Age in Tomatlán, we could find many respondents with different ages, but in Punta de Mita most of the respon-

tourism in mexico: cui bono, autem cui malo 189 dents were old people (fishers). We could not find young people: it was very hard to find young people on the street or in houses, most of the people are old. With respect to occupations in Tomatlán we found more diversity of occupations and everyone was occupied, but in Punta de Mita we only found fishers, housekeepers and administrators. With respect to the income in Tomatlán the respondents gave us the amount of their monthly income whereas in Punta de Mita they didn’t give us the exact amount of monthly income so we considered minimum income from 1000 pesos to 5,000 pesos, and the rest was variable from 5001 to 30,000 pesos. As a general vision of the graphs, it is clear that there are many more poor people in Punta de Mita than in Tomatlán. The removal of residents from Rincon and Risco towns to build Punta de Mita may account for the maintenance of poverty in this region. The acquisition of their land left many in desperate economic conditions. Hence land development for tourism must take into account the effects of privatization of land and expropriation policies. In Tomatlán we interviewed 49 people, and in Punta Mita 47 people due to availability of willing respondents. Our aim was to find 50 in each place. There are some differences between responses on Tables 5, 6 and 9: the Tomatlán respondents answered with more detail, those in Punta de Mita were responding in more general ways. In Tomatlán respondents were specific about who was going to suffer and who was going to benefit, in Punta de Mita they answered in more general ways and most of the answers suggested that all the people were involved in the consequences of the impacts, the respondents were reluctant to be specific as to who precisely might suffer or benefit.

190 bryan h. massam | rodrigo espinoza sánchez Table 3. When will the benefits occur?

Table 4. How long will benefits endure?

tourism in mexico: cui bono, autem cui malo 191 Table 5. Who suffers from tourism?

Table 6. What kinds of cost are associated with tourism?

192 bryan h. massam | rodrigo espinoza sánchez Table 7. When will the costs be experienced?

Table 8. How long will the costs endure?

tourism in mexico: cui bono, autem cui malo 193 Table 9. Comparison of overall advantages and disadvantages of tourism

Table 10. How can tourism be planned to minimize costs and maximize benefits?

Perhaps one of the most striking results is shown on Table 9 in which the expected advantages far outweigh the expected disadvantages for Tomatlán, whereas for Punta de Mita, where tourism has been developed and experienced first-hand for several years, the reverse is revealed. In this case the costs/disadvantages the residents have actually experienced as revealed impacts outweigh the perceived expected advantages.

194 bryan h. massam | rodrigo espinoza sánchez The prospects of economic benefits are paramount yet recognition of environmental damage is clearly in evidence. It is with respect to these two elements of the impacts of tourism that much planning may turn, especially over the long-run. Will economic advantages be sustained and will environmental damage be significant and enduring? Of course different individuals will experience the impacts differently as reflected in the data in the Tables. Table 2 suggest for example that in the case of Tomatlán the local people will benefit more than the investors, whereas for Punta de Mita it is revealed that governments and investors have benefited significantly, whereas local people have not enjoyed significant benefits. In the case of this aspect a number of local people were removed from their land in the area of Corral del Risco for the construction of the massive Four Seasons Complex. This complex is mentioned in the interviews as of great significance, for example in Table 4 which deals with when the impacts were felt. With respect to Table 5 it appears that in the case of Tomatlán it is expected that benefits will be sustained, however there is uncertainty and conditional expectations of the benefits in the case of Punta de Mita. The impacts on the environment are mentioned specifically for the expectation of the project in Tomatlán and in both cases it appears that there are expected and revealed rises in cost of living and changes to traditional ways of life. The planning of tourist development calls on officials in the public and private sectors to involve all citizens in meaningful ways to educate and learn about impacts. Who should take the initiative in this respect? We strongly urge that central government authority have the principal responsibility to protect the public good, and it is their duty to lead in tourist development planning. Of course private investors seek profi- table returns on their investments and it is understandable that governments are tempted to cater to the pressures of the market to attract investments. Moral and ethical responsibilities must play a role in the process of planning, and matters of bribery and corruption need to be

tourism in mexico: cui bono, autem cui malo 195 avoided. A vigilant public press is a mark of an open society in which negative aspects of the market can be exposed and dealt with by a fair and scrupulous legal system. This is a challenge for many countries and Mexico is no exception.

6. Envoi

In the final section of a book like this it is tempting to offer some concluding remarks, suggestions and recommendations by way of finishing the story. In this case the story is about the winners and losers of tourism in Mexico. Only time will tell who won and who lost, and to what extent and in which ways are the wins and losses experienced. We could elaborate on what have been called the Noumenal World and the Phenomenal World. Some have argued that when we look at the world, for example tourism in Mexico, we

[…] are never really perceiving the actual thing itself but instead you are only perceiving the ideas in your head of what that thing is like. As such, the skep- tics argue, because there is sort of a gap between the world and the image inside your head, that image of what the world is like could be completely different to what the world is really like. Kant disliked this and wanted to prove that although we do not have direct access to the world as it really is, the ideas in our head are reliably based on what the world is really like outside. In the simplest sense, Kant says that there are two different worlds. The first world is called the noumenal world. It is the world of things outside us, the world of things as they really are, the world of trees, dogs, cars, houses and fluff that are really real. However, Kant says, our minds are created in such a way that we cannot comprehend this world as it really is. Instead what we perceive is like an altered version of this world which Kant called the phenomenal world. The phenomenal world is the world that we perceive or to put it another way, the view we have of the world that is inside our heads2416.

16 24 Source: http://mrhoyestokwebsite.com/WOKs/Reason/Useful%20Information/Noume-nal% 20&%20Phenomenal.htm

196 bryan h. massam | rodrigo espinoza sánchez Diagrammatically, it might look a bit like this:

If we speculate on tourism and the impacts in the context of Mexico we are left with the problem of deciding what is ‘real’ and what we might call ‘perception’. There are no simple rules for distinguishing among these and no easy answers as to the validity of contemplating such matters when dealing with planning, policy making, collective impacts and the ways that individual lives are affected by tourism. However, we argue that if we are truly concerned about the nature of the public good then this demands that some attention be placed on matters of intellectual inquiry and knowledge as well as public attitudes and perceptions. The relationships between tourism and benefits that flow to individuals either as tourists or as residents of a tourist region are hard to enumerate. However if we reflect on the broader context of life in terms of happiness then tourism is one element that may contribute to overall happiness for individuals. The enormous and ambitious world 17 data base survey on happiness25 includes 12 publications on happiness and ‘vacationing’ that are listed in the Bibliography of Happi- ness, subject section Le06. Much of that work is by Jeroen Nawijn who completed a PhD on this subject under the supervision of Prof. Dr. Ruut 18 Veenhoven26 . Findings on happiness and tourism can be found in the ‘Findings report’ on Happiness and Leisure, the direct link to which is http://worlddatabaseofhappiness.eur.nl/hap_cor/top_sub.php?code=L3.

17 25 http://worlddatabaseofhappiness.eur.nl/ 18 26 Emeritus professor of social conditions for human happiness.

tourism in mexico: cui bono, autem cui malo 197 We encourage the reader to reflect on claims that tourism engenders happiness that endures. As a consumer product tourism is subject to the whims of marketing. Rather than offer terse and possibly trite recommendations and conclusions we prefer to finish the book by offering some challenges to the reader; some encouragement to the reader to examine the words and ideas and decide what to think, how to act or to react. We are each ultimately responsible for our actions: to do nothing and ignore the evidence offered to us by living in the world, the advice or comments of those around us-friends, family, advisors, teachers and the like. We can remain with our ideas, beliefs and values or we may wish to reflect on them and evaluate how we live our lives as private individuals and citizens. Do we have moral responsibility to help others? To be involved in trying to influence the way life is lived in a place: to take responsibility for others who are less able than us or who are suffering and deprived: to contemplate notions of suffering, the good life and living well. These fascinating and important topics are touched on in our book Lived Experiences (Massam, Espinoza and Hracs, 2012) without in any way suggesting any normative answers. The philosopher Iris Murdoch (1970) suggested that to reach correct moral decisions about the world and behavior is to develop the capacity for attention.

I have used the word attention, which I borrow from Simone Weil, to express the idea of just and loving gaze directed upon individual reality. I believe this to be the characteristic and proper mark of the active moral agent. (p. 34)

Attention is rewarded by knowledge of reality; the love which brings the right answer [to moral problems] is an exercise of justice and realism and really looking. The difficulty is to keep attention fixed upon the real situation and to prevent it returning surreptitiously to the self with consolations of self-pity,

198 bryan h. massam | rodrigo espinoza sánchez resentment, fantasy and despair. The refusal to attend may even induce a fictitious sense of freedom: I may as well toss a coin. …It is a task to come to see the world as it is. (p. 91)

Typically we each live in a world of words and thoughts, which takes the place of direct contact with reality. Murdoch suggests ‘Our minds are continually active, fabricating an anxious, usually self-preoccupied veil which partially conceals the world.’ (1970, p.84). To live is a magnificent opportunity to experience being alive until that moment when as some Buddhist monks say ‘we breathe in and do not breathe out’. Until that moment we encourage the reader to find a moment or two to sit and reflect on planning, the public good, and spare a thought for those in Mexico who are promoting tourism as an important way to improve the quality of living for all citizens. The French philosopher Pascal offered some wise advice almost 400 years ago on the matter of sitting and reflecting on life.

[...] tout le malheur des hommes vient d’une seule chose, qui est de ne pas savoir demeurer en repos dans une chambre.

… all the suffering of man comes from one basic source: the inability to sit at ease in a place.

We encourage the reader to sit quietly and reflect on life: then act and take responsibility for your actions.

tourism in mexico: cui bono, autem cui malo 199 7. References and website

Ambrosie, L. (2013). Tourism: Sacred Cow or Silver Bullet? Unravelling the Myths, http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2219707 Andrade, E., Chávez, R.M. y Espinoza, R. (2010). “Desarrollo de la Región Costa Alegre de Jalisco: el papel del turismo”. RESTMA, No. 11 Brown, F.D. (2013). Tourists as colonizers in Quintana Roo, Mexico, The Cana- dian Geographer, Vol.57, No. 2, 186-205 Chodron. T. (2001). Buddhism for Beginners. Ithaca: New York: Snow Lion publications. Cocks, A.S. (2013). The Coming Death of Venice, New York Review of Books, June 20th pp. 21-24. Dagostino R. M. C. Romo E. A. Sanchez R.E. and Gamboa M. N. (2010). Turismo Comunitario en Mexico, (Guadalajara: Universidad de Guadalajara). Diario Oficial de la Federación. 1971 Espinoza, R., Andrade, E., Chávez, R.M. y Medina, J.D. (2010). Geopolítica y Geoeconomía Turística en una Costa Alegre. Caso de las Rivieras de los Nuevos Cancún en Jalisco y la de Nayarit, México. Ponencia presentada en el 4º. Congreso Internacional sobre Turismo y Desarrollo celebrado del 9 al 28 de julio de 2010 en Málaga España, Eumed.net. Espinoza, R., Chávez, R.M., Cornejo, J.L., Andrade, E. (2013). Quality of life survey. Tomatlán a Futuro: edificando el porvenir 2012-2040. (Guadala- jara: Universidad de Guadalajara). Espinoza, R., Chávez, R.M., y Andrade, E. (2009). La deuda del turismo en la región de Bahía de Banderas. Desarrollo rural y calidad de vida. In: Nuñez, P. and Rodríguez, R. Sociedad y Economía. Estudios sobre Puerto Vallarta y su región (Guadalajara: Universidad de Guadalajara). Espinoza, R., Zamora, A. y Cruz, J. (2012). Impactos socioeconómicos y ambientales del turismo. Caso “Nuevo Cancún”, Ejido de José Ma. Morelos, Toma- tlán Jalisco. Reporte de investigación del Programa DELFIN, Universidad de Guadalajara. México.

200 bryan h. massam | rodrigo espinoza sánchez Everitt J. Massam B.H. et al., (2008). The Imprints of Tourism on Puerto Vallar- ta, Jalisco, Mexico, The Canadian Geographer, Vol. 52, No. 1 pp. 83-104). Gutiérrez, S. (1971). Proyecto de Desarrollo Turístico. Complejo costa alegre de Nayarit. Gobierno del Estado de Nayarit. México. Hall, C.M. and Page, S.J. (1999). The Geography of tourism and recreation, (London: Routledge, Taylor & Francis). Martínez, T. (2000). Manual para la Identificación, Formulación y Evaluación de Empresas de Turismo Rural en México. Secretaría de Turismo. México. Massam B. H. (1980). Spatial Search: application to planning problems in the public sector (Oxford: Pergamon Press). —— (1993). The Right Place: shared responsibilities and the location of public facilities (London: Ed. Arnold). —— (1999). Geographical Perspectives on the Public Good, The Canadian Geographer, vol. 43, no. 4 pp. 346-362. —— (2000). Conditions of the Civic State (Jerusalem: Hebrew University Press). —— (2002). Quality of Life: public planning and private living, Progress in Planning, (Oxford: Pergamon Press) Massam B.H. Hracs B. and Espinoza R. (2012). Lived Experiences (Toronto: Martin Prosperity Institute, University of Toronto) Massam B. H. and Sánchez R. E. (2012). Memories of-Memorias de Puerto Va- llarta (Toronto: Swn y Mor). Massam, B.H. Merchand, M.A. Desarrollo inter-estatal turístico de Puerto Vallarta y Bahía de Banderas: México. Revista Problemas del Desarrollo, 168 (43), enero-marzo 2012. Mirbabayev,B. and Malika Shagazatova,M. (2006). The Economic and Social Impact of Tourism. (www.grips.ac.jp/alumni/UzbekistanTourism(2).pdf) Murdoch, I. (1970). The Sovereignty of Good, (London: Routledge and Kegan Paul). Sánchez R. E. Rosa Dagostino M. C. Romo E. A. Ortega J. L. C. Zepeda Y. P. (2013). Pasajes de una década de colaboración académica para el desarrollo entre México y Canadá (Guadalajara: Universidad de Guadalajara Press).

tourism in mexico: cui bono, autem cui malo 201 Taylor, C. (1991). The Malaise of Modernity (Toronto: Anasi Press). World Tourism Organization (1995). Concepts, Definitions and Classifications for Tourism Statistics, Madrid, World Tourism Organization.

Web Sites (July 24, 2013)

Http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Karma#Buddhism http://www.cbc.ca/ideas/episodes/2011/04/11/the-malaise-of-modernity- part-1---5/ http://www.sectur.gob.mx/ http://www.unep.org/resourceefficiency/Business/SectoralActivities/ Tourism/FactsandFiguresaboutTourism/ImpactsofTourism/tabid/78774/ Default.as px http://traveltips.usatoday.com/positive-negative-effects-tourism- 63336.html http://www.revecon.ro/articles/2009-2/2009-2-8.pdf https://sites.google.com/site/tourisminkernow/ https://www.grips.ac.jp/alumni/UzbekistanTourism(2).pdf http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mexico#Economy http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tourism_in_Mexico http://hdr.undp.org/en/ http://www.nmartmuseum.org/site/explore/past/past-exhibitions-2012/ how-the-west-is-one/who-benefits/duplicate-of-cui-bono.html http://www.vindicator.ca/vindicator/cuiBono.html http://faustiesblog.wordpress.com/2013/04/04/health-tourism-cui-bono/ http://www.bangkokpost.com/opinion/opinion/333096/big-spending-on-megaprojects-but-cui-bono http://faustiesblog.wordpress.com/2013/04/04/health-tourism-cui-bono/ http://www.informador.com.mx/economia/2012/389692/6/el-nuevo-cancun- en-suspenso.htm

202 bryan h. massam | rodrigo espinoza sánchez http://www.alexstark.com/pdfs/Chala%20Guadalajara%20Reporter.pdfww w.mapajeff.com https://www.fourseasons.com/PuntaMita http://mrhoyestokwebsite.com/WOKs/Reason/Useful%20Information/ Noumenal%20&%20Phenomenal.htm http://worlddatabaseofhappiness.eur.nl/ http://worlddatabaseofhappiness.eur.nl/hap_cor/top_sub.php?code=L3. http://virtualvallarta.com/puertovallarta/read/readgetaways/cajon-de-pena. shtml

8. Acknowledgements

We are very grateful to Connie Ko of York University for all her help in preparing the manuscript for publication. It is pleasure to work with you Connie. The cover page shows an abstract painting by Bryan Massam: SKY-SEA-LAND, and a photograph of a dirt track next to the beach near Punta de Mita. The abstract painting suggests the basic elements of a natural landscape, but it is the addition of roads and developments in the form of built environments, as well as advertising and promotion that attracts tourists to change the unspoiled landscape into a tourist resort, with all the implications about cui bono, autem cui malo as suggested in this book. Once a tourist resort is built there is no turning the clock back to the original scene.

tourism in mexico: cui bono, autem cui malo 203

CHAPTER IV Tourism in Mexico: many faces

Bryan H. Massam, Brian J. Hracs and Rodrigo Espinoza Sánchez

205 1. Preface

Tourism is a major human activity in the modern age with significant impacts in many countries. Almost 1 billion people travel each year to a foreign destination and experience life in another place. Those who see tourists have a variety of feelings regarding the merits and problems associated with having strangers in their midst. Tourism is an important feature of life in many places in Mexico and a critical element in the economy of the country as discussed on the web site: W1 (the complete list of websites is in the reference section). A general perspective on the impacts of tourism is given by the United Nations Environmental Programme.

On one hand, tourism yields tremendous economic positive outcomes: it is one of the world’s most significant sources of economic outcomes and employment. However, tourism is a very complex industry involving numerous stakeholders (sometimes with opposite interests) and requiring significant amount of resources. As such, tourism can have very opposite effects according to the way activities are managed. Managed well, tourism can play a positive role in the socio, cultural, economic, environmental and political development of the destination and as such represents a significant development opportunity for many countries and communities. On the contrary, unchecked tourism development can lead to very damageable impacts. (W2)

Possible connections between tourists and Mexicans in Puerto Vallarta (Jalisco), one of Mexico’s most important tourist destinations, are given on the two schematic figures below.

206 massam | hracs | espinoza sánchez Cui bono-Who Benefits from Tourism: A critical question Aspects of Tourism in Puerto Vallarta

Source: Bryan H. Massam.

While tourists visit Puerto Vallarta to enhance their QOL is not clear how their presence affects the QOL of local resident The imprints of tourism on Puerto Vallarta, Jalisco, Mexico. Everitt & Massam et al. (2008). Source: Bryan H. Massam.

There are some myths about the advantages of mass tourism in Mexico as Ambroise (2013) has carefully documented, specifically using data for Cancun prior to 1995 and in recent years. Three quotations from The Economist capture the changing nature of tourism in Mexico and the challenges this sector of the economy faces. A painful tune: May 1st 2009

Traditional May Day rallies have been cancelled as the country begins a five-day suspension of ‘non-essential’ activities …in the latest effort to tackle the spread of swine flu. … Mexico’s tourist industry is also suffering. So far,

tourism in mexico: many faces 207 America, Canada and some European countries have advised citizens to avoid travel to Mexico. … widespread bans [of flights] could be in the offing. They will hurt the economy directly, as well as any lingering aversion to travel to Mexico once bans are lifted. Mexico welcomed 21.4 million in 2007, from whom it earned US $14.1 billion.

Can’t keep them away: Nov 25th 2010

… 30,000 people died in last 4 years (most of them drug traffickers) …For an economy that replies on tourism for nearly a tenth of its income, the gruesome headlines are painful. Mexico’s tourism sector is doing rather well. After an appalling 2009, in which the outbreak of swine flu emptied hotels overnight, the number of visitors this year [2010] will be close to 2008’s record total of 22.6 million. Even excluding 50 million day-trippers, Mexico remains the world’s tenth most-visited country.

Diving off a cliff: Sept 21 2013

For the first time in 55 years, this week a hurricane and tropical storm arrived almost simultaneously on Mexico’s Pacific and Gulf coasts, killing at least 80 people and leaving tens of thousands homeless. Acapulco …bore the brunt of the storm just as it was struggling to overcome a collapse in tourism and the stigma of becoming Mexico’s most violent city. “Acapulco is sinking” splashed REFORMA, a newspaper. Though the resort’s heyday is long past, it did enjoy a recent revival in upmarket tourism. That proved brief. The number of foreign visitors flying in plunged from almost 350,000 in 2006 to fewer than 61,000 in 2012. It received just none cruise ships last year, down from 81 in 2011. Even those most reckless of tourists, American spring-breakers, have balked. Their numbers have plummeted by 93% in three years. The main reason is drug-related violence. Acapulco, a city of 850,000, saw more than 1,000 murders last year, half as many again as Mexico City, which has ten times more people.

The cover page shows six images of the ways that some features of tourism are manifest in Mexico, specifically in the state of Jalisco close to Puerto Vallarta: cruise ships arrive and bring tourists often for a

208 massam | hracs | espinoza sánchez very short stay in the harbor at Puerto Vallarta –perhaps for less than 24 hours– buses take passengers from the cruise vessel to selected retail stores to shop, then return them to the ship, some tourists seek the peace and isolation of horse-back riding in areas far removed from resort areas, while others seek the thrill and adventure of driving all-terrain vehicles in rural settings on trails that throw up piles of dust and cause considerable damage to local vegetation. Others seek beach locations to swim, sunbathe and relax close to the sea. In certain places evidence of a new facility such as an airstrip may indicate expected and planned growth of a future tourist industry in an area currently without tourism. The removal of mangrove swamps close to the sea to prepare land for hotels and resorts can have severe environmental impacts on water quality and related ecological distress to wildlife habitats. The funding of major tourist investments is often not publicly scrutinized due to confidentiality issues, and awareness of the flows of capital and profits are also not always available to ensure that appropriate taxes are collected and the predicted expected benefits suggested by the promoters are in fact delivered. There are indeed many faces to tourism. Some of the legal and financial aspects of tourism in Mexico are addressed by Brown (2013). A selection of six perspectives of life concerning tourism is offered in this article. The perspectives are: happiness, consumerism, aesthetics, environmental and ecological damage, bribery and corruption, and inequalities in society. With respect to tourism the first three are generally overtly displayed and viewed positively, whereas the latter three tend to carry negative connotations, and to a large extent subversive and hidden from public scrutiny. This essays focuses on features of tourism and tourists that have received little attention in the literature. Specifically we undertake an empirical study of attitudes and opinions regarding emotions and

tourism in mexico: many faces 209 feelings experienced by local residents in five communities in Mexico when the respondents reflect on the wordstourism and tourists, paying particular attention to the six perspectives outlined above. Four of the communities are in the state of Jalisco and one is in the adjacent state of Narayit. Our comments on the five communities are based on the empirical study and several field visits, and the results of previous work on tourism in Jalisco and Narayit. This project complements studies over the last decade that we have undertaken in Mexico on the impacts of tourism on the quality of life of Mexicans, and the nature, magnitude and significance of economic, social, environmental and political effects.

2. Introduction

The purpose of this book is to offer some new ideas and an empirical study that examines selected features of tourism in five Mexican communities. We hope that this work on emotions and feelings, as experienced by Mexicans with respect to tourism and tourists, will raise awareness of the effects of tourism on personal wellbeing beyond the usual economic, social, environmental and political impacts that have characterized most work thus far on tourism in Mexico and elsewhere. If we focus attention on tourism in a specific place at a particular time we can envisage a series of possible features or perspectives as shown schematically on Figures 1 and 2. The challenge for the researcher is to find a suitable way to evaluate and assess the nature of the perspectives on the wellbeing of local residents in the place under investigation. In this study we focus attention on thoughts, feelings, emotions and the ways the mind converts experiences into language and reactions. The general topic of consciousness that relates the mind to feelings and emotions and wellbeing is highly complex and controversial; it touches fields of neuroscience, belief systems and culture.

210 massam | hracs | espinoza sánchez Some schematic presentations and connections are offered in section 4 to introduce the reader to the variety of possible connections. A recent book by Harris (2014) draws on his scientific background on the study of the brain and neuroscience as well as his critical analysis of matters of belief, spirituality and happiness. A readily available introduction to these topics is offered by Harris in his reading of chapter one of his book Waking Up. (W3)

Figure 1. Three perspectives of Tourism

Figure 2. Shadow sides/perspectives of Tourism

Source: Bryan H. Massam.

tourism in mexico: many faces 211 The five communities –Puerto Vallarta, Las Palmas, Tomatlán, Cabo Corrientes and Higuera Blanca– in which we have selected respondents to answer express opinions about feelings and emotions to a set of 6 questions are shown on the maps below. Details of the questions and the responses are provided in later sections. Puerto Vallarta is one of the most important tourist destinations in Mexico with a population approaching 300,000. Tourism is well regarded here and Mexicans in the state of Jalisco generally consider it as valuable source of employment and a secure prospect for a sustainable future with distinct benefits: though not without some challenges regarding the distribution of benefits and possible changes due to the fickle nature of international tourism. Las Palmas (c 4,000) is situated close by and clearly residents there are strongly influenced by their proximity to Puerto Vallarta and enjoy some of the benefits of employment opportunities relating to tourism. On the other hand Tomatlán (c 35,000) has very limited direct experience of tourism, but in recent years there have been very significant debates there regarding a most ambitious set of proposals by major international and national investors to develop a massive resort complex, build a new airport and develop the coastline in ways to rival Cancun. Local residents have a variety of opinions about the merits of these plans in the light of the speculative nature of costs and benefits. An overview of this project is given on the web sites (W4, W5). Cabo Corrientes (c 10,000) is situated in the mountains and with several small towns and settlements are slowly emerging as a set of small-scale tourist destinations. All these communities are in the state of Jalisco. Higuera Blanca is a very small community of less than 1000 people, without clear identity on most maps of the state of Nayarit; close by is one of the largest and most recent and ambitious tourist developments in Mexico at Punta de Mita with a vast complex of luxury

212 massam | hracs | espinoza sánchez condominiums, time-share apartments and the vast hotel complex of the Four Seasons Hotel which serves an affluent international clien- tele. Residents of Higuera Blanca are rarely involved in working or visiting the tourist areas nearby: some of the people we met view tourism with suspicion, and they lack detailed awareness of the precise nature of the tourist developments nearby. Some details of the developments at Punta de Mita are on the web site (W6). In section 3 we provide comments regarding the six perspectives referred to on Figures 1 and 2, and in section 4 a variety of ways that thoughts can relate to feelings and emotions is explored. This exercise informs the development of a questionnaire which is used for the collection of empirical data. An overview of the data collection protocol is given in section 5. We offer in section 6 a discussion on the notion of ‘cultural setting’, as elaborated by Hofstede et al. (2010), as the context in which individuals express feelings and emotions. Also we describe a Locus of Control study to evaluate the attitudes of individuals about their views of the world. For comparative purposes we include some data from Canada to highlight contrasts between the two societies, and to throw light on the ways Mexicans develop opinions about tourists as visitors to their country. We also include some data from interviews with Canadian Buddhists for comparative purposes. They tend to have a particular view of life and the material world, and matters of control and influences on quality of life which involves an understanding of the mind rather than possession of assets and circumstances that others may believe engender happiness. The detailed responses to a set of four questions that yield numerical information are displayed graphi- cally and summarized in section 7. Overall conclusions are offered in section 8.

tourism in mexico: many faces 213 Source: www.google.com.mx

214 massam | hracs | espinoza sánchez Source: www.google.com.mx

3. Perspectives of life that relate to tourism

In this section we offer brief remarks about the six perspectives of life that inform the questions that were developed and used in the survey conducted in the five communities. The perspectives obviously are not discrete and they have very broad impacts which go far beyond tourism, yet we argue that the main features of each one can be considered as a focal point regarding the impacts of tourism in a community. The six perspectives are

• Happiness • Consumerism • Aesthetics • Environmental and ecological damage

tourism in mexico: many faces 215 • Bribery and corruption • Inequalities

There is a widespread perception that happiness and consumption are connected and that as the availability of consumer goods increases and the means to make purchases i.e. income levels grow, so happiness is enhanced. Of course happiness as relief from material deprivation is increased as basic needs are made available to citizens in the form of food, shelter, security, access to health care, education, a clean environment and the like so the quality of the lives (QOL) of individuals is improved. Governments and the private sector typically promote consumption as the way forward for a society to develop and become richer while offering more and more choices to citizens and so a stable happier world results. A very useful introduction to the notions of consumerism within contemporary society and the consequences of mass production and advertising as they relate to the production and con- sumptions of goods with a global setting is given on the web site (W7).

The Canadian Institute of Advanced Research (W9) is involved in an international project on connections among material consumption and well-being. Some details are given below.

216 massam | hracs | espinoza sánchez The notion of QOL is complex and much has been written about its definition and measurement, and ways to promote it. Massam (2002) offers a summary of the literature and recognizes that public planning, when combined with private living, is the way forward to improve life chances and social stability. The QOL of an individual or community and hence happiness goes far beyond the consumptive aspects of a society and touches matters of feelings, emotions, faith, belief, trust, respect, dignity and identity: these intangible aspects of life contribute very significantly to a person’s sense of purpose, and can yield a richness of contentment as he or she moves from birth to death in the knowledge that they have lived meaningfully within their social context with its values and attitudes. An approach to the study of QOL has been developed by researchers at the University of Toronto that embraces a set of three elements of life: being, belonging and becoming. The basic information about this approach is shown below (W10).

tourism in mexico: many faces 217 Source: Bryan H. Massam.

The QOL of citizens must take into account existential aspects of having and being. The heightening of consciousness from the Hegeleian perspective argues that this is the cause, not the effect, of the material world. The means of enhancing consciousness to empower citizens to define and implement alternate paradigms of progress beyond economic growth toward the public good and homo sustiens is a challenge to all concerned people, whether citizens, politicians, bureaucrats or layper- sons. Within the discipline of psychology the sub-field of hedonic psychology has emerged. A brief introduction is offered below from the book by the Nobel prize-winner Kahneman (2011). In the nineties, Kahneman’s research focus began to gradually shift towards the field of “hedonic psychology.” This subfield is closely related to the positive psychology movement, which was steadily gaining in popularity at the time. According to Kahneman and colleagues,

218 massam | hracs | espinoza sánchez Hedonic psychology ... is the study of what makes experiences and life pleasant or unpleasant. It is concerned with feelings of pleasure and pain, of interest and boredom, of joy and sorrow, and of satisfaction and dissatisfaction. It is also concerned with the whole range of circumstances, from the biological to the societal, that occasion suffering and enjoyment. (Kahneman, Diener and Schwarz, 1999, ix)

The US Constitution speaks of the right to ‘the pursuit of happiness’ as if it is a commodity to be sought after! The revered Buddhist teacher Ajahn Sumedho (2014) asks, what is happiness? ‘You may think it’s how you feel when you get what you want: unhappiness is not getting what you want.’ In the Buddhist teachings these narrow views are delu- sions as they are related to our senses and hence narrow and liable to impermanence. The notions of happiness as lying beyond sense-related feelings and emotions is explored in work by Gilbert (2006), Layard (2005) and Haidt (2006): their work is most informative and instructive for all who have an interest in the human condition and the ways that lived experiences influence the quality of our lives. Hofstede et al. (2010: 278) offer comments on happiness within the context of values that define the culture of a state: this work will be used in section 6 when we explore the cultural setting of Mexico within which impressions regarding tourists and tourism is evaluated. ‘Happiness, or subjective well-being, as academics prefer to call it, is a universally cherished goal. Unfortunately, some nations as a whole do much better than others in the universal chase of happiness’. Hofstede et al. (2010: 278) remind us ‘There is vast academic literature on SWB (subjective well-being). Usually two main aspects are distinguished: a cognitive evaluation of one’s life and a description of one’s feelings’. The renowned British economist Layard has provided rich material on the topic of the emerging so-called ‘science of happiness’, and at the level of the state it is abundantly clear that happiness is less related

tourism in mexico: many faces 219 to income as a measure of consumption potential, than to less tangible elements of life as referred to earlier. The figure below suggests that Mexico with a modest income level enjoys a level of happiness that is equaled by states with considerably higher income levels for example New Zealand, Canada or USA. It appears from the graph that countries like Britain, France and Germany with prosperous economies and high levels of life expectancy, literacy and material comforts and access to high quality social services and public goods have lower happiness levels than Mexico. Expectations are high in western rich countries for many, and the gap between what citizens have and what they want is in some cases large, hence unhappiness results. Further elaboration on the relationships between happiness, consumption and personal finances is given in the publication of Deaton (2008): connections between health, well-being and happiness are explored using world survey conducted by Gallup in 2006. (W11) The results suggest patterns similar to those identified on the graph by Layard (2005). A somewhat difference perspective on happiness as well-being is offered by The Economist in an article –The Pursuit of Happiness– published in 2011 on well-being and wealth. A Better Life index is used to measure well-being: the graph of ‘well-being’ and ‘wealth’ places Mexico in the lowest sector of 34 OECD countries. (W12) Bhutan has introduced the notion of happiness into their national planning to replace Gross National Product: this experiment is in its early days and is worthy of attention to watch how it evolves as global capitalism grows and consumption and advertising increases, and more and more tourists visit this isolated state high in the Himalayas that remained cut off from the world for centuries until recent years. Three websites that refer to happiness and progress are (W13, W14, W15).

220 massam | hracs | espinoza sánchez Comparing Countries

Source: Richard Layard (2005). Happiness Lessons from a new science, Penguin Books, London, pp. 32-33.

A vast international project on happiness is based in the Netherlands: it is perhaps the largest project of its kind in the world and serves scholars, planners and researchers who seek ways to enhance the human condition and to identify projects and policies that in fact detract from QOL and happiness even though they have their promoters. Details are available on the web site (W16) which inter alia provides information for ‘happiness in Mexico’. Among the many web sites that discuss happiness and consumption we offer three (W17, W18, W19) that are worthy of attention by serious scholars of the field of happiness. One aspect of happiness some have reflected on concerns aesthetics-style, beauty, fashion, harmony, elegance, and grace –all of which it is suggested can contribute to yield a sense of worth and value in indi-

tourism in mexico: many faces 221 viduals and a community: a sense of innovation and change yet stability and identity that provides security and a way of life that helps citizens flourish in body, mind and spirit. Ugliness and unseemly ways of behaving, talking, and acting for example, can detract from happiness and the sublime, and are aesthetically unattractive. Of course many of the elements of aesthetics are highly subjective: beauty is indeed in the eye of the beholder! However in a community with established norms, standards and values if newcomers, for example tourists, arrive with different values about aesthetics and ways of living and behaving then potentially conflicts can arise and distress results. Our senses can detect differences, and our emotions and feelings can be disturbed if we encounter sharp differences regarding aesthetic elements of life. To help clarify comments on aesthetics we draw on a definition from the web site (W20). Aesthetics is a branch of philosophy dealing with the nature of art, beauty, and taste, with the creation and appreciation of beauty. It is more scientifically defined as the study of sensory or sensori-emotional values, sometimes called judgments of sentiment and taste. More broadly, scholars in the field define aesthetics as “critical reflection on art, culture and nature”. The German philosopher and critic Adorno who wrote much about aesthetics argued that aesthetics could not proceed without confron- ting the role of the culture industry in the commodification of art and aesthetic experience. In the first edition of the celebrated book by Croce (1902) he regards aesthetics not merely as a branch of philosophy, but as a fundamental human activity. The contemporary scholar of criticism Eagleton (1990) in his book on the ideology of the aesthetic reflects on the connection of aesthetics as perceptions of beauty and the like with control and power, politics and desire to subjugate. He speculates that ‘If the aesthetic is a dangerous, ambiguous affair, it is because …

222 massam | hracs | espinoza sánchez there is something in the body which can revolt against power which inscribes it…’. (page 28). In contrast Dissanayake (1995) suggests that ‘Humankind has been called tool using (Homo faber), upright (a hominid precursor, (Homo erectus) playful (Homo ludens), and wise (Homo sapiens): but why not Homo aestheticus? When mentioned at all, art is usually regarded as an indication of human intelligence, as evidenced of the ability to make and use symbols, or of degree of cultural development, not as something biologically distinct and noteworthy in its own right’. (page xiii) A comprehensive overview of the vast and complex subject of aesthetics is offered by the anthology edited by Kearney and Rasmussen (2001). While scholars may deliberate on the meaning and significance of the term aesthetics the ordinary citizens sees the world through different eyes which nevertheless is highly significant as offering a sense of identity, satisfaction or distress which is reflected in feelings and emotions and moods. That there are aspects of life in Mexico which are generally hidden from close public view and which touch on matters of bribery and corruption, environmental and ecological damage and inequalities, few would dispute. With respect to bribery and corruption, environmental and ecology damage and inequalities in Mexico relating to tourism we have some anecdotes and speculative evidence. However, clear incon- trovertible evidence about the nature, magnitude and significance is lacking. Anecdotal stories and the occasional dramatic public display of particularly events such as deaths due to violence relating to drug activities, kidnappings or destruction of coast lines and forests for example due to storms or water management failures appear as press releases and TV news events that are reported in Mexico and elsewhere. Such events may impinge on tourism directly or indirectly but it is hard to identify the specific connections in every case. Regarding the matter of inequalities the evidence is persuasive that there are significant differences at all scales within Mexico. Precisely what roles tourism plays

tourism in mexico: many faces 223 in exacerbating or alleviating differences is speculative. But general trends can be identified. In this project we try to collect opinions and impressions from respondents about their perceptions of such matters, rather than hard evidence of actual cases of environment or ecological damage, bribery and corruption or inequalities. Campuzano et al. (2014) acknowledge that while tourism has brought benefits to some in Puerto Vallarta, there are significant differences and spatial segregation among the rich and poor, and the benefits are unequally distributed: a typical situation in many tourist resorts in Mexico. We include four quotations from recent articles in The Economist which touch on the economic world of Mexico, especially investors and the informal sector and challenges concerning justice and safety. Such matters relate to inequalities and the direct links to tourism are not always immediately evident though the service sector does employ many who serve tourists. From darkness, dawn: Nov 24th 2012

Some awful years are giving way to what, if managed properly, could be a prosperous period for Latin America’s second-largest economy. … Its economy remains dependent on the fortunes of the USA, and financial crises in Europe make investors jittery. Promised reforms will depend on persuading entrenched interests to accept them. Corruption and bad government, especially at the local level, may cause good initiatives to fall at the last hurdle. And the drug war is by no means over.

Labour pains: Nov 3rd 2012

Mexico has one of the largest informal economies in Latin America.

Stingy by any measure: Aug 16th 2014

Mexico is the only country in the region where the minimum wage is significantly below the poverty line. … Big economies like Argentina, Brazil, Chile

224 massam | hracs | espinoza sánchez and Columbia raised their base wages from 2002 to 2011 between two and three times the breadline. In those countries income equality improved sharply as a result.

Reality bites: May 25th 2013

Investors who were starry eyed about Mexico’s economic potential at the beginning of the year are now having misgivings. It [the OECD] calls for a mixture of policies to reduce the size of the informal economy, where 60% of unem- ployment languishes, mostly in small, inefficient companies. It also argues for stronger legal system that enforces competition laws, for example, and improvements to the criminal-justice process to make life safer for individuals and firms.

Inequality within a country is touched on in the work by the Legatum Institute in their project on prosperity using a wide range of economic and social factors to measure the prosperity of a country. The study suggest that Mexico ranks 59th with Canada in 3rd position out of 142 countries. Full details of the project are on the web site (W21). Meléndez (2008) offers a discussion paper of matters relating to connections among the free trade agreement embraced by NAFTA and tourism and the environment in Mexico. Dispute resolution matters are identified with respect to those from USA who wish to invest in tourist projects, and also the regulations concerning environmental impacts of tourist activities. These are complex topics. One of the most famous tourist resorts in Mexico is Cancun. It is clear that the sustainability of this resort is in jeopardy according to the web site (W22).

There have been adverse environmental effects as a result of the governments drive to develop mega-projects along Mexico’s coast. Cancun’s carrying capacity has been exceeded to a point where the benefits of tourism are beginning to significantly diminish. The unchecked development of Cancun has consi-

tourism in mexico: many faces 225 derably contaminated its lagoon in the west. Parts of the lagoon have been destroyed to make room for a major highway system. In addition, new strains of vegetation species have appeared which cannot be cultivated in the indige- nous environment. This vegetation often washes onto the road producing foul smells which negatively affect tourist perceptions. A nearby rainforest has lost some 60,000 hectares simply as a result of the development plans. The erection of hotels and restaurants not only destroys wildlife in the rainforests but hotel owners are also forced to import exotic plants to replace those which they have carelessly destroyed. It is also apparent that in the areas where hotels were constructed, the surrounding environment suffered far more environmental damage during Hurricane Gilbert than those areas that were preserved in their natural state. The construction of 120 hotels in 20 years has also endan- gered breeding areas for marine turtles, as well as causing large numbers of fish and shellfish to be depleted or disappear just offshore. In order to prevent further environmental destruction many Mexican conservation groups have lobbied the Mexican government to regulate the development of Cancun and other tourist hot spots.

Environment problems relating to the development of Cancun are presented on the web site (W23). Kersten (1997) has examined the impacts of tourism on regional development especially in Chiapas following NAFTA.

Tourism helps to speed up development in poor countries. It is easier to attract tourists than to sell high-tech products on the world market. (OECD 1995, 39)

In Mexico, under the impacts of neoliberalism and the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), this statement seems to be especially cogent for the “poor of the poor”, the unskilled workers, subsistence farmers, unemployed or dislocated. Tourism in Mexico will probably create new jobs in the near future and has some comparative advantages against other sectors as well as against the U.S. and Canada. Therefore, until the overall level of Mexican development rises and Mexico’s comparative advantages in tourism and elsewhere decreases (OECD 1995, 39), one could argue that tourism might offer

226 massam | hracs | espinoza sánchez a safe haven for some of Mexico’s poor thereby diminishing some of NAFTA’s expected drawbacks for the poor.

Eberts et al. (2011) (W24) offer an empirical study of the environmental and health problems of the massive waste dump near Puerto Vallarta. They suggest that there are some connections among tourism in Puerto Vallarta and the size of the dump and the material stored there. More systematic empirical research is needed to provide data which can be replicated and publicly scrutinized on matters concerning the shadow sides of tourists. This work is controversial and potential threa- tens some vested interests.

4. Feelings and emotions: connections to senses and wellbeing

From the moment of birth until we draw our last and final breath experiences impinge on as us sentient beings. Our five senses detect each experience and send messages to our brain: there may be conscious awareness or not of the experience, and reactions may be consciously recognized or subconsciously absorbed into our being. Our bodily functions may be altered temporarily or more permanently: our senses are heightened or dulled and emotions and feelings occur. The mind is at work to evaluate, judge, cope, explain, reject or otherwise ignore the experience or sensations. In this section we display two schematic diagrams to illustrate some of the connections among experiences, emotions and feelings and well-being. We also offer some comments regarding experiences, for example, seeing tourists or thinking about the words tourism or tourist, and the emotions, feelings and sentiments that are created and expressed. The questionnaire used for the survey attempts to elicit responses from a sample of adults and young people in each community when they reflect on tourism and their experiences of seeing tourists.

tourism in mexico: many faces 227 The world famous neurologist Professor Antonio Damasio has studied the brain and mind for many years and systematically examined connections between experiences and feelings, emotions and moods of subjects. He has observed that joy or sorrow can emerge only after the brain registers physical changes in the body. In an article in Scientific American in the section on MIND he reflects on feeling our emotions. Details are on the web site (W25).

For centuries, the fleeting and highly subjective world of feelings was the purview of philosophers. But during the past 30 years, Antonio R. Damasio has strived to show that feelings are what arise as the brain interprets emotions, which are themselves purely physical signals of the body reacting to external stimuli. ‘MIND: So, then, feelings are formed by emotions? Damasio: Yes. The brain is constantly receiving signals from the body, regis- tering what is going on inside of us. It then processes the signals in neural maps, which it then compiles in the so-called somatosensory centers. Feel- ings occur when the maps are read and it becomes apparent that emotional changes have been recorded—as snapshots of our physical state, so to speak.

Differences between emotions and feelings are explored by Voris in his article at (W6). Over the course of our work over the last decade many Mexicans have shared with us their informal anecdotal opinions about tourists and tourism. In general terms feelings can influence the way a person leads their life and the way they relate to others. Feelings can be recognized as a state of consciousness resulting from emotions, sentiments or desires. In psychology, the word feeling is usually reserved for the conscious subjective experience of emotion. A gut feeling, or gut reaction, is a visceral emotional reaction to something. It may be negative, such as a feeling of uneasiness, or positive, such as a feeling of trust. Gut feelings are generally regarded as not modulated by conscious thought,

228 massam | hracs | espinoza sánchez and as a reflection of intuition rather than rationality. Affect refers to the experience of feeling or emotion. Emotion can be differentiated from a number of similar constructs within the field of affective neuroscience:

• Feelings are best understood as a subjective representation of emotions, private to the individual experiencing them. • Moods are diffuse affective states that generally last for much longer durations than emotions and are also usually less intense than emotions. • Affect is an encompassing term, used to describe the topics of emotion, feelings, and moods together, even though it is commonly used interchangeably with emotion.

We experience the world through our five senses: sight, sound, taste, smell and the largest organ of the body-the skin-detects and feels, and the mind mediates and creates thoughts, reflects on memories and generates emotions and feelings: words come to mind and sentiments arise-positive, negative or neutral. We may choose to develop a narrative around the experience and seek to explain, control or understand causes and consequences or even to assign blame or responsibility. Or we can be at peace and be fully aware of the feelings and accept them with equanimity and a measure of detachment. A narrative may seem to give us a sense of control or despair, and cause us to be angry, joyful, frustrated or a whole range of expressions may come to mind. Our sense of identity and belonging gives us security to cope with circumstances that potentially create distress. This aspect of identity is elaborated in the work by Hofstede et al. (2010) and his international research team referred to later in section 5 on dimensions of the culture of a nation.

Feeling (vedana) in the Buddhist tradition, is just the basic affective tone of our experience, most simply as pleasant, unpleasant or neither-pleasant- not-unpleasant, distinct from the mental or emotional reactions which it often

tourism in mexico: many faces 229 initiates. Feelings are present whenever there is consciousness, whether we are aware of them or not. Sometimes they may be quite subtle, and other times we are simply not aware of them. In practice there is actually a continuum of feeling tones, which range from the most ecstatically pleasant to ordi- narily pleasant, neutral or slightly unpleasant, to excruciatingly unpleasant. Unlike the brain, the mind has no fixed form or dimension. As consciousness it precedes things. Mental and physical phenomena are interdependent. Mind does not make the physical, but it is mind which is the more important, as it can acknowledge and recognize, define and qualify, organize and integrate the physical. And it is the moral quality of mind, defiled or purified, which conditions the affective quality of our experience. The mind is the source of both misery and joy, depending on how it has or has not been developed.’ Ajahn Thiradhammo, Treasures of the Buddha’s Teachings, Publications, 2014.

I may accept that I am a conscious being, though precisely what this implies defies a neat description. I can inquire as to the content of my consciousness and conclude it embraces emotions, feelings and memories which in total comprise what some philosophers refer to as qualia: that is the specific quality of one’s subjective experiences of the world, like the taste of sea water or the smell of coffee, unmistakable and possibly unique to each of us. Can we prove their actual existence? Is consciousness simply the medium I which I live and have a sense of personal identity? One problem is how to represent it, especially in different selves from my own.

Qualia are the subjective or qualitative properties of experiences. What it feels like, experientially, to see a red rose is different from what it feels like to see a yellow rose. Likewise for hearing a musical note played by a piano and hearing the same musical note played by a tuba. The qualia of these experiences are what give each of them its characteristic ‘feel’ and also what distinguish them from one another. Qualia have traditionally been thought to be intrinsic quali- ties of experience that are directly available to introspection. (W27) Introspection is the process by which someone comes to form beliefs about her own mental states. We might form the belief that someone else is happy on

230 massam | hracs | espinoza sánchez the basis of perception – for example, by perceiving her behavior. But a person typically does not have to observe her own behavior in order to determine whether she is happy. Rather, one makes this determination by introspecting. (W28)

A schematic representation of some of the connections and consequences of experiences when a Mexican encounters a tourist are shown on Figure 3. Experiences with tourists can be considered as a lived experience: this term has been used by Massam et al. (2012) to examine the stated subjective QOL of respondents as a complement to other studies of QOL that rely on objective data sets to determine QOL scores. A lived experience is subjective and relates to memories and perceptions. Such memories can impinge on the body’s immune system and in some circumstances generate sickness and distress. A schematic illustration of the connections of memories to distress is given on Figure 4 drawing on the celebrated work of Selye. Figure 3. How does a Mexican react to a tourist?

SENSES Sight, sound, taste, smell, touch (mediated by thoughts)

SUBCONCIOUS CONSCIOUSNESS & EXPERIENCES OF/ Perceptions of emotions AWARENESS WITH TOURISTS Bodily reactions Duration and intensity

EMOTIONS & FEELINGS Anger, sadness, fear, enjoyment, love, surprise, disgust, shame (Positive, neutral, negative)

Source: Bryan H. Massam.

tourism in mexico: many faces 231 Figure 4. Memories-Immune System-Wellbeing

Dr. Hans Selye (1907-1982) Founder of medical study of stress. The Stress of Life (1956). PNI-psychoneuroimmunology- a growing field of medicine.

Prior to developing a questionnaire discussions between Massam and Espinoza took place at CUC with members of the research team who would administer the questionnaire to ensure they had a good understanding of the purpose of our project, and be aware of some of the difficulties of explaining the nature and purpose of project to respondents in the focus groups.

5. Overview of data collection

During the months of May and June 2014 Rodrigo Espinoza and his research team at CUC Universidad de Guadalajara in Puerto Vallarta prepared two types of questionnaire: 1. Locus of Control survey 2. Opinion survey Espinoza selected a sample of 20 respondents in the five communities under investigation: 10 adults and 10 young people. The communities were selected to cover a range of types of tourist destination that are accessible to the research teams.

232 massam | hracs | espinoza sánchez First each respondent completed a Locus of Control questionnaire. We used the set of 13 questions original questionnaire of Rotter (1966) shown on the web site (W29). But in order to focus some attention on tourism two of the original questions were replaced. The original Ques- tions 4 and 8 were replaced by: Question 4 • The idea that tourists treat Mexicans badly is nonsense. • Most Mexicans don’t realize the extent to which the way they are treated by tourists is influenced by accidental happenings.

Question 8 • In the case of the hardworking Mexican at a resort there is rarely, if ever, such thing as an unsatisfied tourist. • Many times work opportunities with tourists tend to be so unre- lated to how hard I am prepared to work.

The LOC scores are reported in section 6. Second, data on opinions, feelings and emotions were collected in a series of focus groups, and collective responses derived and recorded. A set of 6 general topics was developed drawing on the six perspectives discussed in section 4 and from earlier discussions with colleagues in Puerto Vallarta at CUC, and tested with a sample of students in the Universidad of Guadalajara in Puerto Vallarta, as well as with selected individuals and officials in each community. This specific project on the impacts of tourism and tourists on life as impacting feelings and emotions was discussed with the respondents, as a complementary study to previous work on tourism published by CUC. The respondent were informed that this project is being undertaken in order to raise awareness of approaches to the study of tourism in all its many aspects and to help those in authority and all citizens make wise decisions and plans regarding tourism in Mexico.

tourism in mexico: many faces 233 The information from respondents in the communities of: Tomatlán, Cabo Corrientes, Puerto Vallarta and Las Palmas were collected in two focus groups separately of adults or young people. In La Higuera Blanca only one focus group was used because the respondents preferred this approach. The following series of 6 questions were used to solicit responses on attitudes, emotions and feelings about tourists and tourism. Questions 1. We each experience the world through our 5 senses: sight, sound, feel, touch, smell. When you think of a tourist which words describe how you feel with respect to each sense? 2. Feelings and emotions are connected though our minds and bodies, our consciousness and sub-conscience: examples of emotions are anger, happiness, surprise, sadness, shame, pleasure, jealousy. Con- sider which emotions you experience when you think about tourists and tourism. a) Which 3 or 4 emotions do you generally feel when you think about tourists? b) How intense are the emotions: are they positive, negative, neutral: weak, strong, neutral? c) How long do the emotions last: a few minutes/hours/days? 3. FIVE true/false claims about tourists and tourism are presented for you to reflect on. There are no wrong or right answers. a) I feel good about myself and my family: true/false/uncertain-neutral b) I feel concerned about myself and my family: true/false/uncertain-neutral c) Tourists and tourism are a mixed blessing and I am unsure about how I feel about them

234 massam | hracs | espinoza sánchez d) Some tourists make me feel good about life e) Some tourists make me feel concerned about myself 4. Do you think that tourism and tourists add to/reduce/change your overall happiness/buying habits/sense of beauty and aesthetics? a) do they (tourists and tourism) increase happiness/buying habits/ sense of beauty to me and my family? True/false/neutral b) do they (tourists and tourism) reduce increase happiness/buying habits/sense of beauty to me and my family? True/false/neutral c) do they (tourists and tourism) not change increase happiness/ buying habits/sense of beauty to me and my family? True/false/ neutral d) some kinds of tourists and tourism add to happiness: e) True/false/neutral f) some (tourists and tourism) change my buying habits and add to my sense of beauty and aesthetics: True/false/neutral 5. Do you think that tourism and tourists has anything to do with bribery and corruption/environmental & ecological damage/inequalities in your community? Reflect on this general question. a) do you think they (tourism and tourists) have anything to do with bribery and corruption in your community or state? b) True/false/uncertain c) do you think they (tourism and tourists) have anything to do with environmental and ecological damage? True/false/uncertain d) do you think they (tourism and tourists) have anything to do with bribery and corruption and environmental and ecological damage? e) do you think they (tourism and tourists) have anything to do with bribery and corruption, environmental and ecological damage, and inequalities?

tourism in mexico: many faces 235 6. Overall what are your general feelings, emotions and thoughts about tourism and tourists, and the impacts on your life-style and future of your community?

6. Tourism in Mexico: cultural setting & locus of control

Two questions have challenged scholar through the ages. Why do we do what we do, and why do we feel what we feel? When we consider how Mexicans feel about tourists and tourism we suggest that opinions and feelings are strongly influenced by a number of factors related to two basic contextual settings. The first setting involves the values and attitudes that are shared by the majority of citizens, which some scholars, such as Hofstede et al. (2010), have referred to as the cultural setting. Second, the mind-set of the individual who views the world and their position in it as a response to their own ability to take responsibility and control their lives and destiny influences attitudes, feelings and emotions. A set of techniques have been developed to measure this aspect of an individual’s personality. They are generally called Locus of Control (LOC) surveys after the term was introduced by Rotter in the 1950’s. An individual responds to a set of 13 general questions and a score is derived which in the Rotter questionnaire ranges from 0 to 13. A high score suggests the individual has virtually no control of the outcomes in their life and the controls are external to the person. A low score suggests the individual has control of their lives. For comparative purposes we derive LOC scores not only for Mexi- cans in the 5 communities but for a sample of individuals in Canada. A sample of Canadian Buddhist is also included. This allows a modest set of comparisons to be made with suggested implications regarding levels of wellbeing of Mexicans in the light of their perceptions of the

236 massam | hracs | espinoza sánchez impacts of tourism in their communities. An overview of LOC is offered by Fournier on the web site (W30).

The extent to which people believe they have power over events in their lives. A person with an internal locus of control believes that he or she can influence events and their outcomes, while someone with an external locus of control blames outside forces for everything. (W31, W32)

The quality of life and wellbeing of a Mexican is influenced by public planning and the provision of public goods like clean water and air, safe streets, heath care and education facilities, public security etc. Also the value systems which embrace the individual give rise to a sense of identity and belonging, and personal security that engenders confidence and worth, and the capacity to cope with the exigencies of life in ways that give meaning and purpose to existence. The market provides goods and services that can enrich the life of an individual by offerings consumer goods that please the senses and satisfy the basic needs. However, the basic needs are often distorted by the creating of wants far beyond basic requirements: consumerism is rampant in many parts of Mexico and this has profound effects on the lives for many. When tourism and tourists enter a region then all aspects of life there can be altered for a Mexican: they are exposed to different values and attitudes, consumption patterns can be disturbed, attitudes toward public goods can be modified and the sense of identity and belonging can be challenged. To complement the LOC study we use the work of Hofstede et al. (2010) in Belgium who have examined the six dimensions that characterize value systems in a state that in total capture much of the essence of the cultural setting in which opinions are formed. We include summaries for Mexico and Canada. A summary of the scores for the LOC study are given below, with some comparative scores for students in Canada. We also have applied

tourism in mexico: many faces 237 the questionnaire to a sample of Buddhists in Canada: individuals who turn away from matters of controlling their external world and paying less attention to material affairs rather they tend to focus on controlling their attitudes towards whatever situation they find themselves in to seek acceptance and equanimity to life and events. The results for the LOC surveys are given on Table 1 Table 1. Locus of Control Scores: Mexico

Community Young Adult Max Min Average

Puerto Vallarta 5.1 4.8 11 0 4.9

Las Palmas 4.1 5.1 9 2 4.6

Cabo Corrientes 5.2 5.7 9 2 5.4

Higuera Blanca 5.3 6.3 9 2 5.8

Tomatlán 5.8 6.3 9 3 6.0

Locus of Control Scores: Mexico, Canada & Buddhists

min max average Mexico 0 11 5.3 Canada 6 9 7.5 Buddhists 3 5 3.3

The range of scores for sample in the Mexican communities is large: from 11 to 0, whereas for the Canadian sample the range is smaller from 6 to 9, and for the sample of Buddhists it is very small from 3 to 5.This suggests considerable variation in attitudes in the Mexican communities, with more consistency among the Canadian sample, and considerable consistency among the sample of Canadian Buddhists. The average LOC scores for the five communities are generally lower than the Canadian sample with two communities –Puerto Va-

238 massam | hracs | espinoza sánchez llarta and Las Palmas having the lowest scores (below 5). Tomatlán has the highest average score of 6. Overall it appears that most respondents share the view that they feel they have quite a lot of control over their lives. If we examine the scores for males and females there are only minor variations and no clear patterns emerge. Adult females in Higuera Blanca have the highest scores suggesting less control of their world than other females in the communities. With respect to differences in scores between young people and adults, with the exception of Puerto Vallarta, adults appear to have higher scores with the most pronounced differences being in Las Palmas and Higuera Blanca. Young people appear to feel they have more control over their lives than adults, but the difference are not very pronounced. The LOC scores for Canadians are generally somewhat higher than the sample of Mexicans suggesting they feel they have less control of their lives, even though they enjoy higher material comforts and life chances in economic terms and in terms of the provision and access to public goods like heath care, education, personal safety and security, clean air and water and utilities. The scores for the Buddhist sample are low and even though the sample exhibits a wide variety of economic situations, life styles and ethnic backgrounds and financial security they seem to enjoy a sense of internal control of their life chances. The Hofstede Centre in Belgium has been involved in international projects to identify and characterize cultural traits of many countries: empirical evidence confirms intuitively experienced notions that each country has a set of particular cultural elements that provide the context for the life of citizens. It is within this context that citizens live their daily lives and judge others beyond their borders and others who visit the country as tourists for example. Much has been made in recent years of global trends of markets and consumerism that soften the differences among values in countries, yet it is clear that local values

tourism in mexico: many faces 239 still run deep within some countries such as Mexico. In essence the Hofstede Centre has identified six basic dimensions that capture the major aspects of the culture of a nation. The dimensions are: • Power distance • Individualism • Masculinity • Uncertainty avoidance • Pragmatism Indulgence

The details of the six dimensions are given on the web site (W33). A graphical display of the cultural dimensions for Mexico is given on the web site (W34). We also include the dimensions for Canada and visual differences can be clearly seen.

Essentially Mexico is a nation with well-established traditional values of male dominance, the avoidance of uncertainty about the future and compliance with strong central authorities that are removed from the daily lives of most Mexicans who rely on their families and close networks of friends for emotional support and identity. A sense of worth and belonging and enjoyment of life is deeply engrained in the society with shared values of stability, albeit in a country with considerable

240 massam | hracs | espinoza sánchez contrasts of wealth, economic opportunities and material conditions. On the other had Canada is a country with a loose-knit society of many new immigrants; Canadians enjoy material wealth and apparent opportunities and prides itself on individualism, acceptance of others, egali- tarianism and independence of spirit for citizens to make their own way in life. A full elaboration of the dimensions for the countries is given on the web site (W34). Canada exhibits high expectations and belief that they control their lives, yet some Canadians in the sample appear to fall short of their ideals, and struggle to do better by having more leisure time, better home and more family time yet feel constrained by circumstances beyond their control to achieve these. Canadians have on average higher LOC scores (7.5) than Mexicans (5.3), and much higher scores than a sample of Buddhists, who score on average 3.3, perhaps indicating close adherence to the Buddhist path of life that suggests that the controls that really count in life are of the mind and attitudes rather than material matters per se. Mexicans seem to feel they control their lives by rights and obligations within their tight moral circles of family and friends. Their material wealth is low and expectations are not pressing matters that create distress. They tend to exhibit an acceptance of life as it is rather than as it should be. Future research could focus more deeply on long-term studies of trends in changing attitudes of adults and young people as the economy of Mexico evolves, government policies are implements regarding labour laws and environmental regulations talk hold and safety, security and the judicial system improves. Attitudes towards tourist will evolve over time.

tourism in mexico: many faces 241 7. A case study of attitudes toward tourism & tourists

In this section we will present a summary of the subjective responses to four questions used in the questionnaire. Specifically we will offer a set of four figures to illustrate the results, and pertinent comments about the nature of the responses are given. Rather than present tables of the numerical values we have constructed a set of diagrams that give visual representation of the empirical results: numbers are included on the diagrams. For each question we present results in each community for the young people interviewed and the adults. Rather than describe in detail and interpret each circular diagram in each figure we will draw attention to specific elements portrayed, and leave it to the reader to draw their own more detailed conclusions. A set of comments concerning each figure is offered. Figure 5. Feelings about tourism/tourists: direction, intensity, duration

242 massam | hracs | espinoza sánchez tourism in mexico: many faces 243 PVY Puerto Vallarta-young people PVA Puerto Vallarta-adults LPY Las Palmas-young people LPA Las Palmas-adults CCY Cabo Corrientes-young people CCA Cabo Corrientes-adults HBY Higuera Blanca-young people HBA Higuera Blanca-adults TY Tomatlán -young people TA Tomatlán –adults

Comments about Figure 5 • With respect to the intensity of emotions relating to tourism and tourists, 30% of young people in PV had positive feelings whereas 90% of adults did. This was the highest level of positive feelings across the study communities. • With respect to how long the emotions last it is interesting to note that 50% of adults in PV reflect on the emotions for days, whereas the majority of young people reflect for only a few minutes (70%).

244 massam | hracs | espinoza sánchez • In LP we again can see variation between the level of positive emotions towards tourism and tourists with 20% of young people and 60% of adults. • In contrast to PV, in LP young people and adults tend to reflect on these emotions for a short time (few minutes) 60% and 80% respectively and only 10% of both groups reflected for ‘days’. • In line with PV, with respect to the intensity of emotions relating to tourism and tourists, 10% of young people in CC had positive feelings whereas 80% of adults did. • Also in line with LP, in CC young people and adults tend to reflect on these emotions for a short time (few minutes) 90% and 70% respectively. • In HB young people (30%) and adults (20%) are the least positive about tourism and tourists compared with the other communities in the study. • Yet in line with LP and CC, in HB young people and adults tend to reflect on these emotions for a short time (few minutes) 80% and 60% respectively. • In TA young people and adults exhibit the most balanced range of emotions toward tourism and tourists with no category scoring more than 40%. • Yet the trend of limited reflection on these emotions continues as young people and adults in TA reflect for a short time (few minutes) 60% and 80% respectively.

tourism in mexico: many faces 245 Figure 6. Thoughts about tourists: true/false

Puerto Vallarta-young people Puerto Vallarta-adults

246 massam | hracs | espinoza sánchez Las Palmas-young people Las Palmas-adults

tourism in mexico: many faces 247 Cabo Corrientes-young people Cabo Corrientes-adults

248 massam | hracs | espinoza sánchez Higuera Blanca-young people Higuera Blanca-adults

tourism in mexico: many faces 249 Tomatlán-young people Tomatlán –adults

250 massam | hracs | espinoza sánchez Comments about Figure 7 • In PV 90% of adults are not concerned about their families or themselves but only 30% of young people are not concerned. Moreover whereas no adults reported not feeling good about themselves or their families, 30% of young people did. • Interestingly young people and adults in PV feel the same about whether tourists are a mixed blessing or not and whether some kinds of tourists make them feel good about their lives or not. • In LP 90% of adults had neutral feelings about whether tourists are a mixed blessing or not, whereas 50% of young people thought they were not a mixed blessing. • In LP 70% of young people felt the statement some kinds of tourists making them feel good about their life was false but only 30% of adults agreed. • For the 5 questions posed in figure 2 the responses by young people and adults in CC were the most balanced with no significant variation for any of the responses. • In HB no young people reported feeling bad about themselves or their families whereas 40% of adults did. However the rest of the results were fairly balanced between the two groups. • In TA 30% of young people reported feeling concerned about themselves or their families but no adults did. However, 60% of young people said that some kinds of tourists make them feel good about their life compared to only 30% of adults.

tourism in mexico: many faces 251 Figure 7. Thoughts about tourism/tourists-happiness and buying habits: true/false Puerto Vallarta-young people Puerto Vallarta-adults

252 massam | hracs | espinoza sánchez Las Palmas-young people Las Palmas-adults

tourism in mexico: many faces 253 Cabo Corrientes-young people Cabo Corrientes-adults

254 massam | hracs | espinoza sánchez Higuera Blanca-young people Higuera Blanca-adults

tourism in mexico: many faces 255 Tomatlán-young people Tomatlán-adults

256 massam | hracs | espinoza sánchez Question a Tourists and tourism increase my happiness, my buying habits and give a sense of beauty around me; the same is true for my family: Question b Tourists and the tourism reduce my happiness, my buying habits and give less sense of beauty around me; the same is true for my family: Question c Tourists and tourism do not change my happiness, neither my buying habits, nor gives a sense of beauty around me; the same is true for my family: Question d There are tourists and tourism that do not change my buying habits and make me feel happier: Question e There are tourists and tourism that makes me feel happier because they increase beauty around me and encourage me to change my buying habits: Comments about Figure 7 • In PV 50% of young people said that tourists and tourism did not increase their happiness compared to 10% of adults. • Similarly in LP 40% of young people said that tourists and tourism did not increase their happiness compared to 10% of adults. • In CC 80% of young people and 60% of adults felt that tourists and tourism does not reduce their happiness. • Yet in CC 70% of young people said that some kinds of tourists and tourism do not change their buying habits and happiness compared with 0% of adults. • In HB 90% of adults agreed that tourists and tourism do not change their happiness but 80% of young people did not. In TA, however, only 30% of agreed and only 30% of young people did not.

tourism in mexico: many faces 257 Figure 8. Thoughts about tourism/tourists--bribery & corruption/environmental & ecological damage: true/false: Puerto Vallarta-young people Puerto Vallarta-adults

258 massam | hracs | espinoza sánchez Las Palmas-young people Las Palmas-adults

tourism in mexico: many faces 259 Cabo Corrientes-young people Cabo Corrientes-adults

260 massam | hracs | espinoza sánchez Higuera Blanca-young people Higuera Blanca-adults

tourism in mexico: many faces 261 Tomatlán-young people Tomatlán-adults

262 massam | hracs | espinoza sánchez Question a Tourists and tourism have nothing to do with bribery and corruption in Tomatlán, or in the state of Jalisco: Question b Tourists and tourism have nothing to do with the environmental or ecological damage in Tomatlán, or in the state of Jalisco: Question c Tourists and tourism have nothing to do with the inequalities and ineq- uities in Tomatlán, or in the state of Jalisco: Question d Tourists and tourism have nothing to do with the corruption, environment & ecological damage in Tomatlán, or in the state of Jalisco: Question e Tourists and tourism have nothing to do with the bribery and corruption, environmental & ecological damage and the inequalities in Tomatlán, or in the state of Jalisco: Comments about Figure 8 • In PV 50% of adults felt tourists and tourism have nothing to with bribery and corruption compared with 20% of young people. • In PV 40% of adults felt tourists and tourism have nothing to do with the inequalities compared with 0% of young people. • Similarly in LP 60% of adults felt tourists and tourism have nothing to with bribery and corruption compared with 20% of young people. • With respect to environmental or ecological damage in LP 70% of adults felt tourists and tourism have no influence compared to only 10% of young people. • In LP 60% of adults felt tourists and tourism have nothing to do with bribery and corruption, environmental & ecological damage

tourism in mexico: many faces 263 and the inequalities in Tomatlán, or in the state of Jalisco compared to 0% of young people. • As with the responses in figure 2 CC feature the most balanced between the responses from young people and adults except for question e. Here 90% of adults felt that tourists and tourism have nothing to do with bribery and corruption, environmental & ecological damage and the inequalities in Tomatlán, or in the state of Jalisco compared to 50% of young people. • The responses in HB were also fairly balanced but whereas 40% of adults felt that tourists and tourism have nothing to do with the corruption, environment & ecological damage in Tomatlán, or in the state of Jalisco only 10% of young people agreed. • In TA 0% of adults and 10% of young people felt that tourists and tourism have nothing to do with the corruption, environment & ecological damage in Tomatlán, or in the state of Jalisco:

8. Concluding remarks

From our empirical work over the last decade, and talking to many tourists and local Mexicans it is hardly an understatement to claim that most tourists go to Mexico to escape: to get away from winter, cold days in a northern climate and work, in order to seek sun, sea and fun, and spend time with family or friends in a new place where daily life has a different rhythm. Some come to Mexico to see cultural remains and monuments, and to savour a way of life they envisage as relaxed, joyful and readily affordable. The sight of colourful exotic flowers in full bloom, blue skies and opportunities to walk a Malecon, spend time in a relaxed way, stop to eat and drink outdoors at leisure, all make the experience a pleasing one and a welcome change to daily

264 massam | hracs | espinoza sánchez life elsewhere. They are typically not disappointed and vow to return again. They may have heard of drug arrests, and civic unrest or social disruptions, health issues and environmental damage caused by tourist developments or cruise ships, but in the safety of their resort or tourist town they largely feel safe and secure and untouched by such events. The tourist is happy to be in Mexico. For Mexicans who live in communities where tourists visit another view of life is experienced. The Mexicans find their happiness and pleasure in being with their families and friends, working and managing the best they can with the means they have without, for the most part, rancor, envy or jealousy of the lives of the tourists. Do they dream of escaping to another place to relax and find pleasure? They often eat in groups; enjoy music and sharing many of their possessions with neighbours and extended families. Their needs are to a large extent catered for through informal networks of contacts among neighbours and family members. The tourists typically live in a world where time is seen as a commodity to be used carefully and allocated specifically in allotted amounts to defined tasks: they are intrigued and often frustrated because they envisage that Mexicans seem to perceive time in another way: as flexible and somewhat unpredictable in the way it is used. There is a clash of values on occasion. Hofstede et al. (2010, 4, 6, 12) draw attention to cultural difference between groups and the consequences when they differ. ‘The world is full of confrontations between people, groups, and nations who think, feel, and act differently. Every person carries within him- or herself patterns of thinking, feeling, and potential acting that were learned throughout the person’s lifetime. Culture is always a collective phenomenon, because it is at least partly with people who live or lived within the same social environment, which is where it was learned. Culture is learned, not innate’.

tourism in mexico: many faces 265 It is perplexing that humans beings possess magnificent skills of reflection, empathy, and communications but are nonetheless capable of waging inter- group conflicts on massive scales over just about anything. Apparently, we do not use the same moral rules for members of our group as we do for others. But who is “our group”? People draw mental a line around those whom they consider to be their group. Only members of the moral circle thus delimited have full rights and full obligations.

In Mexico especially in tourists resorts there are two distinct moral circles: one containing tourists and one with Mexicans. Drawing on the specific comments to two questions in our survey: specifically questions 1 and 6 we offer brief concluding remarks. For example for Q1 it is clear that respondents do recognize that tourists and tourism expose them to new experiences and evoke sentiments that impinge on the senses, as well as creating some emotional responses albeit not explicitly defined in terms of nature or intensity. Without exception all respondents expressed strong views that tourists are basically different from Mexicans and the differences are manifest especially in terms of language, behaviour, and overall demeanor and dress. Basically tourists are different from locals and are seen as such, and this is not generally too problematic but it does have some consequences. In a few cases judgmental comments were made: tourists are too noisy, dress and behave inappropriately and use their money to do things we cannot afford to do. The values and attitudes prior to the arrival of tourism are being eroded and replaced by new experiences and attitudes. The overall opinions did not vary among the 5 communities or as between adults and young respondents. With respect to Q6 a variety of issues are identified as relating to the impacts of tourism and the presence of tourists in a community. Overall there are somewhat contradictory comments made by respondents, but the consensus is that for each community some benefits of tourism are

266 massam | hracs | espinoza sánchez recognized, especially in terms of job opportunities, but there are disadvantages in terms of environmental damage and erosion of traditional ways of life and cultural values. Tourism is accepted and encouraged as a reality of the modern world but its sustainability is questionable as a long-term secure prospect for future generations of Mexicans. With respect to tourism as an expression of cultural encounter Hofstede et al. (2010, 392) offer the view that matches our experience of tourism in Mexico very closely, namely:

Intercultural encounters in tourism: …the most superficial form of intercultural encounter …what one group (tourists/locals) picks up from the other group is on the level of symbols: words, fashion articles, music, and the like. The economic effects of mass tourism on the host country may or may not be favourable. Traditional sources of income are often destroyed, and the revenues of tourism go to governments and foreign investors, with the consequence that the local population may suffer more than it benefits. The environmental effects can be disastrous. Tourism is, from many points of view, a mixed blessing. Tourism can nevertheless be the starting point for more fundamental intercultural encounters. It breaks isolation of cultural groups and creates awareness that there exist other people who have other ways. The seeds planted in some minds may take root later. On the basis on intercultural encounters, the possibilities of tourism probably outweigh the disadvantages.

The sociologist Zygmunt Bauman argues that the paradox of our era is captured in the view that ‘Never have we been so free. Never have we felt so powerless.’ To a certain degree this is perhaps the situation in Mexico when Mexicans reflect on tourism and the benefits and consequences. The challenge for Mexico, and for so many societies as they gain economic prosperity, is to accommodate this paradox in ways that sustain a decent way of life for all.

tourism in mexico: many faces 267 9. References

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List of websites (November 21st 2014)

W1:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tourism_in_Mexico W2:http://www.unep.org/ resourceefficiency/Business/SectoralActivities/Tourism/FactsandFigures- aboutTourism/ImpactsofTourism/tabid/78774/Defau lt.aspx W3:http://www.samharris.org/blog/item/chapter-one W4:http://www.informador.com.mx/economia/2012/389692/6/el-nuevo- cancun- en-suspenso.htm W5:http://www.alexstark.com/pdfs/Chala%20Guadalajara%20Reporter.pdf W6:http://www.fourseasons.com/puntamita/ W7:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Consumerism W8:http://traveltips.usatoday.com/positive-negative-effects-tourism-63336. html W9:http://www.cifar.ca/social-interactions-identity-and-well-being W10:http://sites.utoronto.ca/qol/ W11:http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2680297/

tourism in mexico: many faces 269 W12:http://www.economist.com/blogs/dailychart/2011/05/well-being_and_ wealth W13:http://www.grossnationalhappiness.com W14:http://www1.eur.nl/fsw/happiness/people.htm W15:http://rprogress.org/index.htm W16:http://worlddatabaseofhappiness.eur.nl/ W17:http://www.nytimes.com/2003/09/07/magazine/the-futile-pursuit-of-happiness.html?src=pm&pagewanted=1 W18:http://rightmindprograms.wordpress.com/category/happiness/ W19:http://www.cbc.ca/news/world/canada-ranks-6th-in-global-happiness- survey-1.1702281 W20:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aesthetics W21:http://www.prosperity.com/#!/ W22:http://www1.american.edu/ted/cancun.htm W23:http://web1.cnre.vt.edu/lsg/3104/cancun/gaku/Cancun.html W24:http://pcag.uwinnipeg.ca/Prairie-Perspectives/PP-Vol14/Tousig- nant-Eberts-Sanchez.pdf W25:http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/feeling-our-emotions/ W26:https://www.authentic-systems.com/featured-articles/difference-between-emotions-and-feelings/ W27:http://www.iep.utm.edu/qualia/ W28:http://www.iep.utm.edu/introspe/ W29:http://www.psych.uncc.edu/pagoolka/LC.html W30:http://psychology.about.com/od/personalitydevelopment/fl/What-Is- Locus-of-Control.htm W31:http://wilderdom.com/psychology/loc/LocusOfControlWhatIs.html W32:http://psychcentral.com/encyclopedia/2009/locus-of-control/ W33:http://conorneill.com/2012/06/07/geert-hofstede-the-6-dimensions-of- national-culture/ W34:http://geert-hofstede.com/mexico.html

270 massam | hracs | espinoza sánchez 10. Acknowledgements

We are extremely grateful to the volunteers in each community who willingly agreed to participate in the surveys. We also thank Yesica Sánchez González and Mirna Bravo, who collected the data under the supervision of Rodrigo Espinoza Sánchez. Also we thank the municipal agent Antonio Carrillo from the Higuera Blanca Community who help us to collect the information in this community.

tourism in mexico: many faces 271

CHAPTER V Reflections on methods, techniques and results for quality of life studies: impacts of tourism in Mexican communities

Bryan H. Massam and Rodrigo Espinoza Sánchez

In this brief chapter we will offer a set of reflections regarding quality of life studies and the impacts of tourism in Mexican communities. At the end of each chapter specific conclusions have been offered: these will not be repeated here. We will not refer to specific communities in Mexico or particular social groups like adults/men/women/seniors. The detailed empirical studies and results are included in each chapter of Part II. Chapter I is built around memories of Puerto Vallarta and as such puts emphasis on personal subjective opinions of a specific place over a particular period. Some academics may argue this approach lacks precision as it does not rely on objective sets of data and formal analysis. We contend that a picture of a place that captures the mood and atmosphere and attitudes and values as perceived by an observer is a useful and worthwhile way to set the scene for scientific studies of tourism. Lived Experiences for study quality of life is an interesting method for the research practices and it can approach to the local sphere where the main actors are. The application of this method is set in Chapter II and it was evaluated as a research method with groups of students in four different places in the world, later it was applied to study tourism development in the academic field.

273 Tourism is very recent phenomenon in the history of our species, and it is now a major aspect of contemporary life. Well over a billion people a year are tourists in the modern world, and some places depend almost entirely on tourism for their existence. Some places have been virtually destroyed with the arrival and impacts of tourism. About 10% of the income of the world is derived from tourism, and a similar percent refers to the size of the global work force devoted to tourism. Migration has long been the means to distribute our species around the globe, and the means to settle once-isolated places and continents, and the precursor of states and the modern age. Tourism, the movement of people from place to place motived by pleasure, has enormous impacts on the lives of those who travel and those in places that receive the newcomers. Tourism has many faces as we discuss in this book in chapter IV and there are some who gain and some who lose from its impacts. Chapter III considers cui bon cui malo …losers and winners from tourism. One general approach to study tourism is to look at the quality of lives of people in the places that tourists choose to visit. This is the focus for much of the work reported in this book and in Part II. The modern age has released tremendous social forces which have both benefits and costs as the Canadian philosopher has observed. His book The Malaise of Modernity (1991) is a brilliant description of the three major challenges facing the modern world and much of his work can relate to tourism. In essence the three challenges relate to the gaining of freedom and liberation and the rise of individualism, the development of what can be called the rise of ‘instrumental reason’ and the loss faith of the mystery of human existence and spirituality, both of these sets of changes give rise to new styles of governance and control by those in power. The research reported in this book on Lived Expe- riences in chapter II touches all these elements as perceived by citizens in selected Mexican tourist resorts.

274 bryan h. massam | rodrigo espinoza sánchez Some who study tourism and especially those who promote the tourist trade suggest that tourism is a clear manifestation of economic success and the rights of consumers to use their resources to promote personal happiness and wellbeing, and as such it is a sign of human progress. The notion of human progress is a contentious topic as the historical philosopher Wright elaborates in his book: A short history of human progress (2004). Most recently the historian Harari in his book 21 Lessons for the 21st Century (2018) makes it clear that inter alia uncertainty, consumerism, the information age all intersect to confuse and challenge individuals and societies. Tourism is clearly connected to all these aspects of modern life. There was a time in human history ‘before tourism’, the modern age defines and characterized tourism as a prime example of consumerism which relies heavily on advertising and image making using all the devices of the information age. Will there be a time of ‘after tourism’ if the impacts of tourism bring about irreparable damage? The term Quality of Life (QOL) conjures up many images and perceptions, and these are all valuable for understanding a place and people who live in a place, as well as the context for policy making. While we argue for systematic data collection and analysis with results that suggest certain recommendations that it is hoped with improve the QOL of citizens in Mexico, we recognize that in world that is changing so rapidly it is extremely hard to predict the future and assess the impacts and expected benefits of any particular policy. It is suggested that with respect to tourism and its impacts on QOL in communities, studies of many places around the world need to be reviewed to determine practices that yield benefits, and those policies that result in no improvements. This is a general strategy of searching for the best practices, an approach that demands comparative studies and cooperation among researchers in all countries.

reflections on methods, tecniques and results for quality of life studies... 275 A set of 6 sub topics is identified in this chapter to organize a large array of reflections. Under each topic some brief remarks are provided.

1. Ongoing reviews of literature on QOL

Any specific study of tourism and QOL demands that appropriate literature be offered that relate to the project. A critical review of appropriate literature is often an integral part of well-organized research project as it informs the context of the study, as well as the selection of techniques and methods used. The task of keeping up to date on literature is a demanding task and for this reason, among others, that it is important that teams of researchers work jointly to ensure human resources on research are used effectively. There are many sources of information about the growing literature and research methods, techniques and results about tourism, Mexico and QOL: much of it is available on web sites and in published books, papers, and reports as well as conference presentations, and journalistic pieces. Great care has to be exercised to ensure the legitimacy, integrity and authenticity of the information.

2. Formulations of problem context

The major challenge when undertaking studies of QOL is to agree on definitions of the term so that the appropriate data can be collected. For example, the focus could be on terms like happiness, wellbeing, welfare, liberty, freedom, personal security, economic prosperity, education levels of achievement, health status, environmental sustainability, housing, community development, anticipation of secure future, spiritual security/belief/faith. Also it is important to define the term tourism as precisely as possible so that all who are engaged in the study, especially those who read the reports or use them for policy making know precisely what is

276 bryan h. massam | rodrigo espinoza sánchez meant by the term tourism. This is very important if useful comparative or long-term studies are undertaken to ensure the same definitions are used for each study or at each point in time to guarantee consistency. Some studies define QOL narrowly for ease of data collection: for example, life expectancy. Other studies use much more generic definitions like freedom, and data are typically of the perceptions held by individuals. The overriding reflection with respect to context is to ensure that it is clearly defined at the outset of the study so that all participants have a good understanding of the purpose of the study. Further it is necessary relate any particular study to a set of related studies to enhance comparative work and possibly improve the long term understanding of trends of QOL for a particular group, community or with respect to specific policies that have been implemented. It is important to hold a series of meetings or workshops prior to the commencement of the project and as the project proceeds to include all the stakeholders in meaningful ways, so that the final results will serve the needs of the aims and objectives of the study and no stakeholders feel disenfranchised. If these guidelines are followed this will help to ensure the legitimacy of the project as a piece of serious academic worth and as a tool to improve the human condition.

3. Data collection

It is tempting to think of data as a collection of numbers, each having some significance depending on its magnitude. The array of numbers can be manipulated using basic arithmetic (addition, subtraction, mul- tiplication and division and counting frequencies). Numbers can be displayed on charts, diagram and graphs. Sampling designs must be clearly defined and justified at the outset of the project.

reflections on methods, tecniques and results for quality of life studies... 277 A number of questions must be addressed prior to the start of the project. For example: Why are we collecting certain pieces of information? What will we do with this information? In what ways is the informati0n related to other studies? How can we use the information to inform our understanding of processes of cause and effect? Can we replicate the collection of numbers? Are the procedures we use to collect the data transparent and can the procedures be clearly explained to others?

4. Data analysis

Replication and transparency are critical elements of good analysis. Others should be able to follow all the steps used in analysis and be able to reproduce the same results if applied correctly. The results should not depend on who analyses the data. If recommendations are offered based on the analysis then the recommendations should be strongly supported by the data and not subject to the opinions, attitudes and whims of the author.

5. Dissemination of results and recommendations

A critical and often overlooked aspect of research concerns the dissemination of results. We cannot stress too strongly that we feel this is vital and for this reason we publish reports, books, papers in refereed journals and offer conference presentations and workshops. The research is incorporated into teaching, as well in public presentations to help citizens and politicians among others, for example, tour operators and investors, to appreciate the complexity of the impacts of tourism on a place and certain individuals.

278 bryan h. massam | rodrigo espinoza sánchez 6. Building networks for collaboration

It is clear from comments presented above that collaborative studies are a beneficial way to proceed and for teams of researchers in different places to share information and expertise. Funding arrangements can promote such shared efforts and we encourage this as a long term approach to train young researchers and draw on the skills of more senior researchers in different parts of the world. This approach will help develop and implement high quality research methods and techniques so as improve the quality of the results to help understand the complexity of terms like tourism and QOL. Finally, the improvement of QOL suggests progress, but we should note that this is an elusive term that has an attractive resonance yet defies precise definition. An understanding of terms like QOL and progress is important, and we recommend that information be presented in the reports in order to raise awareness in the minds of students, bureaucrats, politicians and journalists as well as the general public in order to promote an enriched enlightened conversation among all members of society who are concerned about the future of humanity.

References

Harari, Y. N. (2018). 21 Lessons for the 21st Century (Jonathan Cape, London) Taylor, C. (1991). The malaise of modernity, (Anansi: Toronto) Wright, R. (2004). A short history of progress, (Anansi: Toronto)

reflections on methods, tecniques and results for quality of life studies... 279

Methods, techniques and results for quality of life studies: impacts of tourism in Mexican commnuties Se terminó de imprimir en febrero de 2019 con un tiraje de 300 ejemplares en los talleres gráficos de TRAUCO Editorial Camino Real a Colima 285 int. 56 Teléfono: (33) 32.71.33.33 Tlaquepaque, Jalisco.