Mexico: land of economic disparity FINAL Edition

[Adelaida Bollo Andrade], 42, paid about $390 for her house and the land it sits on. There is only one bed in the 3.5-by-7-metre room. Four children, ages 4 through 13, sleep in it, lying side by side like human sardines. Adelaida and her husband, Felix, an illiterate subway construction worker, sle...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inThe Gazette (Montreal)
Main Author By PATRICK OSTER
Format Newspaper Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Montreal, Que Postmedia Network Inc 05.10.1987
Subjects
Families & family life
Flooring
Professional golf
Wages & salaries
AYOTLA, Mexico
United States > US
Mexico
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Summary:[Adelaida Bollo Andrade], 42, paid about $390 for her house and the land it sits on. There is only one bed in the 3.5-by-7-metre room. Four children, ages 4 through 13, sleep in it, lying side by side like human sardines. Adelaida and her husband, Felix, an illiterate subway construction worker, sleep on the house's concrete floor. The only other piece of furniture in the room is a dilapidated kitchen table that seats six. A bare 25-watt light bulb hangs from the ceiling. Even if she had money, Bollo wouldn't have much time for leisure. It takes six hours a day just to commute to and from her six-day-a-week job in the far western reaches of Mexico City. The trip starts with a walk down the hilly, rutted, unpaved streets of Ayotla toward the Puebla highway. The walk takes about 20 minutes - about the time it takes Dagdug to drive his Renault 18 sports car from home to his restaurant. "I want to give my children an education," said Bollo, who completed only two years of grammar school, "so they can have an easier job than we do." On the money she and Felix earn, however, the children will have to go to work part time if the family is to afford high school, Bollo said.
ISSN:2370-1676