This is a New York Times video about the problems of driving in Mexico City.
Self-study activity:
Watch the video and answer the questions below.
The activity is suitable for intermediate 2 students.
1 How long does Damian manage to move in half an hour on a bad day?
2 Note down two of the reasons Damian gives for the heavy traffic in Mexico City.
3 What are the guys sitting waiting for?
4 What does Damian say about the use of mobiles in Mexico?
5 How many people live on the black economy in Mexico?
6 Why are there more and more cars?
This is Damian Cave reporting for The New York Times from Mexico City traffic. I’m trying to get through an intersection, that’s pretty much the bane of my existence. On a bad day it takes me nearly a half hour just to go a few hundred feet (1) . A big part of the problem is, of course, that too many people here insist on driving. But this intersection also features a subway station, and there are just way too many taxis that stop to pick people up. The traffic police tend to stand around (2), even when there are people running red lights, like this guy.
What’s interesting is what happens because we are all stuck in place. A bad intersection like this one creates a captive audience and a whole lot of people who are trying to turn drivers into customers.
When I came to this intersection this morning this is who I found. There were also a bunch of guys who said they were waiting to be sent somewhere for a day of manual labour (3) . Other intersections like this one a few blocks away have their own ways of creative salesmanship. This mime is one of my personal favourites. But no matter where you are it’s hard not to marvel at just how much there is to see in this city while trapped behind the wheel.
Drivers do all kinds of things to pass the time and, yes, in case you are wondering talking on a cell phone is illegal here (4), not that anyone pays attention to the law.
Personally I always appreciate the people selling food or just those brave enough to push it through the streets. This is another guy I see a lot. I think he’s selling a bug zapper, but I’m really not sure.
Altogether, the more time I’ve spent here the more I’ve come to see this intersection as a microcosm of Mexico itself. This is a country where six out of every ten workers toils in the informal economy (5), and yet it is also increasingly middle-class (6), which means more drivers and more traffic. That’s why whereever I can, I decide to walk.
