Page:Mexico and its reconstruction.djvu/127

Rh the work that he undertakes, an immaturity of character comparable to that of a child. These characteristics are emphasized in the hot regions.

Other ethnic elements besides the Indian play an unimportant part in the manual labor supply of Mexico. The mestizo population, a growing proportion of the whole, has not turned to agricultural or industrial pursuits. What education it has received has turned its attention to the "polite professions" rather than the more fundamental occupations. That such is the case is one of the most unfortunate features of Mexican life. There is no economic bridge between the laboring classes and those who, from a false perspective, believe that working with their hands is beneath them. The education which the state has provided is literary, the envied careers are those in the law courts and diplomatic circles. Even those who receive training in engineering, agriculture, and like careers too frequently consider themselves qualified thereby for government positions or for the responsibilities of directors whose work is sharply cut off from actualities.

From these conditions results one of the most striking contradictions in Mexican life. The mestizos have developed as the owners of the greater number of small properties in the republic, they have monopolized many lines of small trade, they are the middlemen. They hold the great majority of public offices. But they have no unity of interest and feeling with the laboring classes.