A nonprofit group promoting civic-minded behavior in this tumultuous metropolis is channeling bin Laden, former Iraqi president Saddam Hussein, Mother Teresa and US President George W. Bush to convince unruly drivers to change their ways.
The campaign by Muevete por Tu Ciudad -- roughly translated as "Do Something for Your City" -- was designed to improve everyday behavior on the streets of Mexico City, where cars drift through red lights and some police can be paid to look the other way.
Founders say their billboards and radio spots are designed to jolt the city's jaded commuters, police and public-transit drivers into courteous behavior.
"If the traffic sign is telling you and the police officer is telling you, who else do you want to tell you?" said Claudia Montero, co-director of Muevete, echoing the group's "who-else" slogan. "Do you want an assassin to tell you?"
Advertising firm Kastner & Partners in Mexico suggested using famous and infamous international figures, donating its design services and using free images in the public domain to craft the ads.
On one street-level billboard, the image of Saddam warns passers-by, "You can generate chaos: Don't you double park." Mother Teresa yells out, "Don't give bribes to the devil!"
Two radio spots, yet to be aired, parody Bush and Osama bin Laden.
"We are going to exterminate all of those who run red lights," Bush warns in Spanish with a heavy American accent. "People who ask for bribes are going to be punished by me. ... You are going to know what pain is."
In another ad, the voice of bin Laden warns in Spanish, "I am going to come out of hiding to punish, the way they deserve, taxi and bus drivers that don't drive well."
The billboard ads have prompted some incredulity. The Mexican newspaper Reforma this week announced in a front-page headline, "Saddam Hussein gives classes on civic behavior in Mexico City." It was accompanied by a photo of the ad.
"They may like it or not like it, but they comment on it," Montero said.
In other civic campaigns, Muevete volunteers have appeared in packs at traffic lights with hand-held stop signs to shame drivers into staying put until the next green. The group has handed out "citizen tickets," fake citations admonishing bad behavior with a thumbs-down diagram.
Muevete has not been alone in encouraging Mexico City residents to adopt a better attitude.
Commissioned by private donors to provide crime-fighting advice to Mexico City's police department, former New York City Mayor Rudolph Giuliani's consulting firm said city dwellers could play a key role by obeying traffic signals and not offering bribes to police officers.
Despite the good advice, local authorities have tried and failed so far to cultivate a culture of respect and cordiality in the streets, said Claudia Adeath, Muevete's other co-president.
A humanoid robot that won a half-marathon race for robots in Beijing on Sunday ran faster than the human world record in a show of China’s technological leaps. The winner from Honor, a Chinese smartphone maker, completed the 21km race in 50 minutes and 26 seconds, said a WeChat post by the Beijing Economic-Technological Development Area, also known as Beijing E-Town, where the race began. That was faster than the human world record holder, Ugandan Jacob Kiplimo, who finished the same distance in about 57 minutes in March at the Lisbon road race. The performance by the robot marked a significant step forward
Four contenders are squaring up to succeed Antonio Guterres as secretary-general of the UN, which faces unprecedented global instability, wars and its own crushing budget crisis. Chile’s Michelle Bachelet, Argentina’s Rafael Grossi, Costa Rica’s Rebeca Grynspan and Senegal’s Macky Sall are each to face grillings by 193 member states and non-governmental organizations for three hours today and tomorrow. It is only the second time the UN has held a public question-and-answer, a format created in 2016 to boost transparency. Ultimately the five permanent members of the UN’s top body, the Security Council, hold the power, wielding vetoes over who leads the
An earthquake registering a preliminary magnitude of 7.7 off northern Japan on Monday prompted a short-lived tsunami alert and the advisory of a higher risk of a possible mega-quake for coastal areas there. The Cabinet Office and the Japan Meteorological Agency said there was a 1% chance for a mega-quake, compared to a 0.1% chance during normal times, in the next week or so following the powerful quake near the Chishima and Japan trenches. Officials said the advisory was not a quake prediction but urged residents in 182 towns along the northeastern coasts to raise their preparedness while continuing their daily lives. Prime
HAZARDOUS CONDITION: The typhoon’s sheer size, with winds extending 443km from its center, slowed down the ability of responders to help communities, an official said The US Coast Guard was searching for six people after losing contact with their disabled boat off the coast of Guam following Typhoon Sinlaku. The crew of the 44m dry cargo vessel, the US-registered Mariana, on Wednesday notified the coast guard that the boat had lost its starboard engine and needed assistance, Petty Officer 3rd Class Avery Tibbets said yesterday. The coast guard set up a one-hour communication schedule with the vessel, but lost contact on Thursday. A Coast Guard HC-130 Hercules aircraft was launched to search for the six people on board, but it had to return to Guam because of
RSS