When we talk about the relationship between food and politics, we tend to think of major trends and public policies that determine many things we put on our table every day. Politics and food have been historically linked, not only at the macro level but also in the everyday relationships we forge around the table.
Year 2007, somewhere in the French Pyrenees. A typical casual summer country dinner, on a rural terrace, with good wine and homemade food. Mostly French guests and myself are engaged in a gathering. As one of the favorite French sports, political and social life is being debated. The second round of the presidential election between Nicolas Sarkozy and Ségolène Royal is approaching, and, wanting to keep the evening lively, coming from a Mexican context and imagining the group to be more or less homogeneous in political ideology due to family ties, I ask: "And you, who are you going to vote for?" A sepulchral silence falls over the table, followed by: "Here, generally one does not say who one is going to vote for, since voting is something intimate and secret." Cultural shock and lesson learned. At that moment, I recall a Mexican grandmother’s maxim: at the table, no politics or religion.
Year 2012, Mexico City. In the year of presidential elections, I conduct a study on the eating habits of Mexico City residents. To my surprise, in a study about food, more than half of the people I interview hint at their preferred candidate for the elections. I am struck by how freely people express opinions about the candidates, contrary to the French case. What is common is that politics during meals or after-dinner conversations stirs passions and rarely leaves anyone indifferent.
The relationship between food and politics has always existed. For example, in ancient Greece, the status conferred by citizenship was the ability to participate in public banquets. The term 'evergetism', used to describe practices where a person pays for a good for public use and enjoyment in order to gain political prestige, is another example of this relationship. In ancient Rome, it was common to offer large public banquets to gain political favor and prestige among the masses. Does this remind you of the grand patronal festivals organized by town councils in corners of Mexico?
Analyzing that maxim of leaving political topics aside when sitting at the table, the idealization of sharing bread and wine should not be clouded by controversial topics that could cause disagreement or even indigestion among diners. Mexicans tend to take the relationship between politics and food for granted without noticing its smallest manifestations. From the omnipresent sandwich at political rallies for the crowds, to the attention and interest generated by presidential banquets since the Porfirian era—not only as the epitome of extravagance but also as a sign of the aspirational food that defines the era.
How many times have you felt obliged to attend a lunch or dinner because your boss will be there? Do you behave as you would with a friend or colleague? Isn’t this maintaining a political bond? Meals in this context play a key role in the professional life of many people in Mexico. Politics, even in the smallest everyday actions like eating, reveals our responsibility as citizens to actively participate in the country’s life—not necessarily by affiliating with a party, but by understanding that politics is one of the important axes of social life.
Originally published in El Economista
#PublicPolicy #food #wellbeing #habits #eatingTogether #commensality
— This article was originally published in Spanish by Liliana Martínez Lomelí. Translation generated with AI from the original text.