Mexico City Subway Aims to 'Elevate Culture' by Lending Books to Riders

By Mary Jordan
Washington Post Foreign Service

MEXICO CITY -- Ricardo Aguilar hustled down the subway steps one recent morning and pushed through the turnstiles, straight into
Mexico City's newest public library. At nearly two dozen subway stations, officials have begun handing out 1.5 million free books, a
novel experiment aimed at promoting literacy and maybe even cutting down on crime.

"We hope this can change attitudes and help people get along better," said Mariano Cruz, a spokesman for the Metro, which organized
the program with financial backing from private businesses and foundations. Cruz said the idea originated in discussions about how to
make the subway safer. While some consultants argued for placing armed guards on trains, he said, Metro officials decided to try
improving the atmosphere with books instead of guns.

Passing time in the underground reading poetry and short stories, Cruz said, is a way "to elevate and promote culture" in a crowded
subway system plagued with pickpocketing and sexual groping so rampant that the Metro has separate cars for men and women during
rush hours.

"I love this idea," said Aguilar, 37, as he gladly took one of the free books, heading off to his job selling musical instruments. "We don't
have a lot of readers in Mexico, and if we had more, we'd have fewer social problems."

Mexico's official literacy rate is 90 percent, but beyond the 10 percent of people unable to read are millions more who barely can. Public
libraries are rare and books are expensive in this country, where newspaper and book readership is exceedingly low. Leading national
newspapers sell fewer than 150,000 copies a day, and if a book sells 20,000 copies, it is considered a bestseller.

The books in the new program, "For a Quick Read on the Metro," are lent on the honor system: Passengers are supposed to take them
as they get on the subway and return them as they exit. "It's a program based on trust," Cruz said.

So, far not everybody has been so honorable. Since the program started last month, 37,000 books have been lent and 64 percent have
been returned. But it's still early, said Cruz, who expressed confidence that the return rate would improve.

It is an open question whether lending books will encourage better behavior among the subway's nearly 5 million daily riders.

One security guard on the Green Line said it might have the opposite effect. "In fact, it could promote more delinquency, because if people are reading on the
subway, they might not be keeping an eye on their purse or their wallet and become an easy target" for pickpockets, he said, not wanting his name used for fear of
being pegged as a naysayer. The guard said he doubted thieves would suddenly be so enthralled with literary passages that they would forget how they make their
living. "They are not going to suddenly pick up a book and just stop robbing," he said.

But another city police officer who monitors the Metro, Heriberto Ziga, said he thought the honor system was a great idea that "promotes honesty." Reading poetry
has to be better for one's character than looking at the pornographic tabloids sold at many subway stops, he said. Beyond that, he said, if thousands of commuters
are all reading the same passages, they will have something to talk about with one another.

Organizers said they would introduce a new special edition of the paperback published for the subway every two months. The first, a 153-page book with a slick
black cover, features works by nine authors. They include Vicente Leñero, who wrote the screenplay for the hit movie "The Crime of Father Amaro," and
well-known Mexico City author Carlos Monsivais, whose "The Solidarity of the Population" describes the city's response to a devastating earthquake in 1985.

Cruz said the stories, poems and plays are designed to be read in 10 to 15 minutes, ideal for commuters riding just a few stops or all the way across the sprawl of
Mexico City.

Nicolas Diaz, 34, returned his book at the Viveros station after reading it on his seven-minute commute to work. "It's stupendous." he said. "I only got a chance to
read a little because I wasn't on the Metro for that long. But I'm returning it so someone else can have a chance."

So far, the program has been exceedingly popular. Many passengers said they could not remember the last time anybody gave away anything or trusted strangers.
Television stations have been showing passengers reading on the subway, and in doing so, spreading the word about the program to its target audience: those who
rarely read but watch a lot of television.

In the hustle of the morning rush hour, Eduardo Jorge Ortega, 22, grabbed a book to share with his girlfriend, Antonia Garcia Zaragoza, 24. He said he had read
three books in 2003; she said she had read one. "It's a question of time and money," said Ortega, adding that he was willing to read more this year by participating in
the new underground lending library.

Workers passing out books said they were having a hard time keeping up with demand. By 9 a.m. one day last week, three workers at the Viveros station in the
southern part of the city had nearly exhausted their supply.

"It keeps you entertained, makes your day go faster, and is a way of educating yourself," said Jose Guadalupe Orozco, 30, a chauffeur. "I don't think it will reduce
crime, but it will make people read."

Francisco Javier Quijada, a plumber, said he was a fan of the program, but agreed that it probably wouldn't keep his pocket from being picked.

"The best thieves are probably already good readers," he said.

                                               © 2004