Mexico is a very interesting country. Mix of differences and seemingly unmixable extremes. It is a country with exceptionally rich cultural and anthropological area and the place where numerous imposing pre-Hispanic civilizations were created and destroyed. It is also a country with Mexico City which is the largest metropolis (the biggest city) in the world. This is a land in which the average standard of living is not impressive (even though it is above the average of South America), which has lots of poverty, and yet it is a country where is situated the richest man on Earth (Carlos Slim). It is the country of the sombrero, mariachi, tequila and peculiar hot food. But it is also a country where drug lords are very strong and influentiel and crime is widespread on the steeets of the capital city, regardless of the fact one sees the police everywhere you go.

I headed to Mexico, I must admit, foremost because I was attracted by the wealth of pre-Hispanic civilizations and culture of the area, driven by the desire to understand better how some of the most imposing and interesting ancient civilizations mankind ever had were formed and how they disappeared. Exactly on account of the mix between numerous civilizations, races and cultures, I had the opportunity (in the imposing Mexico City Anthropological Museum) to find out Mexico is, anthropologically, one of most interesting destinations in the world, because of the fact today’s population was created by contacts between different Indian, white and black inhabitants (brought here by Spaniards as slaves). Accordingly, about 90 per cent of today’s Mexican population are the result of population mixing (the so called mesticas), while about 10 per cent are Indian, with roots exclusively in pre-Hispanic civilizations.

Mexico is a fairly large country (the population count is 110 million inhabitants and the country is divided into 31 states), and as already mentioned – the capital of Mexico City is the largest city in the world with as many as 23 million people, stretching over the area 50 x 30 kilometers in size. There are numerous interesting buildings and sights in it. For example, the Presidential Palace is the biggest building in South America and it employs as many as 18 thousand civil servants, while the main square (Constitution Square) is third largest in the world, right behind the Bejing’s Tiananmen and the Moscow Red Square. Just off the main square, there is the cathedral built from the stone from Aztec pyramids that Spaniards found there upon arrival. At the very same spot (where the main square and the cathedral are today), therefore, there used to be a complex of Aztec pyramids. When Spaniards came and conquered them, they demolished Aztec constructions and next built the cathedral, as well as numerous other churches in the city.

Mexico means “a place on the Moon” (in the Indian/Aztec dialect of Nauvatl). The reason is as follows: an Aztec city was located at the very spot of today’s Mexico City (Tenochtitlán), and it resembled the face of the Moon, owing its name to it. As Tenochtitlán was on a lake Spaniards dried out upon conquest, today’s Mexico City is a city that continuously depresses i.e. decreases its above the sea level, so the downtown area thus sank as many as twelve meters during the past 100 years.

Strolling down the streets of Mexico City, one cannot not but to notice a large number of armed policemen, located everywhere (with automatic rifles, on occasion even with armoured vehicles), in the street, in front of monuments, churches and all more important sights and institutions. Also, guides and hotel staff explicitly warned me on numerous occasions to definitely go just for taxis previously ordered by the hotel, restaurant or some other reliable venue by telephone, because otherwise I could potentially experience some unpleasant surprises. While I walked around the main squre in broad daylight, I firsthand and in plain sight had the opportunity of witnessing a seemingly innocent argument between van driver and street vendors evolve into a general, pretty serious fight, accompanied by an significant dose of aggression (especially on the part of street vendors who chased a driver around the square). Fortunatelly, the fight was soon stopped by the armed police force that calmed things down. My guide explained the significant crime rate by the combination of the large number of uneducated immigrants and the sheer size of the city. However this might be, Mexico City is no place for careless evening strolls and one must make very calculated decisions when to move, where and with whom, as well as how to interact with people there.

In contrast to Mexico City, Cancun is, as a tourist hub and a frequent destination for American tourists, exceptionally safe at any time of day, and there are no police in it every step of the way. Cancun definitely represents a very inspiring tourism success story. Until thirty years ago, this was a deserted island/peninsula, while today it is certainly one of the top 10 tourist destinations in the world. Success secrets can be ascribed to climate (especially in winter – high season lasts from December to February), lovely nature, exceptionally high concentration of high category hotels achieved through the years, the closeness of USA and very good air connectivity to it, the immediate vicinity of cultural sights (Yucatan, Mayas), and already discussed high level of safety that is not characteristic of all Mexican destinations.

Also, Cancun offers a significant number of interesting fun sites for the younger population. Thus, for example, the central evening fun venue is the superclub Coco Bongo, which in a peculiar manner combines elements of disco, Broadway, Cirque du Soleil and a multimedia show. One must wonder whether this is the direction fun and evening going out for the younger population are heading. For example, during my stay in the club, at a point, I was able to see clips from movies such as showa te se čovjek mora zapitati je li upravo to smjer u kojem se kreće budućnost zabave i večernjih izlazaka mlađe populacije. Primjerice, za vrijeme boravka u klubu u jednom trenutku možete vidjeti isječke iz filmova poput Spartacus, Gladiator i and Passionwith the instant change to a show with five to six half-naked artist gymnasts, hanging from the ceiling on linen rope, simulating own crucifixion. The ropes go some ten meters up, while the artists acrobat to music that sounds “destiny like” and powerful – especially with the perfect sound system the club has. Somewhat bizarre, but definitely effective: the result was the crowd went wild, rose to their feet and started screaming in approval. The following scene included a costumed Captain America fighting the bad guy on the large stage in the middle of the club (both jump around effectively). Next, an effective performance from the musical Chicagofollowed by a singer resembling Beyonce in stature and voice, performing her greatest hits to effective scenography and accompanying dance acts. All in all, an interesting mix of everything with a fairly high production quality – something I definitely had not had the opportunity to see in such form before.

Restaurants in Cancun are also great. For example, the lobsters I had the opportunity to have at Lorenzillo’s restaurant are probably my best ever. The restaurant offers heftly portions of crust free lobster with side dishes, all at about a price of HRK 200 - which is significantly less we would have to pay in Croatia for example for a smilar dish. Also, apart from of course interesting and genuine Mexican restaurants, both Cancun and Mexico City have great Argentine restaurants – right behind impeccable Buenos Aires ones in my opinion.

If we compare what tourism has to offer in Cancun with what we offer in Croatian destinations, one must see just how backward the Croatian approach to tourism and tourist content is. We have no such concentration of offer like one can witness in Cancun and any new projects that can offer that are unfortunately boycotted by the differ interest groups. Like for example golf course above Dubrovnik or in Istria – which is to be honest connected with lack of transparency but without demonstrated wish from all stakeholders to conduct this project in an acceptable manner. With such backward thinking not oriented towards development, it is impossible to expect more significant advance in development of our tourist product and thereby more significant improvements of results in Croatia.

Mexicans are generally very likeable people, but I found them to be fairly unclear and confusing in communication – in part probably because of not so great knowledge of English language. For example every guide (and I had a few of them for they were changing daily) had his or her version of the story of Cortes and Montezuma, and presented different information on the number of inhabitants in Mexico City.

Near Mexico City, there are remnants of the ancient city called Teotihuacán. It belonged to a civilization which lasted from 100 to 750 AD. The city, according to historians’ estimates, had between 100,000 and 200,000 people and was simultaneously the largest and most advanced city in South America at the time. After 750, it was suddenly and according to some - mysteriously abandoned. Historians assume the inhabitants exploited the nature of the area excessively (they cleared the forests, destroyed the trees, animals escaping), so, finally they had to leave the city since the situation was not sustainable nor adequate for continuation of life in it.

In the area of Mexico, there were five principal civilizations during the pre-Hispanic era. These are, as per chronology: Olmecs, Teotihuacáns, Maya, Toltecs and Aztecs. These main civilizations controlled up to six hundred lesser civilizations, which is why we today have over six hundred different Indian dialects.

The last great civilization that functioned in the area of Mexico was the Aztec civilization – which fell with the arrival of Spaniards to the territory. This is the well known tale of the Spanish conquistador Hernan Cortes and the Aztec chief Montezuma, which shows even seemingly impossible things and military wins are nevertheless possible. Thus Cortes was with as little as five hundred men, able to enslave the whole Aztec empire consisiting of about 200,000 people. None would really have placed any bets on him. A lot of factors here converged in order things to happen as they did. For a start Aztecs believed in the prophecy about arrival of a blond man who was actually a god called Quetzalcoatl and was supposed to return in this shape. So seeing Cortes, they firstly thought he was the one. Therefore they did not dare to attack him from the start – which they probably would have if things had been different. Furthermore, Cortes was lucky to have translators who were acquainting him with the situation between Maya and Aztec ranks, so he was able to reach the right decisions and moves. These were a Spaniard who lived with the Maya, and who had come on a Spanish ship in 1511, staying to live among them. Besides them there was a woman named Marina of Aztec origin, who spoke the Aztec language. She lived with the Maya, and the Maya gave her to Corez as a gift together with other some twenty women.

When he arrived to the shores of Yucatan in 1519, Cortes’ first contact was with the Mayas. After initial smaller fights, he managed to maintain peace and later bring the translators to his camp which proved to be crucial. When Cortes heard the center of the whole region is in Tenochtitlán, a large city full of richness and gold (at the time, no city in Spain, nor Europe, did not have a population nowhere near this figure) and especially after receiving Montezuma’s delegation bringing gifts and gold trusting Cortes is a returning god, Cortes decided to fo after gold at any cost since this is his moment. He burned all the ships so that there was no return, so the only option remained was to win over Aztecs and to conquer their capital. Along the way he also found allies in other Indian tribes as for example Tlaskaletks, who hated Aztecs because of their dominiation and who join Cortes in his quest to conquer them.

At the close of 1519, Montezuma received Cortes in his palace peacefully and offering him with gifts, thus hoping he would avoid struggle and bloodshed. This proved a fatal judgement. Having enjoyed the guest status at the palace for a while, Cortes took Montezuma hostage and tried to use him to quell the Aztec mutiny that broke out in April 1521. The result of this was that Aztecs stoned Montezuma to death. After some time and following significant human casualties, Cortes managed to break the siege and run away from Tenochtitlán. During summer Cortes replenished his forces and strengthened his alliances, returning at the close of 1520 to start a months’ long siege of Tenochtitlán which resulted in the final fall of the city and the defeat of Aztec forces on 13th of August 1521.

Another devastating circumstance for Aztecs and domestic Indian population in general was the fact they were not immune to diseases Spaniards brought along and which proved to be fatal fot the local polulation. Cortes’ crew was composed of ex-convicts who had some of the diseases raging over Europe at the time (smallpox, syphilis). Indians, who were not immune to them, succumbed to a great epidemic among the local population. A thing that could have been proclaimed as a deficiency and a flaw of Cortes’ units, finally proved to be one of his most powerful weapons. Several sick convicts became one of Cortes’ most devastating weapons against natives, because these deseases were new and fatal for them.

Ono što je u početku dodatno zbunilo Asteke u sukobima sa Španjolcima jesu velike razlike u načinu borbe između njih i Španjolaca. Asteci i Maje zarobljavali bi pa potom žrtvovali svoje zarobljenike, dok bi Španjolci odmah ubijali protivnike pristupajući ubijanjima isključivo hladno i pragmatično, za razliku od Asteka koji su ih koristili u religiozne i ritualne svrhe.

What initially also confused Aztecs during fighting with Spaniards were great differences in the style of fighting between themselves and Spaniards. Aztecs and the Maya would capture and sacrifice their prisoners, while Spaniards killed them instantly, approaching execution in a cold and pragmatic manner, in contrast to Aztecs who used them for religious and ritual purposes.

In any case, one can conclude Spaniards and Europeans were at the time much more aggressive and predatory or conquering oriented civilization. Also due to chance to travel morel, they were much more used and resistant to new and unexpected events, while Aztecs and other Indians lived in their closed ecosystem until new and unexpected factor fully unbalanced them. And according to Darwin himself - the most adaptive ones will finally prevail and survive. Which is exactly what happened at this occasion. Apocalypto (koji je sniman na Yucatanu i koji je kombinacija stvarnih elemenata i filmske izmišljotine) vjerojatno se sjećaju vrlo eksplicitnih i potresnih scena žrtvovanja s puno divljaštva i krvi. Krvave scene žrtvovanja kod Asteka su vjerojatno bile baš tako brutalne kako su prikazane u tom filmu – s vađenjem srca, punjenjem ljudskom krvlju velikih kamenih posuda/oltara i slično.

Even though Indians may comment that Spaniards defeted them in a ruthless and non fair manner (by using lies, tricks and diseases), we must also say that civilizations which ruled there prior to the coming of Spaniard (the Maya, followed by Aztecs) were just as bloody and ruthless. Their beliefs and cults were based on constant sacrifice and lots of blood. Those who have, for example, seen Mel Gibson’s Apocalypto (filmed in Yucatan; a combination of factual elements and fiction) probably remember quite explicit and grizzly scenes of sacrifice, including a lot of savagery and blood. The bloody scenes of sacrifice in case of Aztecs were, it is likely, as brutal as portrayed – ripping hearts out, filling stone vessels and altars with human blood, and the like.

What one can possibly conclude from this story is that conflict between two civilizations was resolved in way that more aggressive, cunning and conquest oriented civilization prevailed – and not necessarily more advanced civlization (in matters of mathematics, astronomy and certain other things, for example, Aztecs were far superior than Spaniards). Furthermore we can see relativity of time perspective – today, it seems to us our civilization is so important, while, yet again, its form as we know it was forged during the past one hundred years (by the industrial revolution, technology advancement and the two world wars). Civilizations have functioned for hundreds and thousands of years, only to vanish over night. The sole difference today is the exceptional interconnectivity and quantity of information and great devastation power in contemporary arms, leading to the fact a super power can hardly fall without devastating consequences for the entire world (except in case of internal collapse, such as witnessed in case of USSR during 1990s). Also, it is important to note that conquering smaller countries by greater and stronger ones is today mostly done through means of the economy (since modern global economy is so much interdependent, smaller countires/economies can not but to adopt to the bigger ones and so the bigger unes can use this negotiating power to have pressure and influence on the smaller ones).

One cannot also overlook the importance of religion in the conflict between Spaniards and Aztecs and possible conclusion that it matters how advanced and firmly followed is religion of each side in clashes of two civilizations. Man cannot forget historical fact that mighty Roman Empire in the beginning tried to wipe Christianity out and murder Christians every step of the way, while in the end adopted this religion as the official religion which finally survived the very empire.

Immediately upon arrival, Spaniards actively spread Christianity among the local population. Franciscans contributed to this most, heading into Indian territory right upon Spaniards’ arrival to enlighten the population. Moreover, the sighting of the Lady of Guadalupa (in 1531) i.e. the Virgin Mary in Mexico by Juan Diego helped in spreading the Christian faith among locals. Those with an evil eye would say the sighting was perfectly timed to promote and spread religion, but some of the aspects of the sighting were never fully explained in rational terms, so Our Lady of Guadalupa is definitely even today the protector of Mexico in the religious sense.

It is estimated that, some thirty years ago, there were about 90 per cent Catholics in Mexico, while this figure is about 65 per cent today. Catholicism in Mexico took over (especially in case of Indians) some elements of former beliefs of Indians as well, so, instead of gods of nature, there are saints protectors of agriculture, rain, sun etc. Also, the propensity of most religious Mexicans for Christian fanaticism, which they exhibit by submitting themselves to certain elements of martyrdom and by simulating the way to the cross, including a lot of blood and, sometimes, even actual crucifixion, can be perhaps explained by the connection of the Indian population to the ancient traditions of sacrifice and holy letting of blood for ritual and religion in general. Thus, Catholicism in Mexico represents a good example of how religion can successfully adapt to a new environment, history and prior beliefs.

Along with Aztecs who simultaneously represent the last great pre-Hispanic civilization, the most famous civilization in the area are the Maya, functioning in the areas of Yucatan, Honduras, Salvador and Belize for over 3,000 years (2000 BC – 1500 AD). The period can be subdivided into three great intervals: pre-classical (2000 BC – 1500 BC), classical (300 – 900 AD), and post-classical period (900 – 1500 AD), given that the peak of the civilization occurred during the classical period.

It is generally well known the Maya were exceptionally advanced astrologers (even for today’s standards), but it is probably less known they were probably “the first football players in the world.” The game the Maya (Aztecs as well) ritually practised was the so-called game of life and death, during which two teams of seven players each would try to outplay each other by getting the rubber ball through a stone hoop at the side of the court. The difference in terms of today’s football is the best player of the winning team (it is believed so) was sacrificed to gods and this was quite an honour. I doubt today somebody would sacrifice Cristiano Ronaldo or Leo Messi to gods due to both - humane and commercial reasons (especially the later one ). The Maya understood time in a cyclical fashion, not linearly as we do today. The basis of it all was the 52 year cycle divided into 4 periods of 13 years each, so a new cycle would start every 52 years (at the time when the solar calendar of 365 days and the lunar calendar of 260 days align). The great cycle of 5,026 years ends precisely on 21 December 2012, and this date is interpreted by some as doomsday. The Maya envisioned a change in magnetic poles of the Earth could occur at the time (the end of the fifth Mayan age), and that natural catastrophes and the like could come to be. Many used this for marketing purposes, ascribing meaning to the date as end of the world (such matters regularly rouse interest and sell well), even though, based on all I heard and saw, I can conclude for myself the Maya thought more in terms of a great cycle ending and a new one beginning.

The influence of the Mayan civilization decresed significantly around 900 AD, and there are people that ascribe even certain mysterious meaning to this. In contrast to Aztecs who were conquered by an outside force, it is assumed the reason to the implosion of the Mayan empire were internal strife and, also unsustainable exploitation of nature around the cities they built – which led to the inability of the continuation of life in these areas (clearing forests for construction etc. – just as was mentioned in case of Teotihuacán). The Maya thus brought the situation in their cities to unsustainable level, so they could no longer function. This surely represents a message for the world of today, when we increasingly discuss sustainability due to CO₂ emission levels and the greenhouse effect. The view to the greenery around the ruins of ancient cities reveals our “old Earth” is feisty and always recovers from different natural catastrophes, but this sometimes requires generations for recovery if we do not pay attention do we treat nature and environment around us in a sustainable way.

Thinking of the Maya, the creation and the vanishing of their civilization, their prophecies and tales of doomsday, I had to ask myself what doomsday really means.

The fall of civilizations and the changes to the natural circumstances of life is something that has always occurred throughout history – advanced and powerful civilizations that have existed for thousands of years even (Egypt, Rome, Babylon, Maya etc.) fell in this sense once people lost faith in their functioning. Rome and Maya/Aztecs were shaken and next destroyed by the coming of Christianity and by the fact they functioned based on certain beleifs and value systems, which were fundamentally shaken by the coming of Christianity, and, therefore, the belief in the system was not as solid as before. In South America, all of this was accompanied by the Spanish military force which physically conquered the territory, while in case of Rome the system imploded, only then to become the subject of the conquest by Germanic and Slavic tribes.

The Maya were exceptionally advanced mathematicians and astrologers, while their constructions were always built to reflect the movement of the sun and that the sun beams fall exactly at a certain place in certain time. Their whole belief system was based on astrologically cyclical interpretations of the forces of nature. The leaders, who were educated most, used the knowledge to predict nature (especially during the classical period between 300 and 900 AD, when they had the status of gods), convincing their subjects thay had the divine powers of prediction. The Christian religion, on the other hand, is based on the power of thought, not interpretation of nature and is thus far more sophisticated and advanced. Therefore in the clash of these two systems of beliefs, eventually more modern and more powerful religion dominated South America as (put aside authenticity in order to remain objectivity). On the other hand in Asia great majority of the nations, although also conquered by Europeans, remained their original religions since they had stong Budhist, Muslim and Hyndu religions (also based on the power of thought and not/less on the power of nature).

How solid are the foundations of today’s civilization and what are the possibilities for “doomsday” in the sense of significant changes in civilizational premises and the fall of today’s centers of power?

First of all, we are witnessing the whole world, especially since 2008, experiencing a chain reaction and realizing the systems of most countries are, in the long term, not sustainable in the financial and economic sense. Simply we spend more then we create. Current democratic systems are further encouraging this, because people vote for those who promise more and now. An additional point of instability is the unsustainability of increases in CO₂ emissions which could trigger natural disasters – we have come to realize this during the past ten years or so. Third, and perhaps the greatest source of instability is increasing inequality in society and the disappearance of the middle class. The process is especially visible in developed countries because jobs for those with low qualifications (or even some with high qualifications, independently of location, such as software engineers) are being moved to developing countries. This is a potential “bomb” for the centers of power today – primarily for USA. Stoping these processes would clash with the laws of the open markets and the goals of companies to increase their profits each quarter (which is what the market of capital of today is based upon). So, the potential timed bomb of dissatisfaction could have been seen during the recent protests in Wall Street and the whole world, even though the level of dissatisfaction is obviously not sufficient enough for mass protests yet. Rulling can always say that they were elected by the democratic election system and therefore use (false) argumentation that people can always vote differently and change the situation during next elections if they want to do so.

These are all reasons why one cannot proclaim today’s system and today’s civilization (especially with the internet and mass accesability of information) fully stable and why it will be necessary to change its functioning – unless we want system to collapse in a painful way, and with unintended consequences. Therefore, let us wish the 21 December 2012 is really a beginning of a new cycle in which the system will adjust so it is sustainable, just and prosperous for all people and society in general.

Foundation of the system as we know it today happened through numerous world revolutions (Russia, China) and two devastating world wars. Let us hope further evolution of the system will be less bloody. Finally, even if happens some devastating catastrophe and/or war that would bring great change and unintended consequences of cataclysmic proportions, it is possible some archaeologists will, in a thousand years, research the ruins of today’s civilization to figure out what really happened. The point is planet Earth and humanity are tough and whatever happens, there will be a way to adapt and develop in new and unpredictable ways in the long run.

In such a perspective (that the Maya describe in a cyclical fashion), we cannot but be more modest and aware that the moment we live in is just a drop in the ocean in the long process of development of life on earth and humanity in general. And by understanding that, our tolerance and the desire to find long term sustainable and just systems (which are the only ones that enable continuous growth and prosperity of civilizations) should be greater and more spread within the overall population. With such attitude and approach, the probability for significant “earthquakes” in the functioning of our civilization or even for potential doomsday - will be reduced significantly. Of course that even then some natural disaster can happen that we have no control of, but this is something that is in we could say “God’s hands”. But we should not worry about such things.

An old prayer/saying (that first appears related to Francis of Assisi, but also in a similar fashion expressed by the Sioux Indians) says: “Lord, grant me the strength to accept the things I cannot change,​ he courage to change the things I can and the wisdom to know the difference”. We must turn to what each of us can do for our civilization, country and the local community as an individual, to make them better and more sustainable in the long term. This is what we leave to new generations. By doing so we will not only decrease the probability of our civilization being wiped or hurt by some great cataclysm on 21st of December 2012 or on some other date, but we will also certainly feel better.

Josip Muller, 17th of January 2012