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A socialist borough leads the way in Mexico
Introducing the Utopias project – self-organised spaces which now provide jobs, training, culture and hope to the Iztapalapa district of the world's biggest city. DAVID RABY reports
The Teotongo Utopia has an old airliner refitted as an IT lab for local people

MEXICO CITY has 16 boroughs and the the 1.8 million strong Iztapalapa is the most populous of them, also having the most radical council. It lies at the eastern end of one of the city’s metro lines and its more remote and hilly areas can be reached by the new “cablebus” service.

Its mayor Clara Brugada — re-elected last year for a second successive three-year term — is an outspoken and dynamic socialist who is leading a transformation which is an example for the entire city and indeed the country.

Brugada, whom I was able to interview in January this year, has roots in the south-eastern indigenous state of Chiapas and identifies with native culture and the migrants who make up much of Iztapalapa’s population.

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