At bicentennial, Mexico's future questioned

"As Mexico prepares to celebrate the bicentennial of its independence from Spain and the 100th anniversary of its revolution today and Thursday, many Mexicans are questioning how much liberty and opportunity they really have in a country racked, again, by bloodshed and still plagued by poverty.

"We will celebrate with gusto. We have to have this faith, hope and optimism because we trust in God's providence – but we have to be realists," said Father Fernando Arellano, a Catholic priest in this town where the first cry of independence from the Spanish crown was shouted by another priest, Miguel Hidalgo.

"Today in Mexico, we don't feel free," Arellano said. "Unfortunately, we Mexicans live with fear because of the violence."