Mexico City beaches make rich laugh, poor flock

MEXICO CITY, Mexico (AP) -- Commentators chuckle that urban sunbathers will choke on bus fumes. A television skit shows a plump man in a bathing suit stumbling around gridlocked cars.

The Mexico City mayor's plan to build four beaches in this smoggy mountain capital has been lampooned as a joke and a waste of money by Mexico's rich, who spend their vacations at real beachside resorts.

But the leftist mayor's supporters welcome the sand as a city getaway for millions of poor capitalinos who have never seen a beach in their lives.

The jokes reflect Mexico's sharp class divisions. Wealthy Mexicans pack the world-famous beach resorts of Cancun and Acapulco during the country's two-week Easter holiday, when Mexico City is traditionally its hottest. But millions earn the minimum wage of $4 (€3) a day and can never afford a holiday.

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