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Poverty in Mexico – 10 Facts You Should Know

Poverty in Mexico
Even though much of Latin America has been able to significantly reduce poverty, the country of Mexico still struggles. Below are the leading facts about poverty in Mexico. Education about the problem of poverty in Mexico is crucial and will help us remedy the situation.

Top Facts about Poverty in Mexico

  1. Around half of the population lives in poverty; about 10 percent of people live in extreme poverty.
  2. The number of people in poverty has mainly been increasing since 2006, when 42.9 percent of people were below the national poverty line.
  3. Chiapas, Guerrero and Puebla are the states with the highest levels of poverty.
  4. Mexico has a sizable GDP of about $1.283 trillion. Even so, Mexico’s GDP per capita or per person is $14,000. This means that there is a sizable wealth gap in the country between rich and poor.
  5. More than 20 million children live in poverty with more than five million living in extreme poverty, according to Fusion, the United Nations Children’s Fund.
  6. About 25 million Mexicans make less than $14 a day and a quarter of the workforce is underemployed.
  7. The average salary in rural areas is 3 to 4 times less than that of urban areas in Mexico.
  8. Economic growth is commonly believed to decrease poverty. Mexico’s annual growth rate is somewhat small, around two to three percent. Additionally, this economic growth has mainly benefitted the rich.
  9. Drug wars are thought to perpetuate poverty in Mexico.
  10. Despite all of this, Mexico has decreased extreme poverty in the country by 20 to 25 percent since 1995. This is mainly because of social welfare programs that were enacted during economic crises.

Even though poverty in Mexico is a sizable issue, there are certain steps the country can take to help those in poverty. Mexico can focus on decreasing the wealth gap and ensuring that economic growth benefits the poor. Additionally, Mexico can take steps to prosecute drug cartels. This may be easier said than done, but with these things in mind, Mexico can decrease poverty in the country.

– Ella Cady

Sources: World Bank, Huffington Post, IB Times, Poverties.org
Photo: PV

Poverty in Mexico Violates the Country’s Own Constitution

poverty_in_mexico

Mexico’s rising poverty levels, which have been a growing crisis for years now, just reached a new benchmark—they violate Mexico’s constitution.

According to Mexico’s constitution, the minimum salary must guarantee citizens a “decent standard of living.” While individual Mexican employees chalked up 2,327 work-hours on average in 2014, workers only earned an average annual salary of $12,850.

In comparison, American workers logged around 1,800 hours in 2014 and earned an average annual salary of $57,139 in the same time frame.

“In Mexico poverty affects those who work. It’s not just the unemployed that fall into poverty, as happens in developed countries,” Mexican nongovernment organization Acción Cuidadana Frente a la Pobreza (Citizen Action Against Poverty) said in a statement. “In our country, income from labor is insufficient to be above the poverty line.”

Poverty in Mexico is increasing at such a rapid rate due to the increasing income disparity between the country’s upper and lower classes. According to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), Mexico’s wealthiest 10% earn 30.5 times more than the country’s poorest 10%.

Those outside of Mexico’s wealthiest are finding it incredibly difficult to live off of the country’s present minimum wage regulations, which vary geographically. The highest in the country is 70.1 pesos a day, or around $4.30.

“These numbers are the result of a perfect storm of events,” Inter-American Development Bank economist David Kaplan told The Wall Street Journal. “This tendency regarding wages–adjusted for inflation and adjusted for the basic food basket–is part of a long-term trend that began with the crisis.”

Conveal, a Mexican social policy tracking organization, reported that the overall poverty rate in Mexico rose to 46.2% in 2014, or roughly 55 million people. This number is up from 45.5% in 2012.

Despite efforts to combat rising poverty in Mexico, the lack of a substantial living wage is making progress almost impossible. Still, Mexico’s Social Development Ministry is acknowledging the crisis.

“Multidimensional poverty is fought with greater economic growth, job creation, democratization of productivity and better distribution of income,” the ministry said.

– Alexander Jones

Sources: El Daily Post, Harrup, Webber, Woody
Photo: Flickr