A study by Conveal showed a decline in the poverty rate in Mexico over the past four years. The reduction meant that in Mexico more than 5 million fewer people reported incomes below the market rate for needs like clothes and food.

The Past Few Years

Andrés Manuel López Obrador has been the president of Mexico since 2018 and has doubled the country’s minimum wage. In 2018, the minimum wage was equal to about $4.50 per day. It has since increased to $12 per day.

However, the amount of money sent back to Mexico by Mexicans working overseas, also known as remittances, has nearly doubled during the same time frame. In 2018, remittances amounted to approximately $33.5 billion; as of the first half of 2023, they are projected to reach an annual rate of around $60 billion.

Not All Good News

Extreme poverty, defined as not having enough money to buy adequate food, increased from 7% of the population in 2018 to 7.1% in 2022, according to the agency. The number of individuals living in extreme poverty increased from 8.7 million in 2018 to 9.1 million in 2022 due to population growth.

Additionally, López Obrador established youth apprenticeship and scholarship programs and supplemental pension payments for seniors. It is unclear, however, if these programs have specifically benefited the poorest Mexicans because they are not means-tested; instead, they are offered to everyone who qualifies, regardless of income level.

There was also a remarkable rise in the proportion of persons reporting financial difficulties related to medical treatment. The percentage increased from 16.2% of the population in 2018 to 39.1% in 2022. In a previous assessment of the rise in that number in 2020, the agency cited the sweeping reforms made to the health care system under López Obrador and the consequences of the coronavirus outbreak.

Casa Hogar de Cabo San Lucas

Founded in 2008, Casa Hogar de Cabo San Lucas is a Mexican enrolled nonprofit, charitable organization. It could be a Social Help Center. Casa Hogar may be a comfortable, secure and upbeat home for kids and teenagers set in an alluring, camp-like environment giving physical and enthusiastic care.

In addition to caring for the inhabitants, the organization gets them ready for selection or to be rejoined with their families. With a fluctuating populace of around 30 inhabitants, between 5 and 17 years old, the children and teenagers who make up this expansive family arrive beneath the security of Civil or State level Child Security Offices. Most have living guardians, but for reasons beyond their control, inhabitants cannot live with their guardians.

One of its projects, called “Blue Miracle,” is a movie featured on Netflix based on a Casa Hogar story from 2014. Blue Miracle has spread awareness and sensitivity to private social assistance centers in Mexico, which operate as charities without government funding.

This organization wants to help as many children as possible in Mexico by interacting with the problem to expand assistance to every vulnerable child. Its continuous efforts should only reduce the poverty rate in Mexico.

– Hailey Spencer
Photo: Unsplash