Mexico’s Inequality—as Large as its Territory

Rich in culture, languages, and traditions, Mexico has also been among the Latin American nations that have suffered through injustice, war, and corruption. With over 120 million inhabitants, Mexico still struggles with third-world nation problems like illiteracy, extreme poverty, and inequality.

Mexicans differ among them in heritage and traditions…and also in opportunities to thrive.

Illiteracy Rates in Mexico

The National Institute of Statistics and Geography (Instituto Nacional de Estadística y Geografía) (Inegi) reports that Mexico’s illiteracy rate is 4.7%, which means that 4.4 million Mexicans aged 15 or more do not know how to read or write.

Mexico is a huge country, and various rates fluctuate from one region to the other. For example, Chiapas, Guerrero, and Oaxaca are the three states with the highest illiteracy rate. They call them “The Misery Triangle.” Meanwhile, Mexico City, Coahuila de Zaragoza, and Nuevo León have the lowest rates of illiteracy in the country.

By 2016, nearly 80% of students in middle school concluded the school year, but only over 60% of students in high school made it to the end of the year.

In the modern age, it appears that learning how to read and write do not suffice to thrive in a world of technology. Knowing how to use smartphones, desktops, laptops—it all has become a necessity for those looking for jobs that pay enough to get by day by day.

Mexico has evaluated the number of schools, in all school grades, that have access to an internet connection. By 2016, around 35% of establishments offered internet connection for preschoolers; around 50% of establishments had this benefit for elementary students. However, only nearly 30% of university-level establishments could offer internet connection to their students.

Although all these numbers seem small, in Latin America, schools that can offer a service as essential as WiFi is nowadays, appear to be the most privileged establishments and a very small percentage of the population can truly afford to put their kids through schools that have these types of benefits.

Gender Inequality

Not only is education limited to certain groups for economic reasons, but it appears that having access to even the cheapest school is a matter of gender, too. By 2020, it was established in Mexico that 4 out of 100 men could not read or write; however, 6 out of 100 women were limited by the same situation.

The difference between these proportions has been constant. By 1990, 15% of the female population was illiterate, while for the male population, the number was 9.6%.

By the year 2010, 8.1% of the female population was illiterate versus 5.6% for the male population.

More recently the numbers evidenced by Inegi showed that 6.2% of the 48 million Mexican women do not know how to read or write. Sadly, 20% of women above 60 years of age remain illiterate.

Regarding issues aside from education, here are some relevant facts recently posted by Women UN:

• Women have less access to food safety

• Women make less money than men, even in industrialized countries

• Women dedicate more of their time to housework, and they are not paid for that

• Women are more vulnerable to extreme poverty

Poverty Inconsistency in Mexico

Mexico’s territory exceeds 1850 miles across from northwest to southeast, and in this vast territory, weather and nature are not the only things that fluctuate.

The country is known for its inconsistency when it comes to the average salary of its inhabitants, which directly reflects on the percentage of people that can afford education, healthcare, and other essential services.

The average income by trimester is around $750 (18,000 mexican pesos), but let’s look at the differences according to the level of education people are able to achieve:

• Those who could only finish elementary school can only make up to $350 (8,500 mexican pesos).

• People who have made it to high school can make an income reaching 19,000 mexican pesos.

• If they are lucky enough to make it to university, they can attain 37,000 mexican pesos, around $1,500.

Circling back to the matter of gender equality, women tend to make less money than men all around the world, and Mexico is not the exception. Women’s average income by trimester is around 13, 500 Mexican pesos, nearly 5,000 less than men.

From one region to the other, average income also varies for Mexicans, and so do their chances of changing their economic situation from that of their parents or grandparents. It has been determined that in some states like Baja California, up to 82% of the population manages to improve their economic situation.

On the other hand, in states like Chiapas, up to 77% of its population is unable to move up from their economic level. The difference becomes more dramatic when we compare it to Mexico City, where up to 87% of its population can climb the economic ladder and thrive.

Quality of Education

In Latin America, the common denominator is having a corrupt government that neglects the necessities of its population. Being responsible for poor budget management directly affects the quality of the basic services people should have access to, like education and healthcare.

As said before, knowing how to read and write are only the basis of what people should learn in their lifetime to aim to have jobs that pay them well enough to live by. Nowadays, companies ask for more than being literate, having gone to elementary or high school. It is not enough to have gone to school anymore.

The business world becomes more and more competitive, and even those who have finished college and achieved a bachelor’s degree struggle with finding a suitable job.

In countries like Mexico or Guatemala, where the illiteracy rates remain too high for the modern world, even if children learn how to read or write, the schools that they attend are not suitable for a proper educational experience.

Their teachers are unprepared, their schools are falling apart with every rainy day, and they lack the supplies or parental support they need to move from one grade to the other.

Our Place in the World

For over a decade, Global Opportunity has been working as a nonprofit 501(c)(3) through a system of direct contact between donors and beneficiaries. Donors from the United States and other countries have contributed to the development of medical and educational programs for children and teenagers.

We work towards putting an end to the cycle of generational poverty by improving access to quality education and healthcare. Our ultimate goal is to improve life conditions of indigenous families in rural areas and to protect their basic human rights.