Government failures: Race, Gender and Poverty in Mexico

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Government failures: Race, Gender and Poverty in Mexico from 1910-2020
Introduction
Race, gender and poverty are societal vices that have proved hard to governments and other stakeholders to eradicate. On April 27, 2019, The British Broadcasting Corporation, BBC published a story about Pope Francis donating $500000 for migrants stranded in Mexico. Poverty, racism and gender violence force most people to move away from their official residents and cross borders to other countries in search of better life opportunities. In 2018 only, six caravans of migrants totalling to 75000 people entered Mexico after getting stranded at the US border. Most of the migrants from South America originate from Mexico, a country that has faced most of these injustices Prior to the donation, Pope had visited Mexico in early 2016 to preach unity and condemn racism in the country. He insisted that the state of poverty in the country was a result of racism and disunity among the people. The negative energy could be turned into a positive drive of unity that works towards creating prosperity in the country. Sadly, political leaders I other countries do not want to help such migrants to develop economically. Pope accused the United States president, Donald Trump for building a wall in the Mexican border to keep away migrants. The failure of Mexico's government to enact policies that protect people of different races and gender, and change the poverty status has led to an escalation gender and racial discrimination. The country has faced several racial and gender discrimination cases that subsequently cultivated poverty in the through the inability of government regimes to implement sound policies that promote a uniform economic and social progress since the 19th century. Poverty and discrimination in Mexico have led to several illegal migration cases from Mexico to the US in search of better jobs to enable them to provide for their families. This paper examines the political instability and failed government reforms that escalated gender and racial discrimination besides promoting poverty in Mexico from 1910 to the present. It argues that personal interests, too ambitious reforms, and party conflicts hindered the implementation of developmental policies throughout different government regimes.
The Mexican government and individuals invested significant efforts to address poverty, racism, and gender issues with the federal education policy, President Lazaro Cardenas's efforts to upgrade the economy, and the migrants and transnationals working hard to attain their objectives to eradicate the societal vices. The federal education policy had good intentions of enhancing economic development and helping reduce poverty and other discriminations in the country. Education is critical because it empowers Mexicans and nurtures work habits and punctuality. It would also teach people to abstain from practices like substance abuse and gambling. The good intention of the education policy was to eradicate poverty by teaching Mexicans how to be independent and work hard. Similarly, President Lazaro Cardenas (1934-1940) was very ambitious in bringing prosperity to Mexico through several policies and self-sacrifice. Cardenas was primarily concerned with the country's economic prosperity; hence he enacted several reforms. Immediately after taking over the presidency in 1934, President Cardenas enacted extensive land reforms. He envisioned a state where Mexico was economically stable with agriculture and oil and mineral markets doing well to reduce the poverty levels. In his quest for a prosperous Mexico, Cardenas became the first president to use public expenditure to enhance its social and economic development. In the same spirit, Braceros crossed the border from Mexico to the US to look for jobs to help them take care of their families. There were very few job opportunities in Mexico, increasing the poverty index, and prompting other Mexicans to cross the US border searching for employment. They secured their opportunities and worked hard to finish their contracts, then go back to their families in Mexico. Encouragingly, after their time expired in the US, they were given goodies to take to their families back in Mexico. The migrants were determined to eliminate poverty in their families hence their sacrifice to work in a far country. Evidently, governments and individuals have tried to eradicate societal vices like poverty and racism through various policies and even migrating to the US to secure jobs, but many challenges still exist. This means that these issues need to be handled differently to ensure the country grows into a developed nation.[Vaughan, Mary K. “Cultural politics in revolution: Teachers, peasants, and schools in Mexico”, 1930-1940. (University of Arizona Press, 1997): 25] [Vaughan, “Cultural politics in revolution”: 28] [Camín et al. “In the Shadow of the Mexican Revolution: Contemporary Mexican History”, 1910–1989. (University of Texas Press, 2010): 133] [Camín et al. “In the Shadow of the Mexican Revolution”: 133] [Cohen, Deborah. “Braceros: Migrant citizens and transnational subjects in the postwar United States and Mexico.” (Univ of North Carolina Press), (2011): 180] [Cohen. “Braceros: Migrant citizens and transnational subjects”: 176]
Scholars have analyzed inequality, rural poverty, and economic policies in Mexico. Aguila Emma et al.'s "Inequality, Poverty and Social Policy in Mexico" explores rural poverty, gender and racial inequality, and Mexico's social policy between 1980 and 1994. Aguila et al. argue that inequality of different types, including gender and race, has existed in Mexico since colonial times. People were divided into rural and urban dwellers. Rural dwellers never received much attention from the government, and infrastructure remained unattended compared to the urban area population that received better treatment. In the agricultural sector, government systems neglected the rural community while developing urban centers. As a result, the peasant farmers stagnated in poverty for a long time since they could not afford the high production cost that does not reward the end due to poor infrastructure. The cases of inequalities extended to the education sector. Urban centers had more developed schools compared to those in rural areas. Urban centers also enjoyed improved health facilities compared to rural areas sparsely populated by the indigenous people. It was not until 2004, when the government formed policies that promoted fairness and equality. On the other hand, Darcy Victor Tetreau's "Alternative Pathways out of Rural Poverty in Mexico" analyzes the three neoliberal pathways out of rural poverty as suggested by the World Bank in its World Development report of 2008 that focused on three aspects of the agricultural sector; farming, migration, and labor. From the report, the people who lived in rural Mexico encountered discrimination in governmental development programs. The population that lived in the rural areas lacked essential agricultural support from the government, prompting their mass migration into the urban centers in the late 1980s and early 1990s. Before the migrations, Mexico experienced a series of demonstrations from farmers and their representatives who were protesting the injustices. The turning point came during the reign of President Vicente Fox, who led the country from 2000 to 2006. Food Poverty was at 24.5 percent, Capacities Poverty at 32.7 percent, and Patrimonial Poverty at 54.7 percent in Mexico by 2006. These statistics showed improvement by 17.9, 17.2, and 14.5 percent, respectively, compared to 2000 when Fox took over the country's leadership. The World Bank and Fox's administration associated these improvements with increased opportunities and increased real wages. Tetreau highlights an example of organic coffee that is popular with small-scale farmers. The government helped them create favorable market conditions that ensured the producer got a fair share when exported. The government also smoothened the market value to ensure further low-scale farmers enjoy the fruits of their struggle. However, the improvements have not directly benefited the labourers who still work under deplorable conditions. The World Development report of 2008 encourages the continuation of the neoliberal agenda and strengthens the food regime. Therefore, the numerous social and agricultural policies have helped save Mexico's situation and achieved the current positive step in the country. Mexicans went through different forms of discrimination and injustices. Still, the situation gradually improved as stipulated in the book and the articles reviewed in this work.[Aguila Emma et al, "Inequality, Poverty, and Social Policy in Mexico." United States and Mexico: Ties That Bind, Issues That Divide. 2nd ed. Santa Monica, CA (2012): 103-128.] [Aguila et al., “Inequality, Poverty and Social Policy,” 109] [Tetreault Darcy Victor. "Alternative pathways out of rural poverty in Mexico." Revista Europea de Estudios Latinoamericanos y del Caribe/European Review of Latin American and Caribbean Studies (2010): 77-94.] [Tetreault, "Alternative pathways out of rural poverty in Mexico," 84] [Tetreault, "Alternative pathways out of rural poverty in Mexico," 86]
The fragment from The Cosmic Race discusses the future of the world and the contributions that the different races bring. It was published in1925 by Jose Vasconcelos, a Mexican philosopher. The main argument in The Cosmic Race is that the continuous mixing of the races will produce one cosmic race. The Cosmic Race is divided into three parts. The first one is titled "Mestizaje." It explores the myths and misconceptions of the emergence and the collapse of the Atlantis in America, aiming to demonstrate that races rise and disappear. According to the author, there are four primary races: Indians, Africans, Whites, and Mongols. Vasconcelos adds Mestizo as the fifth race.After civilization, the white race organized itself, took over the world, and controlled it. However, Vasconcelos says that the whites act as a bridge to a more significant race, the Mestizo. Vasconcelos believes that America is chosen to breed and bring forth the fifth race. In The Cosmic Race, Vasconcelos applauds the Spanish colonizers because they allowed Indians and Blacks to form a new race, but he despises the English because they refused to mix with other races. The world faced various conflicts of ideas between Latinism and Anglo-Saxonism. The most significant war that was lost when the Iberian republic isolated herself to live an "independent" life and ignored the needs of the more superior race of unity and collaboration. Furthermore, Vasconcelos notes the different behaviour that different races have when they meet. Racial pride brings an action that when two races meet, one will always use arguments to justify their race. The second and third parts explain more about the preference for Whiteness. Vasconcelos asserts that the world has entered a phase where the laws of joy, beauty, and emotion dictate the partners' people choose. Vasconcelos believes that new races will be born out of America. It was a foreshadow that one day all races of the world will be one, and no race will be superior to another. He had a vision that has raised different debates on his argument (Gill). Gill Believes that Vasconcelos' idea was very controversial and unrealistic. However, Vasconcelos's opinion makes more sense. The world needs to be one, united through civilization, and not divided through races. In a way, the cosmic race is already here with us, as Vasconcelos wished. The world is a global village where the traditions of every race are geared towards economic development. A factor has led to intermarriages between races; hence, sidelining the importance of a particular race and developing all races equally and with a joint effort. Vasconcelos emphasized on humanity and destiny rather than race. He believed that La Raza Cósmica would give birth to a new civilization whose traditions and nationality are geared towards humanity's common good.[Vasconcelos, José, “The cosmic race” The Mexico Reader: History, Culture, Politics, ed, Gilbert M. Joseph & Timothy J. Henderson (Durham and London: Duke University Press, 2002):14-19 (p 16)] [Vasconcelos, “Cosmic,” (17)] [Vasconcelos, “Cosmic,” (17)] [Vasconcelos, “Cosmic,” (18).] [Keerat Gill is a famous blogger on the popular culture in Latin America.] [Vasconcelos, “Cosmic,” (19)]
"An Agrarian Encounter" by Rosalie Evans, "Women, and War in Mexico" by Frances Calderón de la Barca explore gender and women's position in the early Mexican society. "An Agrarian Encounter" is a letter that Rosalie Evans wrote to her sister explaining how the minister wanted to snatch her property. It discusses her encounter with an oppressive government bureaucracy during the revolution era in Mexico. The government seized property from people, but Rosalie was stubborn enough not to give in to the system's demand. She knows her rights in the constitution. Still, Minister Villarreal's messengers tell her that they have an oral order than commands her to surrender her property. She held on to her right, and in the end, ...