Poverty and Corruption in Mexico

<big>Introduction</big>

Corruption and poverty are two anomalies that pose a serious dilemma to any country and if not resolved, they could become the ultimate downfall of a nation. Corruption and poverty can occur in any country, both poor and wealthy. These two anomalies affect the well being of Mexican society and continues to be a problem. But corruption and poverty are not just two separate entities, they have direct correlations and consequences.
<big>Mexican Government Corruption</big>
For decades, Mexico has been plagued with government corruption. What makes corruption such a dilemma is that it directly affects the ability of a country to prosper and develop economically. One of the main factors of corruption are Mexico’s police forces/security and judicial system. This corruption stems from the aftermath of the Mexican Revolution (1910-1917), when an immensely authoritarian, one-party system developed called the Institutional Revolution Party (Partido Revolucionario Institucional, PRI). Corruption soared, political competition became non-existent, and the judicial system became insufficient. As the PRI continued its corrupted control, the Mexican economy and judicial institutions began to weaken. As a result, in 1982, a debt crises lead to “lower wages, higher unemployment, and a lower standard of living for Mexico’s citizens.” Beginning in the 1990’s in the presidential administrations of Zedillo and Fox, reforms took place aimed at putting an end to corruption in government institutions. While these reforms and others were a move in the right direction, some questioned their strategies, such as consolidating police power, which leads to concentration of power and corruption. One of the problems with the inability to resolve the problem of corruption has been the Mexican government’s decision to focus on structural changes, which only provides short-term change and does not provide sustainable reform.
In a recent event, 43 Mexican students, studying to become teachers, went missing while on their way to a protest. It has been alleged that the mayor of Iguala had ties with narcotics traffickers and was the individual who ordered the attack on the students. Many Mexican citizens protested and continue to protest against the government’s handling of the tragedy and their decision to call it an “isolated incident”, but the protest was not only for the 43 missing, it was also in protest for the more than 80,000 disappeared and killed Mexican citizens in the last decade as reported. Tragedies like this exemplifies how drug violence has infiltrated and gained influence into Mexican political and government institutions.
Another significant form of corruption on Mexico is bribery. Bribery comes in all forms, whether it is in the form of paying-off officials or authorities, being used for personal gain, or taking part in a devious transactions. As reported by the New York Times, “Studies have found it costs the economy upward of $114 billion — 10 percent of its gross domestic product — and dampens potential investment.” Also reported was that between 1970 and 2010, Mexico overall had lost $872 billion due to crime, corruption, and tax evasion. Also to note is that losses increased significantly when NAFTA (North American Free Trade Agreement) was taken into affect. Transparency International reveals even more insightful statistics. Among 177 observed countries, Mexico ranks 106 in the Corruption Perception Index (2013), which is “based on how corrupt a country’s public sector is perceived to be.” Ranking the wealthiest countries, the Bribe Payers Index ranks the likelihood of firms to bribe abroad where Mexico ranks 26 out of 28 countries (2011). Further statistics show Mexico providing “little enforcement” of anti-corruption laws and having mediocre Control of Corruption or the ability of the public to exercise their power for private gain. As explained by Luis Carlos Ugalde, a Mexican political scientist, the Mexican government has good laws that try to reduce corruption, but in the real world they are not effective. For the rich this increase isn’t much, however, for the poor who already struggle to purchase their necessities this change means sacrificing one thing for another.
Increases in taxes has become more common lately as a pattern continues to develop every year. The increase of prices is beneficial for the economy, but the outcomes have a tendency to affect a certain population, the impoverished. For the most part, the poor already spend 50% of their income on food, and with prices continuing to rise, the poor will not be able to afford or sustain living under these type of conditions.
Moreover, the education system in Mexico remains inadequate. The government has found a way to make children of a lower class have a minimal reach to education. The employment of children has been a priority and with the government looking the other way, it only makes it easier for exploitation to go around. As the International Labour Organization states that, “there are currently 218 million children working worldwide, and one in 12 are being exposed to the worst forms of child labour, among which six: agriculture, soldiers, sexual networks, domestic service, mining and quarrying, and trafficking of children.” Furthermore, exploitation in children has been around for years however, the toleration level has increased all while companies generate more profit and families become poorer. The government refuses to address the problems associated with poverty and acquiring pro-poor adaptation strategies would lend great assistance and support to the poor. Being poor has a couple of components, however, corruption is one of the main issues.
<big>Correlation Between Corruption and Poverty</big>
Poverty and corruption are two anomalies that run parallel together. As previously mentioned, corruption directly affects the ability of the country to prosper and develop economically, therefore, leading to poverty. Corruption undermines the prosperity of wealth and always ends up hurting those in poverty the most. Poverty is an invitation to corruption but corruption occurs because of the weaknesses that exist in the economic, political, and social institutions. Corruption limits the economic alternatives and prevents those in poverty from moving up to a higher economic social status. Being poor is characterized by different circumstances and human rights. Moreover, corruption gets passed the legal framework and the money that is gained through corruption is never to improve the poor living standards. "In a corrupt environment wealth is captured, income inequality is increased and state's government capacity is reduced, particularly when it comes to attending to the needs of the poor."

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