Women's Rights/COUNTRY PROFILE
MEXICO
In 1994, Mexico was thrust into the headlines after the Zapatista National Liberation Army (EZLN) seized four towns in the poor southern state of Chiapas. The rebellion occurred on the day the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) came into force. The Zapatistas called on Mexicans to remember their revolutionary heritage and stand up for the values of ‘land, liberty and reform’ for which their grandparents had fought.
The EZLN were almost exclusively of indigenous origin, angered by the erosion of the shared land and water rights of rural Indian communities. The first three years of the rebellion saw brutal massacres and reprisals, though the EZLN retained a strong, positive public image. The presence of international observers and nascent Mexican organizations has begun to curb the illegal activities of the army and paramilitaries in the rebellious states of Chiapas and Guerrero, but internment and even torture still occur under the pretext of the war on drugs.
The Chiapas uprising is part of a long history of regional wars in Mexico, stretching from the divisive struggle for independence, through the secession of Texas and the loss of California to the US in the mid-19th century. The Mexican Revolution (1910-1917) has often been caricatured as a struggle between the old dictator Porfirio Diaz and a ragtag army of peasants and bandits, whereas in reality it too was a series of regional disputes. The fringes of the nation have rarely been effectively governed, and even today there are thousands of drug-runners and human traffickers in the seas and skies under Mexico’s jurisdiction. The way in which the EZLN and other guerrilla groups have raised and equipped armies suggests the Government has had little reach into the hinterland, though recently Presidents Zedillo and Fox have tried to change this by building roads and military bases through the lightly populated forests of the deep south. The Zapatistas could not halt NAFTA, which accelerated the privatization scramble of the 1980s. While the 20th-century state was controlled by party bosses and big business in a centralized market, Mexico post-1994 has been dominated by a booming entrepreneurial class operating outside the traditional hierarchy. The state has had great difficulty in regulating the activities of the new factory owners, telecommunications giants and utility suppliers.
The most obvious post-NAFTA change for many workers has been the explosion of maquiladora factories, especially in polluted, crime-ridden towns close to the US border. Unionization in maquiladoras is minimal, and while rates of pay are often significantly higher than in local Mexican-owned plants, there is little in the way of job security or benefits.
Illegal migration to the US has grown rapidly since the introduction of NAFTA. With rising unemployment in Mexico and a US economy increasingly reliant on low-wage labour, the hand-wringing of both governments about this rings rather hollow. Substantial remittances sent home from a child or sibling working in the US have helped families survive the erosion of the welfare state.
Poverty has particularly affected the development of Mexican children. During the first years of NAFTA, millions had their education cut short and were pushed into child labour. Since 1997 the Government has attempted, with a good deal of success, to reverse this trend. The Oportunidades scheme provides a grant to families whose children remain in full-time education: the longer the child stays in school, the larger the payment. According to some international observers, the scheme is successful both in reducing extreme poverty and in improving basic education.
At a glance
- Leader
- President Vicente Fox Quesada
- Economy
- Gross national income (GNI) per capita: $5,910 (Guatemala $1,750, United States $35,060
- Monetary unit
- Mexican peso
- Main exports
- Manufactured goods; oil and oil products; agricultural products. 89% of exports go to the US.
- People
- 106.4 million. People per square kilometre: 53.
- Health
- Infant mortality 24 per 1,000 births (Guatemala 36, US 7). Water and electricity supplies are satisfactory in most built-up areas but virtually non-existent in large areas of the south and in shanty towns.
- Environment
- An increasing public awareness of environmental issues has not halted the endemic pollution of the capital city and the industrial towns along the US border.
- Culture
- Mexicans descend from the mixing of Meso-American peoples with the colonial Spanish. The 56 indigenous groups account for around 30% of the population.
- Religion
- Despite the rapid encroachment of evangelical Protestantism, Mexico remains a solidly Catholic nation (89%)
- Language
- Spanish, many indigenous languages.
- Sources
- World Guide, State of the World’s Children 2004, UK Foreign Office Report, World Bank, UN Statistics Division
- Last profiled
NI assessment
- Income distribution
- The wealth and opportunities for all promised by NAFTA remain a dream to the millions of rural poor trapped in subsistence farming as well as shanty town dwellers reliant on casual work.
Previously reviewed 1992 - Literacy
- 91%. The Government has demonstrated a significant commitment to improving literacy through the Oportunidades scheme. Previously reviewed 1992
- Life expectancy
- 73 years (Guatemala 66, US 77)
- Position of women
- In a Latin American context, women have a reasonably high political profile, but crimes against women and inequality in the workplace are huge problems. Previously reviewed 1992
- Freedom
- The largely uncensored media and sophistication of the political class can sometimes mask low-level abuses against trade unionists, activists and indigenous peoples, but accountability is improving. Previously reviewed 1992
- Sexual minorities
- Homosexuality: legal. Transgender: no data. Mexico City has a surprisingly open and vibrant gay culture for such a historically conservative country.
- NI Assessment (Politics)
- Mexico is struggling to institutionalize its recent transition to a modern democracy. Important steps have been made in the fields of human rights and political accountability, but the police and judiciary continue to commit abuses without fear of punishment. The Fox Government is widely characterized as impotent, having missed a great opportunity to improve wealth distribution. The past year has seen two vast protests in the capital. The 2006 election will test Mexico’s democratic credentials, particularly if Andrés Manuel López Obrador, a radical populist and favourite of the urban poor, decides to stand.
Join over 30,000 people just like you. Get e-mail updates about new content, action alerts, contests, and more!
Voices from the margins:
Multimedia: video, podcasts, and more.
- Poetry Slam in Zimbabwe
- The House of Hunger poetry slam held in Zimbabwe in 2006, and organised by the Pamberi Trust, showcased young artists performing inspirational work on issues from corporate power to child soldiers. The video features four of the poets.
Published by Pambazuka News.
- Iranian women speak out
- 3 March 2007, London. Women's rights activists marched through the English capital last week to celebrate International Women's Day with a protest against the misogyny of the Islamic regime in Iran and the threat of invasion by the US. Hear the voices of Iranian feminists Azar and Leila Parnian and the sounds of the demonstration as it passed through the heart of the city. Click here to learn more about the campaign.
Produced by Heidi Bachram.
- Raised Voices audio:
- Benny from West Papua on Corporate Power
- Vinayan from India on agriculture
