The lack of opportunities for young people are leaving Mexico with an immobile social structure
Definition
Interpret recent social developments in Mexico as a process that shares features with the European Middle Ages is a proposal that has support both in official figures, for example, income distribution, as in what any attentive observer may realize: the country is heading toward a kind of stiffness or freeze social structure.
To better understand the meaning of the above statement must start with the definition. In what sense is the Mexico of century, immersed in the maelstrom of globalization, it might be medieval? Luis Weckmann long embarked on a great undertaking: to discover the heritage of the Middle Ages to the English conquest brought to Mexico in the sixteenth century (The medieval heritage of Mexico [1984]). But that's not the point here but another very contemporary. In the world of medieval social structure was, at least in principle, immobile. Father born pastor who remained as such the rest of his life and the same fate awaited all his descendants were more able to perform well in other activities. Similarly, who was born noble, noble stayed forever and so their children and children their children, no matter if they were real jerks, his destiny was to own and receive the homage and service of the vassals, to be leaders regardless of their ability to control, hence the frequent "idiot prince" because the latter does not end removed first. In this world only if the Church represented, to a few holders of luck and a remarkable intelligence, the only means by which they could escape a mediocre destination. Certainly the church knew how to do this peculiarity of the world around one of the sources of its undoubted strength in the period. Breaking
New Spain was not exactly a model of social mobility, although had it. And in that colonial capitalism successful a conqueror or a merchant could end up with a title of nobility, but for the vast majority were born and race destination. However, Independence brought significant changes, opened opportunities, and the best example of social promotion we have in Benito Juárez, a character who literally broke all the social and cultural barriers. Without having to go through the path shifted from indigenous church and pastor to student, lawyer, governor, minister and finally to president. Obviously, Juarez was a rare case of social leap, in the mixed world examples were more numerous and General Porfirio Diaz was a good example of this. However, the same Porfiriato, maturing as an oligarchic and authoritarian order, led to significantly reduce social mobility.
The Mexican Revolution was, among other things, that swirl "Alevante" many-especially the small rural middle class, and Obregon, Calles and Cardenas, and sent the dark social and economic policy and even good number of those still in September 1910 had seen the carefully staged "centennial celebrations" from the boxes of the elite. Jose Iturriaga's thesis in his classic (social and cultural structure of Mexico [1951]) was nothing to show grand opening figures meant the Mexican Revolution and the administrator of his legacy, the PRI-to allow people of the soil swelled the middle sector of society.
The post-revolution with no re-election, with its mass party, with its educational programs, with a highly efficient public sector and not very honest but very active (state-owned enterprises, development banks, infrastructure programs, etc.) remained relatively open the door to social mobility, especially when compared with conditions in other Latin American countries. Ernesto Zedillo is a good example of how in 1960 and 1970 was still possible, through public education programs scholarships, moving from a lower middle class to the high official technocrats and even becoming president. Well, all this began to change quickly and dramatically with the advent of neoliberalism and its inability to maintain the dynamism of the economy (the average real GDP growth since 1982 has fluctuated between 0.5 and 1 per cent) and escalated from the PAN took over what was left of political power.
New Age Media
Today social mobility in Mexico has been reduced significantly, as remarkable as it has increased the concentration of income and wealth. The alleged Mexican political democracy has gone hand in hand with inequality and social closure.
The upper echelons of the government structure are dominated less by those who were admitted on merit and competitive basis, the famous civil service, and more for the PAN, which also have been assigned an income outside all proportion to the value of the alleged "services" they provide to society (today, three dozen staff members earn more than 3.5 million dollars annually [El Universal, Sept. 18]). However, since the public sector is the heart of the economic system but now is clearly the private sector, the large corporation, which marks the beat-to the extent that there are time-of the economy. And again, as in the Porfirio Diaz, Mexico is an oligarchy dominated by proprietary, rapacious but completely unable to grow the country, has proved remarkably adept at capturing the government and that way maintain monopolies. This, only by exception, lets an "outsider" to the exclusive circle of iron-on "Artemio Cruz" by Carlos Fuentes thought is no longer possible, "because you agree to marriages within the small and privileged world of names to ensure accumulation of wealth to the point that a Mexico that has barely grown since 1982 is home to some of the largest family fortunes in the world.
The reverse of the medal is a society where the vast majority of its citizens have the right to vote but your choice is mediated by a handful of games that do not represent their interests, they must live with utilities between bad and terrible, in the midst of insecurity and unprotected private. And the worst is the lack of jobs and opportunity for young people from almost all social classes.
Today, Mexico is living that has been called the "demographic dividend", the last time the abundance of young-age before the dominant note is the aging of the bulk of the population, but may not use lack of employment opportunities for those who may already be creating wealth allowing them in the future to retire with dignity. Young people, whether they have school or have just worked to get a college degree or even a graduate, simply have nowhere to put to good use his energy and knowledge. Therefore, they are seeing opportunities disappear, let alone social mobility, but if they come from the middle classes, just to stay in the area from which emerged, as the remuneration of their work, should be found, gives no more than to get by. For most of them, the best option is to leave Mexico, undocumented work-ability has declined due to economic depression United States-or, with preparation and luck, to work in a foreign firm. In any case, the country will lose the investment made in them.
If in the Middle Ages few could be ambitious and intelligent attempt to escape his fate by way of the ecclesiastical profession, now an outlet for young people with similar characteristics is in its entry into the world of organized crime. In the climate of impunity, corruption prevalent in the worst case, which the young man who becomes a hit man can lose is the continuation of a life of poverty, humiliation and no horizons, but at best, to live with intensity that weapons and money plentiful. After throughout El Chapo Guzman has already shared a place with Carlos Slim in international magazines such as Fortune and Time.
Reaching the "celebration" of the bicentennial and the centennial of two movements that broke down social structures with very little social mobility in a similar or worse situation economically Mexico was not stuck in 1810 or 1910 - is no less ironic and dangerous .
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