South of North America
South of North America is where the federal republic of Mexico is located. US to the north, Guatemala to the southeast, Pacific Ocean to the south and west, and the Gulf of Mexico to the east form its borders. Approximately two million square kilometers in size, Mexico is the sixth-largest country in the Americas and the thirteenth-largest independent nation in the world. Mexico has 122 million citizens, ranking it as the eleventh-most populous nation in the world as of 2013. Throughout its history, Mexico has faced a number of difficulties (Loser, 2015). The main obstacles are:
Inequality
Mexico is divided by a wide socioeconomic disparity its citizens. Some of the richest men in the world are found in Mexico, as is the case of more than 50 million people who live in abject poverty in the same country. Gini index is a scale used to reflect the income inequality and Mexico is one of the countries in the world with the highest index. The inequality is the common cause for social unrest, demonstrations and mass migration to the US.
Corruption
Transparency international ranked Mexico 103 0f 175 countries on the Corruption Perceptions Index scoring 35 of 100 points. The high corruption levels combined with lack of substantive results from politics has led to the general disappointment and mistrust between the government and citizens. This has seen an increase in the number of demonstrations demanding a more honest and transparent government.
Education
Recently, there has been amendments in the constitution declaring that senior high school be compulsory to the entire population and that professors will be periodically evaluated if they are to retain their jobs. The enormous number of students and backwardness in the Mexican education system makes it very difficult to achieve these tasks. Mexico is still far from achieving adequate educational levels.
According to research, most Mexican students lag behind in mathematical skills as compared to students in other countries. The tendency to drop out of school prematurely is also very high. These low education standards make it impossible for Mexico to achieve equal opportunity among the population.
Insecurity
Security became a major problem in Mexico the presidency of Felipe Calderon. During this period Mexico, adopted strategies aimed at confronting the drug cartels that did previously co-exist with the government. This move sparked a wave of violence that attracted the attention of the entire world. Mexico continues to suffer from the cartels violence and cities that used to be famous tourist attractions have lost appeal.
Despite the above challenges, the Mexican economy expanded 0.7 percent on quarter in the last three months of 2016. There was an increase in services and an increased industrial production. However, the agricultural sector shrank by 0.3 percent. The GDP also advances 2.4 percent (Stokes, 2015).
The economic activity expansion now relies on private consumption owing to the weak investment and export demand being experienced. These are because of the depreciation of the Mexican peso with respect to the US dollar. A substantial depreciation of the Mexican peso occurred in the last two years.
The Mexican economy continues to face numerous challenges that include low oil prices, slowdown in global trade and geopolitical events.
New Vision for Mexico 2042
With these economic challenges at hand, Mexico has drafted a New Vision for Mexico 2042, which identifies the priority issues that could influence the country's long-term economic path. The vision also outlines a balanced plan of action necessary to effectively address the issues. This plan includes reforms and actions that would simultaneously lead to the achievement of much more and higher inclusive growth higher and more inclusive growth. This would eventually restore a sense of pride and optimism among Mexicans.
The Root Causes of the Current Economic Situation
The economy of Mexico has not been growing fast enough to accommodate its growing population. Most of the citizens have not found job in the formal sector. The growing population together with insufficient economic growth will see an increase in immigration to the US. There will also be increased political instability, deterioration of the ecology, environmental pollution, and increased drug trafficking among others (Stokes, 2009).
The economy of Mexico will not grow as desired unless the current political system is overhauled and corruption eradicated. These are the root causes of the current economic situation and the main obstacles standing in the way of Mexico achieving its long-term strategy.
References
Loser, C. M., Fajgenbaum, J., & Kohli, H. S. (2012). A new vision for Mexico 2042: achieving prosperity for all. New Delhi: SAGE.
Stokes, E. M. (2009). The economy of Mexico. Philadelphia: Mason Crest .
Stokes, E. M. (2015). Finding a financial balance: the economy of Mexico. Philadelphia, PA: Mason Crest.
