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Life in Mexico TodayThe Economy of MexicoIn 1995 the peso was devaluated, and Mexico's economy suffered a great deal. The effect of the devaluation was devestating to the people of Mexico. In particular, the middle class was left high and dry with mortgages, credit card bills, and car loans. Devaluation of the peso caused a spike in interest rates, as much as 150%, and many people lost everything. Businesses were wiped out, and people lost their homes. The general mood of the Mexican people was not good at all. In the past decade things have begun to bounce back, and growth rates are up in Mexico at this time. Employment rates are rising as well, and the peso is stabilizing. The middle class is slowly recovering from the wipeout of the mid-1990s, as are th corporations, and the general mood of the Mexican people has improved with their lot.There is, nevertheless, abundant poverty in Mexico. It's tough to make ends meet for many Mexicans, and wages are still very low. Prices are rising, whereas the minimum wage is terribly low. There is much work in some areas, where North American companies, after NAFTA, have arrived and set up shop to take advantage of low labor costs and the freer trade atmosphere created by NAFTA. The economy is Mexico is dominated by tourism, agriculture, oil and gas, industry, textiles and clothing. They produce lots of exports. The Environment and Environmental Issues in MexicoMexico is rich in natural resources, but over the decades, the process of extracting minerals, gas, timber and oil has left the state of the environment in a terrible mess. The rush to extract resources in the absence of any real governmental controls and oversight, has left Mexico with a sad state of pollution, environmental degredation, and very bad air quality in Mexico City.One major source of pollution nowadays in Mexico is plastics. Not only do Mexicans not recycle, there also seems to be a problem with littering as well. There seriously needs to be a government-sponsored and funded anti-littering campaign in Mexico, and perhaps the highways, streams, rivers and countryside in general would look and fare a lot better. Driving down the highway, you can see plastic bags, plastic container, and any other type of household plastic container littering the sides of the highways, everywhere you go. Not only that, and somehow worse, there are virtual piles of garbage with lots of plastic, dumped in impromptu garbage dumps around Mexico. So, not only are people littering one item at a time, they are also planning their litter, and taking their garbage out to empty it in the countryside, right next to the roads. This is a terrible eyesore, not to mention a terrible environmental catastrophe waiting to happen. There are grassroots campaigns sprouting up all over Mexico, who specialize in some sort of environmental issue, such as reforestation, environmental education, or cleaning up waterways. Some local government money is starting to show itself as well, funneled down to the grassroots organizations. What's needed is economic growth, which studies show promotes environmental awareness. Crime in MexicoFor people considering Mexico travel, the idea of crime presents itself at some point. Since the 1995 devaluation of the peso, and the poverty it brought with it, there has been an increase in crime in Mexico throughout the 1990s and into the twenty-first century. A large part of crime in Mexico is theft, and in the northern regions, it's drug related. In other parts of Mexico, where there is political unrest, the crime has seen an upsurge as well. The good news is, few tourists are really affected directly by the crime. What you really need to keep in mind is to be smart, and the live your life while on vacation in Mexico as you would any other place in the world, in regards to avoiding being a victim of crime. In other words, don't be naieve or careless and you should be ok. Crime is a fact of life anywhere in the world, and we shouldn't let it ruin or dominate our Mexico travel.More on Modern MexicoFor more aspects of traveling around Mexico, visit our politics page. |
•Mexico Ancient Ruins &Culture |
