Human Rights: Mexico
Under the influence of the United States of America, Mexico transformed itself into a democratic state in 1917, and its civilians are given the right to participate in public elections. However, 102 years have passed, 45% of the country’s population is still living in poverty, and its development is nowhere close to the United States. There are many aspects to blame behind Mexico’s failure in human rights, but none is as destructive as the enormous wealth gap. Mexico’s huge wealth gap created rooms for corruption, and corruption leads to the abuse of public voting right. With exploitation in the voting right, government leaders are often elected into power not because of their policies, but through unjust briberies.
Under the influence of the United States of America, Mexico transformed itself into a democratic state in 1917, and its civilians are given the right to participate in public elections. However, 102 years have passed, 45% of the country’s population is still living in poverty, and its development is nowhere close to the United States. There are many aspects to blame behind Mexico’s failure in human rights, but none is as destructive as the enormous wealth gap. Mexico’s huge wealth gap created rooms for corruption, and corruption leads to the abuse of public voting right. With exploitation in the voting right, government leaders are often elected into power not because of their policies, but through unjust briberies.
Extreme Poverty in Mexico - Source: The Atlantic The Lack of Development in Mexico - Source: The Atlantic
Immense Wealth Gap - Voting Right Exploitation
According to the wealth gap index, Mexico’s index is 43.3, which means the top 10% of the population generates 43.3% of the country’s GDP (World Bank). To be more direct, 90% of the population make 5500 USD per year, while 10% of the population make 41000 USD per year. Mexico is a capitalistic and pragmatic society, which means its people value the importance of money, and money is the motivation for people to labor. This is deeply connected to its public election. Whether rich or poor, everyone is given the power to vote in elections. As mentioned, Mexicans' motivation for labor is money, and its population, especially the poor, is more passionate about money than voting. The rich people of Mexico have more than enough money to spend, thus money is often used to purchase poor civilians’ votes during elections.
2006 Mexico Presidential Election
One of the most notorious scandals was the presidential election in 2006 between Felipe Calderón and Andrés Manuel López Obrador. Felipe Calderón eventually won by 0.58%, which was the most minimal victory in the history of Mexico (Britannica). Later, various scandals were reported that Calderón’s campaign offered free electricity products in certain cities if they cast their votes to Calderón. With 90% of the population only making 5500 USD per year, free electricity products are very valuable, and many poor people misused their voting rights in exchange for them. This is a national scandal, which caught our attention, but there are thousands of rigged regional elections in Mexico that remained unnoticed by the world. Leaders are being voted into power not because of their credentials, but through scandalous bribing. With incompetent leaders in power, it is impossible to for a nation to develop rapidly as an entirety.
Felipe Calderón, Winner of the 2006 Presidential Election - Source: United Nations