Effect of Poverty and Cartels on the Education Level of Mexico - Report Example

Effect of Poverty and Cartels on the Education Level of Mexico Table of Contents Introduction 3 of Poverty in Mexico 4 Level of Education in Mexico 5 Cartels and Government Policies of Mexico 8 Brutality of the Government on Students 9 Conclusion 10 Works Cited 12 Name of the student: Name of the professor: Course Number: Date of submission: Effect of Poverty and Cartels on the education level of Mexico Introduction The poverty condition in Mexico is indicated by the poor situation in all fields of development such as the institutions and infrastructure in the country, efficiency of the labor market, education system and the innovation. The GDP of the country was nearly the same as that of the South Korea, Spain and Australia, but the GDP per capita of the nation is about 3 times lower than these countries in 2012. Earlier, the GDP of the country was nearly half the amount at present and thus this states that the condition of the people has improved over the years but the drug war which broke out in 2012 lead to the advent of economic crisis which made things worse for the country. The lack of opportunity for growth and poverty was the main factors behind the fact that the country’s drug trafficking organizations are flooded with fresh recruits. The most worried part of the situation is that the government of Mexico has shown very little interest in addressing these serious social issues. On the other hand, the enrollment ratio in the country has increased significantly and has posed a challenge for the Mexican government to provide higher educational prospects for all students. The purpose of the paper is to evaluate the effect of poverty and cartels on the education level of the country (“Poverty in Mexico, Economic Crisis and 21st Century Welfare”). State of Poverty in Mexico Economic growth has been recovering in the country with the 1.4% and 2.1% in 2014 and 2015 respectively though the growth rate has been lower than potential output growth of 2.5%. There has been a strong relationship between reduction in the poverty level and economic growth. Thus, the weak growth in the economic front has not contributed to the decline in the poverty level of the country in a significant manner. Figure 1: Poverty Headcount Ratio at National Poverty Lines (Source: World Bank) Thus, it can be seen from the above table that the poverty level of Mexico has been escalating steadily over the years. It has been observed by researchers that, though the access of people to education, housing and healthcare has improved and the overall economy of the country continues to grow, poverty of the individuals based on income has steadily incresed, as the increse in the income of the population do not match the rate of increase in the proces of commodities and services (Mexico’s Latest Poverty Stats”). The main cause of this rise in the level of poverty in Mexico is the job market in the country which fails to provide adeqaute jobs to the increasing supply of participants in the labor market. Demographic changes accompanied by the zero migration to the United States and the an increase in the number of female participants has led to the growing labor force (“Mexico Overview”). Level of Education in Mexico Figure 2: Government Expenditure on Education (% of GDP) (Source: World Bank) It is inferred from the above diagram that the level of government expenditure has been rising over the years till 2009, and it has been remained at that level for the next two years (“Government expenditure on education”).Thus, the growing demand for the higher education and the rise in the number of students enrolled in the primary level needs more government spending in the educational system. This is due to the fact that majority of the inhabitants in the country lives below the poverty line and would not be able to afford higher education at private institutions. For this reason, the governmnet of Mexico is facing a challenge to provide higher education to all the students at public institutions. Figure 3: Primary School Enrollment (Source: World Bank) It can be seen from Figure 3 that the primary school enrollment ratio in Mexico has been rising over the years (“School enrollment, primary”).This has lead to the incease in the population of the country participating in the workforce. The rise in the percentage of primary school enrollment has lead to the increase in the number of students demanding higher education at affordable price since the poverty level in the country is very high. There is very high inequality present in the society of Mexico. This can be stated from the fact that though the GDP of the country increases over the years, its GDP per capita rises at a much lower rate. Figure 4: GDP Per Capita (Source: World Bank) Figure 5: GDP of Mexico (Source: World Bank) From Figure 4 and Figure 5, it can be deduced that the growth rate of GDP per capita has been lower than the growth rate of GDP of the country (“GDP (current US$)”; “GDP per capita (current US$)”). This indicates the lack of importance given to the development of social factors in the nation than the growth of the economic aspects. Cartels and Government Policies of Mexico Though there are no official statistics on the number of youths working for Mexico’s cartels, the Mexican newspaper ‘Reforma” stated that according to data, officials have indicted 214 minors due to their involvement in organized crime in 2010. According to a report presented by InSight Crime, the President of Mexico has been constantly criticized for the security strategy which his government has adopted. The strategy aims at arresting and slaying off the cartel leaders and they are termed as “high value targets”. The critics of the security strategy of the government suggests a more inclusive approach towards the security crisis of the nation with greater focus on the socio-economic factors which acts as the source of crime in the region (“Poverty a Recruitment Tool for Mexicos Criminal Gangs”). However, their suggestions were not implemented as the former Mexican President, Felipe Calderon argued that, giving emphasis on the reduction of poverty and inequality in the society would have no effect on the illegal narcotics industry. This strategy has failed to reduce the rate of organized crime in the country and thus the crime rate had increased by 16 percent in 2011.The major reason behind the situation was the high rate of unemployment among the youth of the nation. Many analysts have pointed out that organized crime has become the source of income for those who did not have any other alternatives for gaining employment. Moreover, the age at which people gets involved in organized crime has fallen over the years (“Poverty a Recruitment Tool for Mexicos Criminal Gangs”). Though the present administration under the rule of President Enrique Pena Nieto has undertaken significant reforms in the economic aspects of the nation, its efforts to reduce organized crime in the region remained blurred and inadequate. Thus, the overall capacity of the military force of Mexico and the law enforcement and justice sector has continued to be limited and is unable to prevent acceleration and intensity of violence in the country. The current administration had not focused on allocating more resources towards the development of education and technology which results in low economic competitiveness. The nation has only concentrated on the growth of economic variables while the development of social indicators was being neglected. Thus, in order to utilize the advantages of an open market, Mexico needs a well-educated workforce and a more flexible labor policy. As a result, there must be more emphasis on the growth of the educational and health sector to promote a more inclusive growth strategy and therefore reduce the involvement of youth in organized crime by providing more prospects for employment (“Changing the Game or Dropping the Ball? Mexico’s Security and Anti-Crime Strategy under President Enrique Peña Nieto”). Brutality of the Government on Students In January 2015, 43 students went missing as they were protesting against discriminating practices in the public institutions to prefer the admission of urban students over the applications of the rural students. They were arrested by the police force of the Mexican government and later it was declared by the government that all the forty-three students were dead as the remains of their burned bodies were discovered by the investigating agencies. This has led to mass protest in Mexico and the people of the country accuse the corrupt government and the dangerous drug cartels operating in the region. The specific result of the entire massacre has not been derived as the parents of the victims held the vision that the government has been trying to close the case and stop the investigation by declaring the death of the students (“Mexicos 43 Missing Students: Theories behind Mysterious Disappearance”). This horrific incident is the result of the huge infrastructural gap in the education system of the Country accompanied by the rise in the level of poverty over the years and also the alarming inequality standard of living between the rich and the poor of the country. The inconsistencies in the policies undertaken by the Mexican Government has paved the way for the rise of the educational crisis that resulted in the death of the students aspiring to pursue higher studies and improve their standard of living by utilizing the advantages of an economy which is experiencing growth in the economic front. Conclusion The primary enrollment ratio of the country has increased over the years which have resulted in an increase in the demand for higher education. However, the government is not equipped with the proper infrastructure to provide higher and technical education to all the students. This has led to the establishment of the private universities which generally provide low quality education and offers a small range of subjects to pursue further education. Moreover, the rising poverty level of the country clearly indicates that most of the students are not capable of acquiring education from private institutions due to the lack of income and thus, in this way, the poor people will remain poor and their standard of living could never be improved. This has resulted in the mass protests against the government due to their lack of initiatives to increase the capacity of the public educational institutions and present everyone with the chance to improve their living conditions. This problem has been further aggravated by the dominance of the cartels involved in drug trafficking and the lack of emphasis on the destruction of these cartels by the former governments as well as the present government which has led to the deterioration of the social insecurity and violation of human rights of the population of Mexico. Works Cited “Changing the Game or Dropping the Ball? Mexico’s Security and Anti-Crime Strategy under President Enrique Peña Nieto.” The Brookings Institution, 2014. Web. 7 July 2015. “GDP (current US$).” The World Bank Group, 2015. Web. 7 July 2015. “GDP per capita (current US$).” The World Bank Group, 2015. Web. 7 July 2015. “Government expenditure on education.” The World Bank Group, 2015. Web. 7 July 2015. “Mexico Overview.” The World Bank Group, 2015. Web. 7 July 2015. “Mexicos 43 Missing Students: Theories behind Mysterious Disappearance.” IBTimes Co., Ltd, 2014. Web. 7 July 2015. “Poverty a Recruitment Tool for Mexicos Criminal Gangs.” In Sight Crime.org, 2011. Web. 7 July 2015. “Poverty in Mexico, Economic Crisis and 21st Century Welfare.” Poverties.org, 2015. Web. 7 July 2015. “School enrollment, primary.” The World Bank Group, 2015. Web. 7 July 2015. Wilson, Christopher. “Mexico’s Latest Poverty Stats.” Mexico Institute, 2013. Web. 7 July 2015. Read More