Mexico is a rich country, when it comes to resources and land, but is also a country that is plagued by economic inequality and social stratification. Their is no defined cultural basis for its social stratification, However; Mexicans have had western ideals instilled in them and value individuals with wealth more than those without it. This emphasis on individuals of wealth, creates stratification between the wealthy and the not so wealthy. This effect is then amplified by Mexico’s extreme income and wealth inequality.
Mexico has a long and complex history. Many people know that Mexico used to belong to the indigenous native Americans (The Olmec, Maya, Aztecs, etc) which now make up only about 30 percent of the population. The Spaniards conquered what is now known as Mexico, in 1521, and slowly altered the population and their culture. The Spanish people inserted a government that was designed primarily to squeeze as much wealth as possible from the Native American peoples and transport that wealth back to Spain, and forced the Native Americans into the labor class . New social classes were created in which Native Americans, mestizos (mixed race), and slaves made up the bottom class and the European population made up the upper class.
It wasn’t until the early 19th century that Mexico managed to gain its independence from Spain. This armed revolution between the powerful elite who had dominated Mexico, and the liberals who demanded more equality, was led by Benito Juarez. Although, Mexico was now free from the oppression from Spain, there was not enough change in the way society functioned to bring them out of their economic hardships. In 1877 Porfirio Diaz was elected president and once again created policies that favored the elite. This eventually lead to another revolution that ended in 1920, lead by Emilliano Zapata. Post revolutionary Mexico continues to struggle with class warfare to this day, and corruption in the government has been allowed to fester.
Although, there currently exists racial social stratification in which the indigenous people are seen as a lower class (which also make up 20 percent of the population in poverty), inherited by Mexico’s past, the most prevalent form of stratification is due to economic inequality. Presidents, like Vicente Fox, have taken steps in the past in order to help alleviate some of the inequality; However, corruption in the government is rampant. Corruption, impunity, and lack of resources designated to help economic caused social stratification are issues that must be addressed before the government can remove itself as a cause of stratification. For example, Mexico was ranked last by the OECD’s (The organization for Economic Co-operation and development) program for international student assessment which tests the competency levels of students and their abilities to perform in the economy. Despite this, Mexico’s spending on education, per student, has gone down in recent years. Also, Countrywatch.com’s corruption perception index shows Mexico having a 3.5 out of 10 in terms of the degree to which corruption is perceived to exist among public officials (1 being very corrupt, 10 being not corrupt at all.)
According to the CIA’s world fact book, about half of the population lives below the poverty line even as the economy as a whole has grown. Mexico also ranked 2nd in economic inequality among the 34 member nations of the Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development. Some of Mexico’s poverty has been due to the structural feature of capitalism and recent cyclical contractions; however, income hasn’t been fairly distributed in times of expansion either. NAFTA has contributed to the country’s growth by opening up free trade agreements with the U.S. and Canada, but that growth also doesn’t seem to be reaching those at the bottom strata and income inequality has actually increased since NAFTA was implemented in 1994. Mexico is home to some of the richest people on earth, like Carlos Slim who has a net worth of about $70 billion. The IMF (The International Monetary Fund) reported in 2012 that Mexico is the world’s 14th largest economy. However, the country’s minimum wage is still below $5 an hour.
Marx believed that the key to social stratification in capitalist societies was the division between those who controlled the means of production and those who have only their labor to sell. Marx’s view of social stratification is very much evident in Mexico today. This social stratification results in two conflicting groups. One group benefits greatly while the other suffers. From the conflict perspective, This social arrangement serves to promote the goals of those who are in power due to their economic status or position in the government. It also severely lacks the life chances of the lower socioeconomic class. Technically, Mexico is an open system in terms of social mobility because there exists the possibility for an individual to change their status. However, the only means for this mobility, for some, is through the informal economy, such as the drug trade. The formal economy is very much a closed system due to weak investment in social reform and education.
An economic boom in the 1970’s, due to oil revenues, benefited a small percentage of people while the vast majority remained peasants. The fact that the Mexican government has a monopoly on oil tells us that the government has played a huge role in maintaining the labor class oppressed for its own benefit. This also implies that Mexico’s elites have close ties to the government, or are within it, and are most likely one of the causes corruption.
From a functionalist perspective, This extreme poverty to wealth ratio has proven to be advantageous to the economy as a whole, which is partly the reason why there has been little done to improve conditions by those who are benefiting from the arrangement. The working class creates goods to sell at a global scale, very cheaply. Also, this social stratification could end up benefiting Mexico in the long run because it motivates the lower class to fill the upper statuses by meeting the requirements of the associated roles. For example, a young Mexican indigenous child might strive to become a doctor because the role of a doctor comes with high prestige and economic prosperity, which will propel him into the higher strata. However, the current dysfunction of Mexico’s society is that the elite are not providing a path for the lower class to move into the higher class, and visa versa. The elite strata use their social connections to allocate positions of power only to other elite. Whether or not individual Mexicans are born into families of wealth will greatly influence where they end up in the stratification system, regardless of competency.
Globalization also plays a part in creating this wealth gap. In modern day Mexico, 80 precent of the GDP is reliant on the manufacturing industry, which is reliant on cheap labor. Mexico has an incentive to keep the lower class oppressed in order to compete with countries like China in the global market. Also, because Mexico is going through its industrialization process, a shift from rural areas to urban settlements also plays a role in social stratification. As the people (a lot of which are indigenous) that live in these rural areas slowly move to the urban conglomerates, they will be able to access higher wages from the industrial sector. If the government creates more social mobility, through support programs, education, and prosecution of corrupt individuals holding the system back, there should be a gradual decrease in social stratification.
This social stratification in Mexico is further inflated by the injection of western values and perceptions of individuals of wealth versus those without it. From an interactionist perspective, Mexicans in the middle and upper classes respond to Mexicans in lower classes as less important due to shared cultural perceptions. The belief that some individuals are superior to others because some have wealth and others don’t is a constructed reality and is a dysfunction of capitalism. This draws an even thicker border between strata because those that don’t have wealth, don’t see themselves to be as valuable as those who do. It’s a circular process in which social structure keeps influencing individuals based on their wealth, and the individuals influence the social structure.
These dysfunctions in Mexico’s current system could grow as tech advances create jobs near the top of the occupational structure and phase out jobs toward the bottom. At the same time, the majority of Mexicans will not be able to fill these new roles due to Mexico’s horrible education system. If the government can shake its corruption and provide proper education and training, as Mexico grows and becomes more industrialized, social mobility will occur as more specialized jobs will be required to be filled. Although, those in higher strata will still control opportunities for advancement, they will have to provide more vertical mobility to people of lower ranks to fill these new roles.
Mexican workers are exploited by the elite, but there is class consciousness. There is often riots, and protests against the elite and many Mexicans migrate to the United States. This class consciousness, combined with individuals’ desire to move up to the higher strata, contributes to high crime rates. The high crime rates brought on by drug cartels implies that Mexicans want vertical economic, and social, mobility, but have no way of attaining it through the formal economy. Orthodox Marxism provides a good theory on why Mexico has been experiencing high crime rates. “…a ruling class exploits and robs the masses, yet avoids punishment for its crimes. Individuals victimized by capitalist oppression are driven by their struggle to survive and commit acts that the ruling class brands as criminal.” This high rate of crime has also created a sub culture, in which deviance flourishes.
Social stratification is clearly evident in Mexico and economic inequality is clearly the primary source. Although, levels of poverty have been decreasing, Mexico remains one of the most unequal countries in the world. Economic inequality impacts social stratification by creating a ruling class, and a working class. Social stratification also contributes to economic inequality because individuals within the strata will respond to each other differently based on what strata their in, and perpetuate the dysfunction.
The latest president, Enrique Pena, his government has addressed some issues. He’s helped push through education reforms, which will bring higher standards to K12 education. However, plenty of issues remain unresolved. Government needs to realize that it’s greatly contributing to economic inequality by not taking action against corrupt individuals. Government also needs to put in place more social programs that will allow citizens to get to school, and incentivize them to stay in school. This is a difficult problem at the moment because the informal economy attracts, and many times interferes with, citizens who want to better themselves legally but find it difficult. Once the government begins to provide social mobility for Mexican citizens, social stratification will decrease, along with economic inequality and crime rates.
A brief history
It wasn’t until the early 19th century that Mexico managed to gain its independence from Spain. This armed revolution between the powerful elite who had dominated Mexico, and the liberals who demanded more equality, was led by Benito Juarez. Although, Mexico was now free from the oppression from Spain, there was not enough change in the way society functioned to bring them out of their economic hardships. In 1877 Porfirio Diaz was elected president and once again created policies that favored the elite. This eventually lead to another revolution that ended in 1920, lead by Emilliano Zapata. Post revolutionary Mexico continues to struggle with class warfare to this day, and corruption in the government has been allowed to fester.
Mexico today
According to the CIA’s world fact book, about half of the population lives below the poverty line even as the economy as a whole has grown. Mexico also ranked 2nd in economic inequality among the 34 member nations of the Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development. Some of Mexico’s poverty has been due to the structural feature of capitalism and recent cyclical contractions; however, income hasn’t been fairly distributed in times of expansion either. NAFTA has contributed to the country’s growth by opening up free trade agreements with the U.S. and Canada, but that growth also doesn’t seem to be reaching those at the bottom strata and income inequality has actually increased since NAFTA was implemented in 1994. Mexico is home to some of the richest people on earth, like Carlos Slim who has a net worth of about $70 billion. The IMF (The International Monetary Fund) reported in 2012 that Mexico is the world’s 14th largest economy. However, the country’s minimum wage is still below $5 an hour.
Marx's theories applied
An economic boom in the 1970’s, due to oil revenues, benefited a small percentage of people while the vast majority remained peasants. The fact that the Mexican government has a monopoly on oil tells us that the government has played a huge role in maintaining the labor class oppressed for its own benefit. This also implies that Mexico’s elites have close ties to the government, or are within it, and are most likely one of the causes corruption.
The bad can be good
Globalization also plays a part in creating this wealth gap. In modern day Mexico, 80 precent of the GDP is reliant on the manufacturing industry, which is reliant on cheap labor. Mexico has an incentive to keep the lower class oppressed in order to compete with countries like China in the global market. Also, because Mexico is going through its industrialization process, a shift from rural areas to urban settlements also plays a role in social stratification. As the people (a lot of which are indigenous) that live in these rural areas slowly move to the urban conglomerates, they will be able to access higher wages from the industrial sector. If the government creates more social mobility, through support programs, education, and prosecution of corrupt individuals holding the system back, there should be a gradual decrease in social stratification.
Conflict between classes
These dysfunctions in Mexico’s current system could grow as tech advances create jobs near the top of the occupational structure and phase out jobs toward the bottom. At the same time, the majority of Mexicans will not be able to fill these new roles due to Mexico’s horrible education system. If the government can shake its corruption and provide proper education and training, as Mexico grows and becomes more industrialized, social mobility will occur as more specialized jobs will be required to be filled. Although, those in higher strata will still control opportunities for advancement, they will have to provide more vertical mobility to people of lower ranks to fill these new roles.
"Class Consciousness"
Conclusion
The latest president, Enrique Pena, his government has addressed some issues. He’s helped push through education reforms, which will bring higher standards to K12 education. However, plenty of issues remain unresolved. Government needs to realize that it’s greatly contributing to economic inequality by not taking action against corrupt individuals. Government also needs to put in place more social programs that will allow citizens to get to school, and incentivize them to stay in school. This is a difficult problem at the moment because the informal economy attracts, and many times interferes with, citizens who want to better themselves legally but find it difficult. Once the government begins to provide social mobility for Mexican citizens, social stratification will decrease, along with economic inequality and crime rates.
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