Friday, August 04, 2006
Guadalajara a Monterrey
5:24 07/25 Central de Autobuses - Guadalajara
The bus I am taking goes all the way to the border city of Matamoros. It's safe to assume that at least someone on this bus is planning to cross the border illegally into the United States.
I met a lot of people in Guadalajara and when I told them I was from Dallas they would eitehr remark "I have relatives living there" (probably trying to earn dollars) or they would say " I love the malls there!" In that you see the class division that exists in Mexico. One group has no better option than to travel over 1000 miles from their home to occupy the lowest socio-econommic position in a foreign country. The other class has teh liberty to leave a world where they are among the few who have the ability to shop in the plazas with stores like Liverpool and Sanborn's to go a world away to shop in slightly nicer malls with slightly nicer stores.
The frustrating thing about Mexico is that Mexican society has shown itself to be capable of developing tot he higest levels, but it's not able and/or willing to provide access to that developement to all of it's citizens.
In the US many people who work in a place like Wal-mart are among the poorest people in the country. Wal-mart is the biggest employer in Mexico, but while their employees are usually still considered poor, they are much better off than a significant part of the population.
The question is will more Wal-Mart type business help Mexico or hurt it. If more poor people have a chance to earn improved wages will that lift up the economy? Or will improving access to the university education and removing the bureacratic chains on business allow some of today's Wal-mart level employees to move on to have better, more productive jobs allowing the underclass to move into those working class positions? ¶ 5:46 PM
The bus I am taking goes all the way to the border city of Matamoros. It's safe to assume that at least someone on this bus is planning to cross the border illegally into the United States.
I met a lot of people in Guadalajara and when I told them I was from Dallas they would eitehr remark "I have relatives living there" (probably trying to earn dollars) or they would say " I love the malls there!" In that you see the class division that exists in Mexico. One group has no better option than to travel over 1000 miles from their home to occupy the lowest socio-econommic position in a foreign country. The other class has teh liberty to leave a world where they are among the few who have the ability to shop in the plazas with stores like Liverpool and Sanborn's to go a world away to shop in slightly nicer malls with slightly nicer stores.
The frustrating thing about Mexico is that Mexican society has shown itself to be capable of developing tot he higest levels, but it's not able and/or willing to provide access to that developement to all of it's citizens.
In the US many people who work in a place like Wal-mart are among the poorest people in the country. Wal-mart is the biggest employer in Mexico, but while their employees are usually still considered poor, they are much better off than a significant part of the population.
The question is will more Wal-Mart type business help Mexico or hurt it. If more poor people have a chance to earn improved wages will that lift up the economy? Or will improving access to the university education and removing the bureacratic chains on business allow some of today's Wal-mart level employees to move on to have better, more productive jobs allowing the underclass to move into those working class positions? ¶ 5:46 PM
