Blog dedicated to reporting on Mexican drug cartels
on the border line between the US and Mexico
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Friday, November 21, 2014

Mexicans: "How are you?" ..."F***** but happy!"

Borderland Beat republish from Proceso translated by Brittany for Mexico Voices

Comparison serves as a tool for knowing if we are okay, if we are staying the same, or improving. Hence, it is interesting to analyze international studies. Let’s see how the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) evaluates Mexico in the most recent examination of its members.

First. Obviously, our country is the most unstable of all the members. Brazil and Russia are positioned slightly better. In contrast, Japan is the most stable. While in the United States, the United Kingdom, Japan, Canada, and Poland the number of people who claim to have suffered any crime is under 2%, in Mexico, it’s 12.8%, reflecting the severe problem that shakes the Republic, which is also one of the countries lowest in income and equality. 

In Mexico, according to the OECD, annual family income is $12,850. That is, of course, if the wealth were shared equally. Since it’s not, the gap between the richest and poorest is very large: the top 20% receive at least 13 times more than the bottom 20%, making Mexico a severely unequal nation. 

By that same logic, Mexicans work 2,226 hours a year—the OECD average is 1,765 hours—to make a far lower salary than the other members of the organization.

Although Mexico devotes a large part of its budget to education, the results are extremely low. In fact, only 36% of citizens between the ages of 25-64 have a middle school education, which is far from the average: 75%. This is the country with the lowest education levels in the OECD, while Finland has the highest. Regarding the quality of reading and math levels, the Mexican Republic achieved 417 points, while the average is 497. An important fact is that Mexican women leave school at one percentage point higher than men. 

Second. In Mexico, life expectancy has gone up to 74 years; even so, it is less than the average of 80 years. Women have a life expectancy of 77, while men’s is 71. Regarding air contamination, Mexico also fares poorly. The level of PM10 atmospheric particles—those are contaminants in the air that enter the lungs and can damage them—is at 28.9 micrograms per cubic meter, much higher than the average of 20.1 micrograms. Don’t even mention the quality of the water: 20% less drinkable than the average of OECD countries.

Even in personal relationships, Mexicans trust less (as Samuel Ramos and Octavio Paz have documented) than in other parts of the world. In fact, 68% of nationals say they have someone whom they can confide in as needed, while the average is 84%.

One of the great contributions of Mexican simulation is the voter card that one gets because it serves as identification and is free, rather than to exercise the right to vote. Not having a voter’s card is almost like civic death. Nonetheless, Mexico has a participation in elections of 63%, below the 72% average.

Third. Although the previous indicators emphasize that our country has a large window of opportunities for improvement, surprisingly the OECD study confirmed that Mexicans are more satisfied with their lives (82% say they have positive experiences on a normal day—feelings of peace, satisfaction with their achievements, etc.) than the average of 76%.

This fact is worrisome because it reflects either a problem in the survey sample taken by the Gallup polling company or a serious state of denial or avoidance of reality by Mexicans, a large discrepancy between objective quality of life and perceived quality of life. If what Gallup affirmed for the OECD is true, we will have the PRI [Party of the Institutional Revolution] around for awhile, because the most important thing is not the living truth, but the perceived truth.

Mexicans could use the following saying when asked "How are you?", responding between jokes and glances: 

“Fucked, but happy.” 

Could it be?

25 comments:

  1. I recently moved to Mexico from one of the least corrupt countries in the world. I'm getting paid 34% of what I earned back home. Damn it sucks but I've gotta do with what I have.

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    1. I know that's why I had to stay in the US Houston, better job will go back when have money someday

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  2. 68% say they have someone to confide in....now that's what they say the real number would be quite different, beyond that octavio paz wrote it best in his book laberynt of solitude where he says how mexicans would never admit not being ok, its a macho cultural thing, they wear masks, you just do not reveal youself, you do not admit to the reality of a culture of a country, also a patriotic chauvinistic bullshit, so they lie.

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  3. Russia supports the mexican people torevolt and put in power lopez obrador to restablished mexican soverignty!

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  4. A socialist govverment in mexico will take care the security and poverty problem!and kick the capitalists north of the rio grand!whit russian weapons and support!

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    1. America will never allow a russian backed goverment next door sorry. Cuba was enough.

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    2. Yes everyone wants to be like russia. What a great country. Socialism opens the door to more corruption. Mexico already has a corruption problem. Adding socialism will be like throwing gas on a fire.

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  5. Un estado socialista con mano dura contra pobresa el crimen y contra los capitalistas yankees que se robaron nuestra tierra,nuestro maiz,nuestro petroleo,nuestros dolares y ahora nuestra seguridad hijos de puta!

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    1. AYY POBRESITO TE ROBARON!!! Ya deja de echarle la culpa a terceros por el mugrero que tienes de pais. Tu país es una basura por los el mestizaje y la corrupción de la cultura católica. Tienes dos mares, minerales y fuentes de alimentacion, es prara que mexico fuera un pais primer mundista (como otros que solo con un mar y una 1/3 de lo que es mexico ya son primer mundistas) Mandaa todos los mexicanos a las islas japonesas y manda a todos los japoneses a mexico y en unos meses es una potencia mundial y los mexicanos en japon se terminan comiendo entre ellos mismos. Lo siento eres parte de una cultura MEDIOCRE. no te reproduzcas pro favor que la virgen maria y chuy no te piden 10 mocosos hijos que ni puedes mantener.

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    2. Sorry friend...you should not rant if your facts are incorrect. Mexico has a birthrate just above US at 2.2

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  6. Andres Manuel Lopez obrador, supported by corrupt and corrupting employer of kidnappe/extortionist, muredring televisa producer and fabricator of guilty parties genaro garcia luna, CARLOS SLIM HELU, has not been very clean himself, allied with narcs up and down the country, and corrupt statesmen like the PRD governors of michoacan, chiapas, guerrero, and in the case of zacatecas, special case, former priista chapulin drug trafficker and ZETA in zacatecas godfather, ricardo monreal avila and his brothers, now PT federal congressman ally of drug trafficker, murderer malio fabio beltrones "la fabis"...
    --Lopez obrador is very busy saving his own ass, i would say, betrayed by friend and foe, sold down the river by cuauhtemito cardenas, the naked zeta queen of michoacan himself...
    --now the founding leader of MORENA, is walking the country with the fallen standard of Hidalgo, "la virgencita de guadalupe"... hope she does good by him...

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  7. It reminds me the situation in Europe.

    The happiest people are the Greeks and Italians. But they are the ones with much worse economy than Germans, French and English.
    So, why the f*ck they are so happy ?!

    It was Germany (the strongest economy in Europe) who bailed out Greece out of big trouble. Instead of saying Thank You Germans, the Greeks shouted Nazis Go Home. And they are still more happy people than the Germans or Poles. It's ANNOYING like hell.

    ps.
    "in the USA, UK, Japan, Canada, and Poland the number of people who claim to have suffered any crime is under 2%, in Mexico, it’s 12.8%"
    Wow, what a massive difference.

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    1. Well, that's the problem with the Germans, they think Germany help the poor economies but the sadly truth is that the German politics (Merkel) made these countries suffer .So believe what your goverment want you to believe , be happy and leave the others alone.

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  8. Mexico is a unique, my friends are always happy no matter how bad things get,
    They except their Government and cartels as a way of life, They do their thing and take care of their family. Most end up here in the US, as a matter many more will be coming back for the work permit. Its a good deal, make money and be able to go home for Christmas.I will be going back to Mexico this new year when. Mexico will not change have to except it for the way it is.like I say "Ni Modo"

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  9. Fuck socialism and fuck Russia. Anyone who accepts socialism either has never been to a country with a socialist government or two has some kind of vested interest with "top" leaders in a socialist movement. Socialism is a crime against humanity much more than these PRI, PAN, partido verde, PRD, much worse..... fuck this socialist agenda

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    1. You must be a American.Americans Im generalizing of course get communism confused with socialism.I did not make those comments above.You can still have a democracy and socialist government at the same time.Look at Norway voted #1 country for many years for quality of life.Sweden,Finland.Denmark.Canada they are all democratic socialist countries;NOT communist. It means the taxes are higher but you get more bang for your buck.eg.you don't lose your house if you get cancer so free health care and many programs from the government to help the disadvantaged like health issues.mentally challenged,widows.single Moms,minimum cost of living for seniors if their pensions aren't enough.etc.etc.Mexico is neither democratic.socialist or communist.To tell you the truth they are already a dictatorship the people would benefit more if they were communist.Communist regimes are usually dictatorships but have the benefit of a minimum cost of living wage for the disadvantaged which so many are in Mexico through no fault of heir own.In my opinion socialism is a cross between capitalism and communism without the negative dictatorship of communismI also read on some report that the happiest people in the world are Costa Ricans but also read on Insight Crime that Mexicans are moving rapidly to do business in Costa Rica.Must be the cockroach effect.

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  10. Chivis i am not insulted, not all mexicans are the same, like not all americans are ugly americans, not all of BB readers/commenters are: one motherfucker!!!
    @11:24 on behalf of my girl, vas y chingas a tu madre/el shaka, jenny rivera, youtube, and me!!!

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  11. We are happier than americans on average because the nice weather we have, we have real life not like hollywood.

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  12. Mexico and greece the happiest nations because its weather?

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    1. That would help but if you have never experienced -40 degrees you cant appreciate awesome weather.

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  13. Seriously how old are you? You sound like a middle schooler.

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  14. @1:55 the analysis of economics and of society, the mechanics of social phenomena, is just a matter of getting wise and of getting by on what you can, like living off the field...
    --Getting exploited by a soviet communist or socialit satrap, is sometimes better than getting exploited by some rich capitalist totalitarian with a three floor heated car garage with elevators for his cars on his summerhouse...
    --now if his best friends and clients are drug trafficking investors, or leaders of socialist or communist totalitarian countries with a large slave communist workforce, who gets paid sometimes with another day without getting a bullet to their head, without being allowed to say a prayer on ralph reed's church of christian missionary positions.
    --i understand then you would be very happy...
    --Just remember this, the rothschilds financed the nazis, the communists, and even mao's socialists, got the US in the middle, and made money from everybody, and are in the process of doing it all over again, and it does not matter who likes it or not on any side...
    --even the koch brothers who hate communism got rich under stalin, they hate communism for themselves, but want it for the american rabble, are paying to get it for the american rabble, and want no blacks in the WHITE house unless they know their "place"...

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  15. One problem I have with this is they talked about the average household income. Which isn't fair because it isn't how much you make but how much you can buy that counts. They need to come up with a new way to judge income. For example. In the US. A texan will make less than their counter part in New York. But a Texan can buy a better home and have a better lifestyle than someone living in New York. A yankee can make $15 working at McDonalds while in Texas they are only making $7 dollars. However both people still can't afford the basics to live on. While someone in Texas Making $15 can feed and house their family.

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  16. Cia,dea,nsa,dhs,bdp,us customs,atf,and state department all I cahoots whit the cartels!so whasington can get what it wants from mexico!

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  17. Washington wants peace and all the best with mexico, US lobbyists want their employers money's worth of mexican ass, and it is washington's problem to make it look democratic and ass saving, because plata o plomo ru- les rule

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