Latin America has been a site of drastic political, social and economic change since the 18th century. Here we will find examples of the oppression of the third world by the first, what we also find are examples of methods to combat this oppression and restore social well-being to the peoples of this part of the world. Mexico is a member of NAFTA, a beneficiary of both the IMF and World Bank and a third world country that is considered to be one of the shining examples of successful development. It is also a nation with some of the worse examples of poverty in Latin America. In a country of over 93 million people, over 37 million are living under the poverty line [1]. The poverty gap in Mexico, as in many countries, has never been as great as it is today. Where are the benefits of the global market for the people of Mexico? To contrast Mexico, we will look at a much poorer nation, Cuba. Cuba does not exist on any IMF or World Bank aid lists, as the idea of a communist dictatorship tends to stave off the aid of capitalist organizations. However in terms of social development, Cuba surpasses Mexico in a number of areas. The problem of street children that exists in almost every Mexican city does not exist in Cuba, nor does the increasingly apparent poverty line. The infant mortality of Mexico is 27 deaths per 1,000 live births; in Cuba it is only 8 deaths per 1,000 live births. Even Cuba’s life expectancy is higher then that of Mexico’s by 5 years. The most shocking statistic is that Mexico’s per capita GDP is more than 3 times that of Cuba[1]. A GDP the size of Mexico’s would be considered a success of development by capitalist organizations, but the impoverished people of that country would tell quite a different story.
Like most third world nations, Mexico was seduced by the lure of industrialization and capitalization the IMF and World Bank promised. A nation that whose economy was mainly focused around agrarian production and raw recourses was eager to become a modern nation in the world economy. Abandoning it’s agrarian past; Mexico began a project of manufacturing. In 1982, Mexico had approximately 2,000 state run industries. These industries, although providing jobs, were not utilizing the free market enough. Mexico began privatising its industries, opening its doors to American corporation like GM, who took advantage of the cheap labour in Mexico. By 1998 the Mexican state held less than 200 industries [2]. The profits from exports increased greatly, however at what cost? The distribution of wealth is Mexico is very uneven, with the top 20% of the population accounting for 55% of the nation’s wealth. 40% of the country lives below the poverty line, most of these are in the agrarian south; an area once know as the bread basket of Mexico is now own by the tobacco and sugar industries. The wages paid by these industries is nowhere near the levels that they had been before privatisation. Mexico also sacrificed its social programs in the name of progress. Mexico, a nation that as a whole has profited form the liberal economy has one of the worse health care systems in Latin America. With the IMF advocating a program of privatisation, the poor in Mexico, who make up a large portion, are left having to pay for their own heath, a luxury that many cannot afford. Although many find work with the giant corporation that have modernized Mexico’s economy, the wages are not even enough to support a single individual, let alone a family. Why are wages so low? Trade unions in Mexico are all but non-existent thanks to the policies implemented by the Mexican government under the advice of the IMF [3]. Workers rights, heath care, low-income housing, minimum wage and welfare, these are foreign ideas in Mexico. Mexico is a wealthy, modern nation of industry, a nation that is a shining example of the successes of the modern Liberal economy; and yet its people are impoverished, oppressed and dying.
In 1958, Fidel Castro came to power in Cuba after leading his revolutionary army into Havana. Castro, however, would not be the one to change the social institution of his country. In fact, the change would come principally from a Doctor turned politician, his name was Ernesto Guevara, but to the people he would be known simply as Che. As economic minister, Che took up the challenge of repairing the damage done to Cuba from years of exploitation by aristocratic landholders. First, he issues 29-year bonds to all private businesses in order to bring them under national control [1]. He instituted a socialized economy, providing housing, heath care, employment, and schooling to his people. By 1960 he began his own program of industrialization, not focuses on export but on domestic necessity to provide the people with what they need and with employment. Cuba maintained a level of social benefit unheard of in the third world [4]. Although having to endure a trade embargo from the United States, the people of Cuba were never without shelter, medical care or food. In an area of the world, in which people seldom go to school, Cubans were provided with schooling. In an area where hospitals were meant only for the rich, the people of Cuba were provided with it [5]. No one was out of work and no one was homeless. When the USSR collapsed, Cuba primary trading partner also collapsed, however Cuba would not. With its social structure firmly in place, and its farms and factories aimed primarily at providing for the people, the Cuban people would be able to avoid dropping to the levels that could be seen in other Latin American nations. Even today, homelessness in Cuba is unheard of. The literacy rate there is higher than even the US or Canada. A country like Mexico, who’s potential for growth is much greater than Cuba, could easily reach a point where the suffering of the people was completely wiped out. However, the unwavering believe in capitalism held by the first world powers that control the economic conditions of these countries represses any sort of political or economic change. Thus, the people of a modern industrialized country are left trapped by the aristocracy of capitalism.
Development is constantly defined by comparing the GDP of nations, by looking at the wealth of the few. However, what can we determine from that? We can see how much the nation makes as a whole, but do we see how the wealth is used? A man is not judged by the wealth he accumulates, but rather by what he does with it. The same formula applies to any nation. A country that neglects, exploits and oppresses it’s poor for the sake of development is not a modern nation at all. It is a nation trapped within a feudal system of hypocritical wealth distribution. To work for the benefit of a nation, is to work for benefit of the people, to do any different is tantamount to treason. And yet, the global economy exists to perpetuate a system that ensures that the people of the world do not interfere with progress and production.
If the world as we know it is truly going to develop, we must realize that development is not a matter of producing funds for a corporation. It is not about getting the cheapest labour for the most expensive product. It is about the human condition. A citizen’s right to live free from exploitation, to be provided with the opportunity to work and unionise, the opportunity to receive education and medical care, the ability to live a happy life. These are freedoms that are crushed under modern capitalism.
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