Reduction of poverty and significant arrests: A summary of Thursday's events
Mexico Sees Significant Poverty Reduction Despite COVID Challenges
Mexico has made notable strides in reducing poverty and income inequality during President Andrés Manuel López Obrador’s (AMLO) term, despite the severe disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
The pandemic, which hit Mexico hard in 2020, led to one of the world’s highest death tolls and an economic contraction of more than 8%, the worst since 1932. This resulted in increased hardship and poverty.
However, by 2024, income inequality fell to the lowest level recorded since 1984, with mean household income rising by 15.7% since 2018 and 22.8% since the pandemic recession year 2020. This was driven by a substantial expansion of federal cash transfer programs supporting vulnerable groups, including scholarships, pensions, and stipends, alongside aggressive minimum wage increases that more than doubled nominal daily wages between 2018 and 2024.
The reduction in poverty was evident as well. Extreme poverty declined from nearly 9 million to 7 million people during this period, indicating some success in poverty reduction despite pandemic setbacks. However, food insecurity remains a significant challenge, with one in three households unable to afford adequate food.
According to a new INEGI report, the reduction in poverty from 2018 to 2024 is from 51.9 million to 38.5 million people. The percentage of Mexico’s population living in poverty declined from 41.9% in 2018 to 29.6% in 2024.
President Claudia Sheinbaum expressed confidence that progress will continue and spoke about continuity and the advance of the fourth transformation. She referred to the reduction in poverty as a "feat of the fourth transformation" and stated that it demonstrates a humanist project.
In a related development, the arrested former CEO of Pemex, Carlos Alberto Treviño, who was head of Pemex during the final year of Enrique Peña Nieto's 2012-18 presidency, will be deported and tried in Mexico on corruption issues. Treviño's case is related to the allegations against Emilio Lozoya, another former Pemex CEO, who allegedly received more than US $10 million in bribes from the Brazilian conglomerate Odebrecht.
Emilio Lozoya was released from preventive detention in early 2024 but still hasn’t faced trial. Another former CEO of Pemex was arrested in the United States on corruption charges.
While Mexico has made significant progress in reducing poverty and inequality, persistent issues like food insecurity and program mismanagement continue to limit overall progress. Nonetheless, the country's resilience and the government's commitment to social welfare policies and wage increases offer hope for continued improvement in the future.
- The reduction in poverty in Mexico, despite the COVID-19 pandemic, is a noteworthy achievement in the realm of general-news and politics, as it demonstrates the government's commitment to social welfare policies and its focus on poverty alleviation.
- The economy, particularly the federal cash transfer programs and aggressive minimum wage increases, played a significant role in the reduction of poverty and income inequality during President Andrés Manuel López Obrador’s term.
- Crime-and-justice matters are also a part of the ongoing discourse in Mexico, as the former CEO of Pemex, Carlos Alberto Treviño, who was head of Pemex during the final year of Enrique Peña Nieto's presidency, was arrested on corruption charges and is expected to be deported and tried in Mexico.
