Mexico Leads Poverty Reduction in Latin America
Also in this edition: What’s behind a jícara of mezcal? The departure of the Attorney General. AMLO announces his new book. Sergio Méndez Arceo, the red bishop.
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The continuing challenges of employment and inequality
The news that Mexico is the country in Latin America and the Caribbean where poverty and extreme poverty have fallen the most over the past decade was a cause for celebration this week. The dramatic reduction in poverty resulted from the policies of the administrations of the Fourth Transformation, the combined effect of a significant increase in the minimum wage—about 135 percent in real terms between 2018 and 2025—, universal scholarships, direct economic assistance for vulnerable populations, and the expansion of pensions for older adults.
The new ECLAC report states that as of last year, 25.5 percent of the Latin American population (162 million people) had an income below the poverty line, 2.2 percentage points less than in 2023, and the lowest level since comparable data has been available. The reduction of poverty in Latin America during 2024 “is explained mainly by Mexico and, to a lesser extent, by Brazil, which contributed 60 and 30 percent of this decrease, respectively,” the report notes.
This positive news was reinforced by the fact that the percentage of the population whose income is insufficient to afford the basic food basket also fell to one in three. However, this is not the case nationwide, and more than half of the population in the states of Chiapas, Oaxaca, and Guerrero was living in poverty during the third quarter of 2025.
But the challenges for Claudia Sheinbaum’s administration in this area became evident with the news that, in the third quarter of 2025, the number of self-employed workers in Mexico reached its highest level on record. This coincided with the fact that nearly half of young people aged 15 to 29—the so-called Generation Z—are not part of the economically active population, and the majority of those in this situation are women.
Although it is important to highlight that economic inequality in Mexico decreased by 14 percent over the past decade, it remains true that the richest 10 percent of the population receives 33.5 percent of national income, while the poorest 10 percent receives only 2 percent. “Extreme inequality is reflected in phenomena such as the ignominious distinction of being the country with the third most private jets in the world, with nearly 2,000 of these aircraft,” La Jornada writes in an editorial. “As the Alliance for Fiscal Justice (AJF) warns, the wealthiest 0.1 percent of the population in Mexico pollutes practically the same amount as the poorest 40 percent, and the businesses of the three richest men in the country damage the environment more than 17 million people.”
On the income side, the major unresolved issue is tax progressivity, since micro-enterprises currently pay the same income tax rate as transnational corporations. It is necessary to bring to the public arena a debate on tax reform that leaves behind the fiscal framework inherited from neoliberalism.
The Quote:
A U.S. invasion of Venezuela would be an offense against all of Latin America.
-Rayuela of La Jornada
In Case You Missed It
◻️ Behind a jícara of mezcal “there are many resources and a great deal of labor.” But now maguey growers, mezcal producers and organizations in Guerrero are sounding the alarm over the lack of government support, which they need in order to compete at the national level. Producers are demanding support programs that would boost the sector’s economy and create jobs for young people, in order to reduce migration and violence in the region.
◻️ Without plants, we are nothing. Megadiverse countries like Mexico have an international responsibility in the conservation and understanding of the plant world, international experts affirm. The National Herbarium of Mexico, which houses 1.6 million plant specimens, is the largest in Latin America and plays a strategic role in current research on biodiversity and climate change, says botanist Esteban Manuel Martínez Salas.
◻️ The Attorney General’s Departure. The departure of Alejandro Gertz Manero from the Office of the Attorney General was mutually agreed, assured President Claudia Sheinbaum. But the media are questioning his exit, since the Constitution allows the removal of the attorney general only for serious causes, and they have begun reviewing the results of his tenure. “I hope that now, once the new attorney general is appointed, there will be even greater coordination, because it is the responsibility of the Government of Mexico, the prosecutors’ offices, and the Judiciary to advance security and peace in our country,” the president declared.
◻️ AMLO reappears to present his book Grandeza, reaffirm his support for Sheinbaum, and assure that he would only return to politics to defend sovereignty, democracy, or the President. “The importance given to the book and to the words of the Tabascan reflects the undeniable weight of the presidential figure in Mexico’s political history,” La Jornada writes in an editorial. But for Víctor Toledo, the president’s reappearance is also an opportunity to reflect on how citizens relate to their leaders, including the charismatic figures they support.
◻️ Don Sergio Méndez Arceo: the Red Bishop. One of the prominent figures of liberation theology in Latin America is the subject of a new documentary. Don Sergio continues to be a political and moral reference for social movements, both in Mexico and across the Americas. Elena Poniatowska offered a profile of the bishop in 2007, on the centenary of his birth, and Carlos Fazio wrote an article on Méndez Arceo and ’68, among many other articles and opinion pieces in La Jornada that explore his exceptional life.
◻️ Reclaiming Malintzin. With a procession through the center of Mexico City under the slogan “Qué traidora ni qué la chingada (A traitor? No fucking way)” along with colloquiums and forums, President Claudia Sheinbaum, historians, and cultural workers sought to reclaim the figure of Malintzin, also known as La Malinche or Doña Marina. “She is the most misunderstood interpreter in history, who came to speak five languages. She was a figure who, under the most difficult circumstances, knew how to use her gift of languages to free herself from slavery, make strategic power decisions, and command respect from her contemporaries. She was slandered and labeled a traitor due to the misogyny and racism prevailing in the 19th and 20th centuries,” summarized playwright Jesusa Rodríguez.
◻️ Gritón and His Art of Rebellion. The memory of Antonio Ortiz Gritón and his social struggle remains alive a year after his passing. “There is no way to view his art without recognizing that everything is connected to his activism, his interest in history, and, without a doubt, his tireless fight for life,” explained Aleida Pardo Hernández. The exhibition Antonio Gritón: Messages from Painting is on display at the Museum of Mexico City.
◻️ Preparing for War with Venezuela? President Donald Trump is repeating his threats to launch ground attacks in Venezuela “very soon” and has threatened military action against other countries he accuses of “drug trafficking.” However, growing concerns about the legality and purpose of military operations in the Caribbean are emerging even within the president’s own political base. Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro charged that Washington “intends to seize Venezuela’s vast oil reserves, the largest on the planet, through the use of full military force.” In an editorial, La Jornada stated that “standing united against threats of invasion and attempts to force regime change is a matter of survival for all peoples historically oppressed by Washington and its local allies.”
🎥 What We Are Watching
What did 2025 leave for the Mexican economy? Roberto González Amador and Dora Villanueva in El Pulso de La Jornada