A few days ago, President López Obrador announced a series of reforms, including universalizing scholarships for students from low-income families; that the pension for older adults is a right; the increase in the minimum wage above inflation; minimum wage for teachers, among others.
The important thing about this is that, if approved, it will constitute a fundamental pillar of a social and legal State, which is of the utmost convenience in a country that has been characterized throughout its history by inequality, the concentration of power and wealth.
With these reforms, progress is made in the construction of a scaffolding of equity, the dismantling of mechanisms of domination that seek to limit the State, and in reversing the damage caused by the neoliberal period, which will benefit, above all, those they need it more.
The core issue is to generate conditions for economic growth through Mexico’s main asset, which is its people, but also through a more fair and equitable distribution of wealth.
The data is conclusive about the need for a reform of this nature. For example, in Mexico there were 55 million poor people until a few years ago, and thanks to the work of President López Obrador, 9 million people were no longer in poverty. With these results and the new reforms, Mexico could go from being a country characterized by exclusion to a predominantly middle-class nation.
This package has been particularly generous with education. If approved, Mexico would be the only country in the world to grant scholarships to students from preschool to university; And if we add to this the scholarships that are given to students from Mexico City and that are already in the local constitution, they achieve a unique result worldwide.
Another issue that worries workers, but especially teachers, is pensions. With the President’s initiative, Mexico would have the best pensions globally, achieving 100% the same as its last salary and surpassing countries like Poland and Japan that have a pension of 40%, according to the OECD in its report Pensions at a Glance 2023. It also means a substantial improvement in income, since all teachers would have a minimum wage, as well as social housing.
Another fundamental issue is participatory democracy, which is not limited to elections, but becomes a daily practice where the people truly have the power.
All these reforms make sense in a country where purchasing power was reduced by up to 11% in past administrations, but now, thanks to President López Obrador, the minimum wage has been increased 6 times, which means that purchasing power has increased up to 110% compared to 2018.
The fundamental thing is that these reforms are being proposed from an austere government and without going hand in hand with a fiscal reform, that is, taxes will not be increased, they will be done with current income, and the idea is that they become constitutional rights with a vision focused on humanism, patriotism and love of the people.
It is possible that the majority will not be achieved in this process to consolidate all of them, but those that are approved will be sufficient and good to help create a fairer, more dignified and democratic Mexico. XXXTWITTER @LuisH_Fernandez