Breathe
By Nurit Martínez
What does the future hold for Mexico in the next six years, what does the future hold for us, is the recurring question in many spaces after these first days of President Claudia Sheinbaum's administration, the answers to which are difficult if half of the population works in informality.
This implies that around 32.1 million Mexicans have had to develop actions to generate an income, 58 out of every 100 are young women, older women, women who work in the fields, are domestic workers, come from indigenous communities and have low levels of education.
As a consequence of this condition, the National Council for the Evaluation of Social Development Policy (CONEVAL) has revealed that more than one third of Mexicans cannot cover the cost of the basic food basket.
In the Comprehensive Evaluation of Social Policy linked to the Right to Work 2023-2024 there is more of other data and compelling evidence of the impact of the social policy of delivering direct resources "to the good people" during the Fourth Transformation.
In the document there is an analysis that should not be condemned to the archive by the designers of social policy in the administration that began 20 days ago, it includes a timely analysis with accurate data, not other data, on the conditions of the population.
One of them is conclusive: while the average income of people who are formally employed is 10,280 pesos, those who are in the informal sector obtain 5,51 pesos per month, only that the latter must add the payment of housing, health and the impact of the lag in the services of the localities where they live.
Giving money to the population in the last five years did not reduce the uncertainty of families regarding the risk of remaining in poverty and, even less, did it make them get out of that condition, that is conclusive evidence. What is to be done in the face of that? To continue giving 3,000 pesos a month to those who are enrolled in some social program?
So far there is no plan, no clear strategy to incorporate those who, within the informal sector, can create a scheme of contributions for retirement, to strengthen a social security system, but also a health care system.
So far, there are no measures to encourage young people to join new retirement savings schemes. There is a desire to promote housing without having a clear scheme for employment.
The population in the informal sector, with temporary jobs, should be an objective of the current administration and that starts with actions that foresee what to do to raise the educational level of all of them or at least training actions that will lead them to better salary and even hiring conditions.
It is there, with this group of the population, which includes people with disabilities, where the greatest abuses are committed at the time of hiring, they are paid piecework, by productivity, they are forced to rotate in employment so as not to generate seniority. There are those who in exchange for a job are forced to work up to 55 hours a week.
In addition to all of the above analyzed by Coneval, 3.7 million children and teenagers between 5 and 17 years of age are registered with a job, and there are clear violations of their rights because many of them are forced to work because their families are employed in the fields.
The reflection is broad and deserves not to remain on paper, it is the specific reality for which the social cabinet should provide clear answers.
As a corollary, suffice it to say that views such as this one, so precise on one aspect of the precarious social conditions in the country, hang by a thread or rather by the sword of death that the Fourth Transformation has posed to Coneval, with its possible disappearance. Will the government of President Claudia Sheinbaum follow the path of other data?
The opinions expressed are the responsibility of the authors and are absolutely independent of the position and editorial line of the company. Opinion 51.
Comments ()