Teaching Comparative Government and Politics

Thursday, July 07, 2011

Refreshing article about Mexico

Before I lose touch with the Internet world for a few days, I do want to post this.

Blanca Facundo sent me an email pointing out a New York Times article about Mexico. She said it was "refreshing," and it is. It's not about violence, drugs, or corruption. It offers a grassroots image of part of Mexico that students should see.

When I got her note, I asked myself, "How did you miss that one?" Then I opened up the New York Times for Wednesday, and there it was. She was about 4 hours ahead of me in reading the Times. Thanks, Blanca.

Better Lives for Mexicans Cut Allure of Going North

The extraordinary Mexican migration that delivered millions of illegal immigrants to the United States over the past 30 years has sputtered to a trickle, and research points to a surprising cause: unheralded changes in Mexico that have made staying home more attractive.

A growing body of evidence suggests that a mix of developments — expanding economic and educational opportunities, rising border crime and shrinking families — are suppressing illegal traffic as much as economic slowdowns or immigrant crackdowns in the United States…

American census figures analyzed by the nonpartisan Pew Hispanic Center also show that the illegal Mexican population in the United States has shrunk… most experts agree that far fewer illegal immigrants have been arriving in recent years…

Mexican immigration has always been defined by both the push (from Mexico) and the pull (of the United States). The decision to leave home involves a comparison, a wrenching cost-benefit analysis, and just as a Mexican baby boom and economic crises kicked off the emigration waves in the 1980s and ’90s, research now shows that the easing of demographic and economic pressures is helping keep departures in check.

In simple terms, Mexican families are smaller than they had once been. The pool of likely migrants is shrinking…

Over the past 15 years, this country once defined by poverty and beaches has progressed politically and economically in ways rarely acknowledged by Americans debating immigration. Even far from the coasts or the manufacturing sector at the border, democracy is better established, incomes have generally risen and poverty has declined…

Still, education represents the most meaningful change. The census shows that throughout Jalisco, the number of senior high schools or preparatory schools for students aged 15 to 18 increased to 724 in 2009, from 360 in 2000, far outpacing population growth. The Technological Institute of Arandas… is now one of 13 science campuses created in Jalisco since 2000 — a major reason professionals in the state, with a bachelor’s degree or higher, also more than doubled to 821,983 in 2010, up from 405,415 in 2000…

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Labels: economics, Mexico, politics