cristalhombre
Apr 11, 2007, 12:17 AM
Post #65 of 67
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While visiting Mexico this past week, I read a fascinating book, "As the Future Catches You", written by Juan Enriquez, a Mexican. He is an outspoken critic of the need to reform Mexico's economic and political structure.
The book received a McKinsey Award from the Harvard Business Review (tops on my reading lists) which simply tells me that the foremost economists in the world "blessed it", in other words it is NOT whimsical theory.
Anyway, after you read this (an easy - non technical and captivating script) you might start another thread with this question: "What is Mexico NOT doing as compared to the rest of the developing world".
Personally I like Mexico just the way it is....................... a burro with firewood 'clip clopping down the cobblestones'....... I find this charming! Refreshingly simple.
What this author points out is that the LACK of education and focus on technology will severely limit the Latin Countries in just a few short years. Prices will increase with inflation but incomes will stagnate, challenging the people of Mexico and the latin regions. If you think the "upside down" economics of Mexico today compared to the other countries is out of balance, just wait a couple of years. The peso (linked to the USD) will continue to struggle as stronger nations "flex their global muscles".
As I mentioned, much of the appeal for Gringos is the simple way of this wonderful host country. But for the average Mexican their lives are going to become VERY challenging from an economic point of view.
The backbone of this book is...... "knowledge is Power in the world economy today"
It is a quick read and here are just a couple of the examples he makes:
About patents (technology developments)
In 1985 the US patent office granted the following patents;
Argentina 12
Brazil 30
Mexico 35
South Korea 50
Fast forward to the year 2003 (patents granted)
Argentina 70
Brazil 180
Mexico 92
South Korea 4,132
from this data Juan Enriquez indicates the following analogy (which the book is full of)
..."during 2003, 11,592 Koreans generated enough knowledge to obtain one US patent, it took 1,140,865 Mexicans to do the same task"
continuing on to compare South Korea and Mexico:
Between 1960 and 1990 the real wage of South Koreans multiplied ninefold. In Mexico the real wage stayed the same during that 30 year period, and by 2000 it had actually fallen.
here's another one:
Between 1990 and 1996 the number of new books published in Mexico fell from 21,500 to 11,762.
The point is: when knowledge or the support of learning is limited...................there will be little or NO economic growth or prosperity.
AS THE FUTURE CATCHES YOU.....is a good read and should be a WAKE - UP for the Mexican leadership and it includes interesting discussion of the latest bio-tech "phenome" GENOMICS and it's future.
Yes!!! things are changing rapidly in Mexico, Jennifer is correct!! We now have wireless at the house in Ajijic. I can sit on the terrace, look at the lake and sip on a margarita, while connected to the Web. how cool is that. However after reading this book, now I ask.............where did that technology come from and who benefits from it Mexico...........that is that real question.
What "changes" do I foresee in the next decade for Mexico.............. What ever the developing - proprietary knowledged countries, will produce and sell to the "un-knowledged countries like Mexico, if and only if they have $$ to buy these upgrades".
another factoid from the book.
Approx. 49% of US households own some stocks/mutual funds etc. In Mexico less than 0.5 percent do.
one more.... this one is obscene:
In 1999, GE employed just under 15,000 maquiladora workers who assembled GE products just across the border. During that year the COMBINED wages of ALL these workers was less than the CEO of General Electric.
Bottome line summary:
Latin countries will remain poor and face bleak prospects because they generate and sell very little NEW knowledge!
"NOT ALL WHO WANDER ARE LOST...."
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