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Rolly

Mar 18, 2012, 9:15 AM

Post #1 of 4 (1452 views)

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México's Growing Middle Class

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A wary but tenacious middle class is fast becoming the majority in Mexico, breaking down the rich-poor divide in a profound demographic transformation that has far-reaching implications here and in the United States.
Although many Mexicans and their neighbors to the north still imagine a country of downtrodden masses dominated by a wealthy elite, the swelling ranks of the middle class are crowding new Wal-Marts, driving Nissan sedans and maxing out their Banamex credit cards.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/...IQA9R0KJS_story.html

Rolly Pirate

YucaLandia

Mar 18, 2012, 10:42 AM

Post #2 of 4 (1423 views)

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Re: [Rolly] México's Growing Middle Class

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After a long day of cutting bamboo in the selva, a friend and I stopped by Home Depot at 8:45 PM last Saturday to pick up the hardware for making the roof. We expected the place to be empty.

Instead, the joint was packed with middle-class Mexicans - mostly working-class folks, based on their clothing and cars.

For NOB readers, Home Depot is the most expensive place (by far) to buy hardware & home supplies in Merida- but it's convenient, has broad selection of specialty items, and often has higher quality goods than small local shops - and it's open when other stores are closed. Even with the high prices, lots of ordinary people who work during the day crowded into Home Depot for Saturday night shopping.

Do other reader's suspect that the Mexican Middle Class phenomenon is more of a city-feature - where people in the pueblos and campo live much more modestly?
steve
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E-visit at http://yucalandia.com

richmx2

Mar 18, 2012, 12:44 PM

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Re: [YucaLandia] México's Growing Middle Class

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In part, I think it's the definition the WP is using of "middle class"... whether acquisition of consumer goods = attitude isn't something I'm so sure about.

Interesting, that there's a discussion in the U.S. among the chattering classes (at least on the left side of the spectrum) on whether there ever was a "culture of poverty" ... originally a left-wing term, appropriated by the right... the term itself coming from Oscar Lewis' studies of the Mexican working class.

That "culture of poverty" included instant gratification, which it seems going into debt to acquire consumer goods would include. So, is growing credit card debt a "middle class" value, or one that reflects that old "culture of poverty" with more access to goods?

I'm wondering whether the same attitudes that make up the middle class (saving for the future, investing in education, a preference for stability) haven't always been with us, it's just that the conditions are such that people can live in a more comfortable style.

When I was writing my history of Mexico, one source I found particularly useful was a wonkish book from the late 1960s (Charles Cumberland, "Mexico: The Struggle for Modernity") full of charts and graphs showing the growth in access to the kinds of goods and services, and disposable income, since the Revolution. The percentage of "middle class" then wasn't all that different from now... it's just our expectations of the goods and services (and the availablity of those goods and services) has grown immensely since then: in the late 60s, one didn't need a car to be considered middle class, now one not only needs a car, but a TV, a computer (or two) and a credit card bill.

http://mexfiles.net
http://voiceofmexico.com
http://editorialmazatlan.com

mazbook1

Mar 18, 2012, 12:48 PM

Post #4 of 4 (1384 views)

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Re: [YucaLandia] México's Growing Middle Class

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YucaLandia, "Do other reader's suspect that the Mexican Middle Class phenomenon is more of a city-feature - where people in the pueblos and campo live much more modestly? "

I'm certain that many DO suspect exactly that, as the cities are where the typically middle-class (using the U.S. definition) find JOBS. However, it has now grown to the point where it's being seen in the towns (pueblos) and even in the small pueblitos, as these educated, new, middle-class folks move back to their home towns to start businesses, open offices (lawyers, doctors and yes, even real-estate sales) to serve that growing middle class. Definitely not in the campos (farms and ranches), but with modern technology and farm machinery growing more and more common, the change is beginning to be seen there also. The only places where it's not seen, at least to any visible extent, is in the small villages (ranchos, as they are called here in Sinaloa), particularly in the small, indigenous villages all over México. Those indigenous peoples, although legally full Mexican citizens with all the rights and "perks" of full citizens, just have been ignored (or downtrodden, from the point-of-view of some) by the government, and even today don't receive the sort of help (nutritionally OR educationally) that our government really owes them. That's one of the major black marks against ALL of the governments (or governing parties, dictators, would be emperors, etc.) of México over the last 200 years.

(This post was edited by mazbook1 on Mar 18, 2012, 12:51 PM)