Inequality in Mexico
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Inequality in Mexico
Today Mexico is a country of change. There are many things that have contributed to the changes that Mexico is experiencing, and many areas in which change is occurring. However, I think that, since the conquistadors, there have been no more significant changes than those related to inequalities of income, education and social benefits which were effectively based on racial and ethnic distinctions.
What is inequality? As stated by Castenada "Inequality appears when there is a differentiation between the interacting parties. When we talk about stratification and inequality we tend to think about purely economic grounds forgetting that people look for economic wellbeing not only for the satisfaction of their basic needs but also for the access to prestige, entertainment, leisure and pleasure." For the purposes of this paper, I will focus on inequalities in the availability of economic resources, educational opportunity, public services (water, electricity, paved roads) based on ethnicity.
To understand what has happened in Mexico recently, it is necessary to review history all the way back to the Spanish conquerors. The first engine of social inequality was the encomiendas, which was comprised of parcels of land given to certain people favored by the king or queen of Spain. When the land was given, all that was found on the land was entrusted to the person or family receiving it...