An elderly adult asks for money on the Paseo de la Reforma in Mexico City after losing his job in April.Andrea Murcia / CUARTOSCURO
The pandemic has left Mexico with the highest levels of poverty in seven years.
The population with disabilities went from 41.9% in 2018 to 43.9% in 2020, an increase of 3.8 million people, and those living in extreme poverty rose from 7% to 8.5%, 2.1 million more, the National Council for the Evaluation of Social Development Policy (Coneval) reported this Thursday.
The crisis caused an additional 15 million people to register lack of access to health services and Quintana Roo and Baja California Sur, highly dependent on tourism, were the most affected states.
The federal government, whose response to the pandemic has been the weakest among emerging countries, defended at the beginning of the crisis that the existing social programs were sufficient.
More information
The challenge of feeding a family with 100 pesos a day in Mexico
Poverty in Mexico increases despite government social programs
Most of the new poor share a profile: they live in cities and are of working age.
The urban population living in poverty rose from 37% in 2018 to 40% in 2020, while in rural areas it decreased from 58% to 57%, reports Coneval based on the Household Income and Expenditure Survey, conducted between August and November of last year.
By age, the most affected were adolescents and young people, with an increase from 42% to 46% of the poor, and adults from 30 to 64 years old, who went from 36.5% to 39.5%.
The elderly in poverty, on the other hand, fell from 43% to 38%.
The states that suffered the most are the tourist ones. The population in poverty in Quintana Roo jumped from 30% to 47.5%, almost half of its inhabitants, and in Baja California Sur, from 19% to 28%. In total, 19 of the 32 entities showed a deterioration compared to 2018. Paradoxically, Chiapas and Oaxaca, the entities with a greater historical backwardness, registered improvements compared to 2018 although they still remain at very high levels. The population in poverty in Chiapas went from 78% to 75.5% and in Oaxaca, it fell from 64% to 61%. Agricultural activity, which has a greater weight in these two entities, was the least affected by the confinement. The counselor Armando Bartra called not to be deceived by these data. "Agriculture did not interrupt their work and last year was a very good agricultural year," explained Armando Bartra."I do not think that it necessarily means that a gap is reduced that is structural."
The abrupt jump in lack of access to health services is especially disturbing given the health crisis experienced last year. In 2020, 28.2% of the population reported problems, compared to 16.2% in 2018. The setback coincides with the reconversion of hospital centers to deal with the pandemic, but also with the elimination by the Government of Seguro Popular, that cared for the most vulnerable, and its replacement by the National Institute of Health for Wellbeing (Insabi). In 2018, Seguro Popular covered 42.1% of the population, but Insabi barely reached 26.9% in 2020. Coneval has stated that it is “urgent that the transition to Insabi ensure effective care for the population and full knowledge of its operation and availability ”.
Regarding education, the population aged three to 21 years who does not attend school went from 15.6% to 16.7%, 900,000 more people than in 2018. The closure of educational centers due to the pandemic and the follow-up Distance classes over the Internet or television have made it difficult for the poorest students to access. Despite the third wave of infections, President Andrés Manuel López Obrador has insisted on reopening schools in August to avoid worsening the impact.
Without social transfers or remittances, the situation would have been worse: the population in poverty would be two points higher, 45.9% instead of 43.9%. However, counselor John Scott highlights some failures of the policy of a government that prides itself on its social vocation: “There is a relevant effect on public transfers. However, it has lost progressivity, especially the poorest decile received a lower proportion of these transfers. Certainly one of the recommendations and to identify which are the priority groups that should be strengthened ”.
In the midst of this deterioration, there are some rays of light. The final figure for the increase in poverty is less than initially predicted. In May of last year, at the height of the crisis, Coneval estimated that between six and 11 million people ran the risk of falling into a situation of extreme deprivation. The population without access to social security went from 53.5% to 52%, a reduction of 200,000 people. The greatest increase in coverage occurs among those over 65, from 38.3% to 55.3%. The current government has extended retirement pensions and doubled the amount they receive.
And inequality has decreased.
However, this is not due to an improvement in the situation of the most disadvantaged, but to the fact that the rich have lost a greater percentage of their income.
Thus, the average income of the wealthiest 10% was 22 times higher than that of the poorest 10%, compared to 24 times higher two years ago.
Subscribe here
to the
newsletter
of EL PAÍS México and receive all the informative keys of the current situation of this country
