Neoliberalism In Mexico Essay

Many policies are adopted by nations when attempting to address critical concerns about society, but which policies were adopted by Mexico? We need to acknowledge that Mexico was in a position of addressing many development goals and thus implemented the holy trinity of neoliberalism. Let us first look at the holy trinity of neoliberalism: privatization – selling state-owned enterprises to private investors; deregulation – reducing government regulations of anything that could possibly diminish profits; liberalization – introducing free trade by removing trade barriers. From this we can understand that the main purpose of neoliberalism was to reduce government interference (economically) and allow the people to take matter into their own hands.

“However, it changed over time for individuals (0.546 in 1994 and 2000, 0.526 in 2006, 0.526 in 2008) and dropped to 0.495 in 2010” (Laurell 259). This data shows us two things. It first shows us that the number dropped over time and it also shows us that the inequality grew following the implementation of structural adjustment – that is neoliberal policies. The statistics are a result of economic activity that took place in Mexico at the time. When control transitioned from the state to the citizens, the rich were in a better position of taking advantage of the opportunity. Neoliberalism argues that reducing government involvement will encourage citizens to work even harder, albeit this is not fair for the poor as the poor were and still remain in a vulnerable position prior to neoliberal policies. Following the implementation of the policies, it became a ‘survival of the fittest’ (Darwin) situation where the rich would be able to prosper. Therefore, Mexico’s involvement with neoliberalism and its policies only hurt the economy by growing the disparity and impoverishing those who were already in an impoverished