BCDF in Mexico

Many people ask me why the Beck Group decided to open a foundation that works in Mexico. In 2009 Mexico passed a threshold to become a high income country. It is one of the 5 high income countries in Latin America , among Chile, Uruguay, Argentina and Panama. Mexico has the 11th largest economy in the world as measured by gross domestic product and purchasing power parity. In spite of these seemingly positive economic indicators, if we zoom in on Mexico we can see an incredibly high level of poverty and one of the world´s worst social inequalities.

Nationally 44.2% of Mexican population live in moderate poverty and 70% live in multidimensional poverty. In terms of social rights such as health and education, 40% of Mexicans lacks access to basic health care and 21.7% of all students drop out from school. In 2010 the highest daily minimum wage was US$4.45 and therefore 20% of Mexicans lack access to sufficient food.

Mexico is a young country: 31% of the population is young. But the children and youth live in deplorable conditions. 17 out of 100 Mexican youth migrate to the US. 25% of all children and youth live in extreme poverty while 60% live in some level of poverty. 13% of youth of working age are not employed.

Even though there are many states with social needs, BCDF decided to focus on doing work in the state of Puebla. Puebla is the 4th poorest state in Mexico based on income and 7th most marginalized based on access to social rights. Out of 217 municipalities, 69% are highly or very highly marginalized. In Puebla 29% of the population didn´t finish middle school, 49% live in overcrowded housing and 61% earn less than 250 dollars per month.

These statistics are depressing. How can a small grassroots non-profit organization make a difference in Puebla?

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