Poverty

The minimum wage in Mexico is 50 pesos.  As I write that’s about CA$5.21, or US$4.63.  And, by the way, that’s not per hour, that’s per day.

You may wonder how people live on that – many Mexicans I’ve talked to wonder the same thing!  Part of the answer is that a lot of people work 3 jobs, and live together with other people who are working 3 jobs.  Then they cut back on expensive things like meat, and stick to tortillas and beans.  And maybe rice.  That’s if they’re actually able to work, and if so to find a job.  Imagine the grandmother caring for young children trying to work (or find work!) on top of everything else!

Even the middle class has real troubles, trying to give children a better life and help struggling family members.  Living close to the line many fear sliding back into the poverty trap themselves, and at they same time they wonder how they can help the many Mexicans who live in such a hopeless situation.

I thought you might like to hear about the issue from the mouth of a Latino.  Very popular in Mexico and around the world is the Columbian musician and activist Juanes.  His song La Historia de Juan (the story of Juan) is a simple description of the life of a boy in poverty.

Here’s a basic paraphrase/summary, since the song is in Spanish:
This is the story of Juan, the boy nobody loved.  He grew up on the streets; his mother left him, his father mistreated him, his house was the alley, his room a cardboard box, his friend God.  He wanted love, honour, and forgiveness and the world gave him pain and dishonour.  The pain was so bad it extinguished his heart.  He wanted to play, dream and love, but the world forgot him.