The dramatic poverty reductions in Mexico
So much of the news could lead one to think that we live in the worst of times, so we sometimes need to be reminded of good news. We’re told that all politicians are the same and that governments never achieve anything.
Well, the last president of Mexico, Andrés Manuel López Obrador (known as Amlo), achieved a substantial reduction in poverty levels in his country during his time in office, as evidenced by the most recent data.
In 2018, there were nearly 52 million people living below the poverty line: by the time he left office six years later, that number had dropped by 13.4 million, a decrease of almost 26%. Extreme poverty also dropped from nearly 9 million people to just 7 million. You can read more here.
You might want to understand the political context in which Amol achieved this success. You can read my short guide to the Mexican political system here.
You might wonder why I’m so interested in Mexico. I visited this fascinating country in 2016 and you can read an account of my trip here.