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Brenda Homer

Brandon Dominguez

English 2010

July 22, 2019

Why are Mexicans Leaving Mexico? Wealth Inequality, Rule of Law and Immigration

Border security between the United States and Mexico has been a problem since 1929

with the passing of Section 1325 that criminalized unlawful entry into the United States

(www.usafacts.org/reports). Upon further study I asked myself why would anyone wish to leave

their home and family? Why would anyone risk life, liberty, health, failure and even death to

come to the United States? This question prompted me to look carefully at the economy of

Mexico and its people. What my study revealed is that unlawful immigration from Mexico

would go down if the wealth of Mexico would be equally distributed, and if the Mexican

government could guarantee the safety of its citizens by ensuring the “Rule of Law” for all.

“Wealth inequality is a daunting social issue persisting in many countries. It is one

of the main causes of poverty in Mexico.

Wealth inequality in Mexico is extremely high. Although Mexico is among the top

14 richest countries as calculated by GDP, over half the population lives in

poverty. The gap between the wealthy and the poor in Mexico continues to expand.

Just one percent of the population owns about half of the country’s wealth. While

their wealth increases, the poverty rate in Mexico has not decreased by much,

leaving an estimated 53.3 million people living below the poverty line (Harrigan).”

As I began to study the numbers these facts began to immerge.

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First is that the average worker in Mexico makes considerably less per hour than the

average American worker. As proven by the included chart below.

As of July 17, 2019, 1MXN =0.052USD the average daily wage in Mexico is

roughly $1.65 USD per hour. With these numbers it is easy to conclude that even if an

undocumented worker in the US was earning $11.71 per hour, half of average US worker

at $23.43 per hour that some of that money could be sent back to Mexico to help support

the remaining family (Trading Economics).

“[H]igher wages realized on the first migration increase the likelihood of repeat

migration, suggesting that, insofar as wages are a measure of success in migration, repeat

migrants are more successful than single-episode migrants during first migration (Ties

That Bind, Issues That Divide)”. What this statement is telling us is that if migration is

successful and employment is found, then it is more likely that there would be a repeat of

illegal immigration not only from the first member of the family but also for subsequent

generations of the same family (Ties That Bind, Issues That Divide).

Secondly, the lack of “Rule of Law”.

“..[M]uch of the violence, crime and insecurity is the result of the

ascendance of relatively well-organized purveyors of armed force: a variety of

clandestine “business” groups involved in illegal trade—especially drugs and

guns—and institutionally empowered forces in the employ of the state, mainly

police but sometimes the military.[2] Many members of the armed forces work

hand-in-hand with criminals, either through their participation in petty crime rings

or in bigger-bucks operations like drug trafficking and gunrunning, a situation that

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partly explains so much police unwillingness to guarantee the rule of law. At

present, the public trust in the police is so low they are practically the last to be

called when a crime is committed, in part because citizens fear further abuses at

their hands (Davis)”.

According to the 2019 Index of Financial Freedom Mexico has a judicial

effectiveness score of 34.9 but its government integrity score is 26.3. This scoring system

is very telling when it comes to understanding the reasoning that people are leaving the

country (www.heritage.org 2019 Index of Financial Freedom ) .

“Property rights are protected, but the government has made the

property registration process more expensive. The judicial system is weak.

Frequent solicitation of bribes by bureaucrats and officials, widespread

impunity, and the high incidence of criminal extortion undermine the rule

of law. Corruption is pervasive and fed by billions of narco-dollars. More

than 100 politicians were murdered in 2018 (www.heritage.org 2019 Index

of Financial Freedom )”.

If a person needing help from the government is afraid of calling upon the police

for help, then I believe that anarchy wins. If the average person has no recourse against

crime then lawlessness must pervade.

As part of my research I went to people that I know that have had some firsthand

experience with the poor in Mexico. These individuals work with a non-profit

organization called Builders Without Borders of Utah. Their main focus is to improve the

living conditions of individuals and families primarily located in Tijuana, Mexico.

(www.builderswithoutbordersofutah.org/)
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Interview with Brett and Becki Bailey from Builders Without Borders July 17, 2019

Q: What does Builders without Borders do?

A: The first thing that BWOB does is to help provide a safe and adequate home for those

who are deserving and have been identified as someone who can then continue to maintain the

home after it is built or improved.

The second thing that we do is to help the families that we work with improve their

surroundings and thus help them to improve their overall circumstances by teaching additional

marketable skills like reading, barbering, sewing, quilting, wiring, drywall and other building

skills. As we are working on the homes, we also invite the home owners to participate in the

work, thus building not just a home but the self esteem of the home owner.

Q: Why do you think that people are leaving Mexico?

A: The first reason is that there is very little income available for the average worker. For

example, one of the men we worked with, his job, one that he created for himself, was to sell

snacks to the children as they travel to and from school each day. He had a tray like at the circus,

selling little snacks, popcorn, chips and candy to the kids, for pennies. He would go out in the

morning and again in the afternoon to sell. He may have averaged as little as $100 USD a month.

Another man that we worked with is a skilled dry wall/stucco finisher. Once a week he

travels across the border with a work visa to San Diego to work. His wage, though less than

average US worker, is sufficient to support his family in Mexico.

The second reason is because the people do not feel safe. There is no “Rule of Law”

functioning in the country. The average citizen does not have access to the judicial system that

we enjoy in the United States. If an average person needed police assistance, the Police may or

may not come, but if they do come the police force has become so corrupt that that the police
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most likely will then require protection payment to continue protection. As an example, on our

last day in 2018 our car was stolen. Instead of calling the police the host family where we were

staying, called the neighbors that he knew stole cars for a living. The car was recovered two days

later. Why call the police when the criminals are your neighbors and friends? The car thieves are

only trying to make a living too.

Q: After the homes are built or improved, how does the new home then benefit the

families in the long run?

A: For most of the families that we help, the first-time experience of having an adequate

place to live becomes the catalyst to improve their overall position. One elderly gentleman, that

was living in the remnants of his previous home that had burned down, now has a safe home,

large enough that his daughter and grandchildren can be there to take care of him. His daughter

applied for an education grant from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. With that

grant she has been able to improve her job to such a degree that she is moving up. This home is

now benefiting not only one person but three generations of a family. BWOB has learned that to

help one generation of a family helps many generations to come. This experience has then

broken the cycle of poverty for this family and others by showing them the potential that they

have in building themselves and their communities up.

Q: Why do you continue to go back year after year?

A: We first started with BWOB because we wanted to teach our children the value of

what they had here in the U.S. That not everyone has the way of life that we experience in the

U.S., and that people can be happy in much more humble circumstances. However, after working

on the homes we saw the change in people’s lives. We have learned that if we choose to help one

person, one family at a time that eventually through example and hard work an entire community
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can be changed, as communities change, then cities and eventually the country. In my opinion

perhaps this small spark of uplift can lift the entire country. For us this small thing has become a

huge personal growth experience for us, for our children and for BWOB (B. a. Bailey).

(B. Bailey) Home before Under Construction (B. Bailey)

Following this interview with the Baileys I began to realize that the immigration problem

is a much bigger personal issue. Yes, I agree that the border should be secure but now I have

come to believe that the United States should and can be a refuge for individuals that are truly

looking to better themselves and their families. I now believe that it should be easier to grant at

least a temporary visa to individuals that need that assistance. I think that is should be a less

expensive and easier admission, instead of the extremely expensive and time-consuming process

of legal admission in to the United States. I believe that if the economy of Mexico was truly

functioning correctly, that all citizens of Mexico had the access to equal employment

opportunities instead of having to make up a job as described above, to sell sacks to school

children to make a living, but to increase industry, and to fix the corruption in the government to

have true access to “Rule of Law” to all its citizens then I believe that the immigration problem

would go away. People do not want to leave their homes. They just want to be able to take care
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of their families in a way that they can be healthy, and safe. I believe that is the wish of all

human beings.
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Works Cited

Bailey, Becki. Mexico 2019 Homes. Builders With out Borders, Tijuana. Photograph.

Bailey, Brett and Becki. BWOB, What do you do and why? Brenda Homer. 17 July 2019.

Davis, Diane E. "Law Enforcement in Mexico: Not Yet Under Control." 25 September 2007 .

nacla.org. 18 July 2019.

Harrigan, Danyel. https://borgenproject.org/causes-of-poverty-in-mexico/. 27 July 2017. 06 July

2019.

"Ties That Bind, Issues That Divide." Emma Aguila, Alisher R. Akhmedjonov, Ricardo Basurto-

Davila, Krishna B. United States and Mexico. RAND Corporation. , 2012.

Trading Economics. "United States Average Hourly Wages." June 2019. tradingeconomics.com.

05 July 2019.

www.builderswithoutbordersofutah.org/. n.d. 20 July 2019.

www.usafacts.org/reports. 2019. 04 July 2019.