Mexico is a Developed country 2009... get it right!

I'm Just Wondering... when are American Christians, especially Californians, going to recognize that Mexico is truely a Developed country, and stop (stop, STOP!) believeing/acting/treating it as a "Third-World Poverty Country"...???

Hmmm???

OK, to start out with, just about everybody with any regard for working Internationally has declared that all the reference to "Third World" is very degrading, and is some big-dog attitude about "well, WE are the First world!" garbage... Dr Bryant Myers from World Vision, now Prof of Intl Studies at Fuller said at a lecture I attended last year that anybody who calls any country 'Third World" has shown how uninformed they really are, and probably shouldn't work internationally!

OK, here is the data source for my claim about Mexico: The United Nations

Visit: http://hdr.undp.org/en/reports/global/hdr2007-2008/

Better yet, download the data tables at: http://hdr.undp.org/en/media/HDI_2008_EN_Tables.pdf

The United Nations Development Project (UNDP) 2008 tables are solid, well-documented aggregate data from 2006. They are enormously dependable. Definitely, looking at the national Life Expectancy (average), it will give you a clue as to many aspects of the situation.

The "Human Development Index" (HDI) is a very well-positioned ranking of nations and their overall realities. There are 179 nations ranked in 2006.

The HDI breaks the nations up into "High Human Development", "Moderate" and "Low".

Iceland is at the top of the "High" list with Life expectancy of 81.6 yrs... the US is 15th with Life Expectancy of 78 yrs

The "Mod" list starts at 76 with Turkey being the 'top-mod' country, Life Expectancy 71.6.

The "Low" list starts at #154, with Nigeria being that 'top-low', Life Expectancy, 46.6 years.

The last 15 nations are considered in most literature the "least developed countries" or LDC's, and distinguished by very high mortality, disease burden and low Life Expectancy. The bottom of the list is Sierra Leone, 42. 1 yrs. Ouch.

OK, about this particular rant of mine... what about Mexico??

According to the UNDP and the HDI, in 2006, Mexico is ranked as a High Human Development nation, with a ranking of 51, and a Life Expectancy of 75.8 yrs.

In addition, a 91.7 % literacy level in the adult population, only 5% of the population with absolutely no access to drinkable water, only 5% children under weight (under age 5) and 17.6% of the population under tha national poverty line. Not bad.

If you peel into the UN reports deeper (as I have), you will find that the problem of such countries as Mexico is that a significant percent of the population lives remotely, and creates difficulty in providing development, public health and education. As well, the transition away from remote indigenous populations opposed to any kind education and public health interventions (they are getting old and dying off) are decreasing, and more schools and health centers are being located and accessed by the Mexican population in remote locations.

It always gets down to access and the economy of a country...

Yes, there are still problems in Mexico. Actually, looking at Bryant Myers writings and what he calls "Structures of Sin" will give great enlightenment to the real problems of Mexico. Alcoholism, spousal abuse, tobacco, drugs, sex trade, tribalism, machismo domination and violence... as well as narco-traffikking are keeping Mexico locked in some pretty nasty stuff.

Mexico needs the liberating Gospel of Jesus more than it needs non-Spanish speaking outreachers dropping off old clothes and bags of beans!

However... anybody who calls Mexico a "Third World Country" should never be in mission leadership (or be allowed to go on a Mexico trip, for that matter!) and any American Christian involved in any work in Mexico needs to start viewing the reality of Mexico as a High Human Development nation with a developed and stable level of an economy.

Final thought: why do so many Americans hold Mexico as "a Third World pit of Poverty" country??? My suspicion is that
[1] it's the only place they've been to outside of their region of the USA or Canada,
[2] they have no education or experience in understanding what they are seeing,
[3] Christian leadership in mission trips and the like also lack any skills in International relief/development, and really don't know what they are looking at either, and finally...

[4] it's something I'm currently writing a bit on: the difference between Perceived Disparity (what the visitor sees is significantly poorer than their home neighborhood) versus Total Poverty (a total lack of basic human resources of safe water, basic food, safe shelter, safe waste disposal, basic health services and educational opportunities). Many times the Christians see a significant Perceived Disparity and confuse it/believe it to be Total Poverty... when yes, the neighborhood they are in is poorer than their home experience is cozy San Diego or Ohio, but the people in that Mexican neighborhood with dirt roads have safe water, adequate food, relatively safe shelter, adequate waste disposal, kids go to school, there is a health center a Km away, and the people live to average Life Expectancy of 75.8 years in that neighborhood.

(But don't forget about the Structures of Sin... )

Cbaj