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 News Around the Republic of Mexico | December 2006 
U.N. Official Says Social Reforms Key for New Gov´t
 El Universal
| | José Luis Machinea |
President Felipe Calderón has a long list of challenges before him, including passing social reforms and combating monopolies, according to José Luis Machinea, the head of a regional commission for the United Nations on Latin America.
Machinea´s statements came on the same day that his Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean, based in Santiago, Chile, released a report on the region showing that while Mexico has reduced the percentage of its population that lives in poverty over the last four years, unemployment has also risen and the number of workers with health insurance has declined.
The current scenario will require that the new president forge "consensus and political agreements," Machinea said - not an easy task in the current polarized political climate.
"The challenge is enormous: Poverty is still high, social safety nets are insufficient, inequality is great, and therefore, making improvements in these areas will require better and more efficient public policies," Machinea said in a phone interview with EL UNIVERSAL.
Many of Mexico´s main obstacles to progress are economic in nature, he added, citing Mexico´s dysfunctional tax system, public and private monopolies that hinder the competition, insufficient infrastructure and better financing and regulations for small and medium businesses.
The commission´s report highlighted a 1 percent increase in unemployment and a 3 percent reduction in the number of workers who receive state health insurance over the past four years, despite an overall reduction in the number of people living in poverty in Mexico. |
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