Racial/Ethnic Inequity in Mexico

Mexico is a decently sized country and roughly equivalent to California, Texas, and Florida's size if combined. Greater Latin America comprises 33 countries of varying sizes and equates to about ¾ of the Global South. Mexico has a population of 126,014,024, with the greater metropolitan area of Mexico City boasting 20,100,000~ people. Gender distribution amongst the population is generally even. The majority of the population is between the ages of 15-65.

Mexico's Ethnic groups include many Indigenous people such as Nahua, Mestizo- indigenous and European ancestry, Castizo- white or light-skinned Mexicans, Asian Mexicans, and Afro Mexicans. These demographics are currently in transition as more Black migrants from the Caribbean and the continent of Africa make their way into the country. Mexico experiences high amounts of migrant movement in the country. The most well-known is the influx of migrants from Central and South America, traveling through to the U.S. border. The highest number of migrants into Mexico, though, is that of U.S. citizens often for business or retirement. Many U.S. citizens in Mexico are undocumented- such as overstaying visas.

Mexico has had long-standing historical issues with inequality. There exists an wide wealth gap between the poor and the rich as the Mexican governement prioritized the wealthy post-revolution. In this map we can clearly see the GDP per state within the United Mexican States is unevenly ditributed. The states with higher inidgenious populations and the states that border Central America have the lowest GDP, while Ciudad de Mexico and the states within Baja California Sur have higher incomes. Baja California is a common resort destination and Ciudad de Mexico is a massive world class city and a central business hub for the country. 

In Mexico there has been a commonly held belif that there is not racism in the country but discrimination based on socio-economic class and ethnicity. A study was done however and show that racism based on skin darkness is a major aspect to Mexican culture. Undocumented migrants in Mexico face particularly worrisome risk and violence due to an inability to blend in within border towns. The situation of immigration into the U.S. is also getting worse as the Biden Administration released new policies that specifically only apply to Mexicans and Central Americans.