Straits Still Dire

So says Rogelio Ramírez de la O:

Staggering figures show that food-based poverty increased in only two years by 5 million people; and that 7 million that belonged to the middle class today live on no more than 1,600 pesos a month.

Another 7 million young people neither study nor work, according to [UNAM] rector José Narro Robles.

He goes on to say that the optimism surrounding the recovery in the next couple of years is misplaced, because complications stemming from the rising incidence of financial problems (especially personal insolvency) will linger into next year.

Back to the 1,600 pesos: that's about $140 a month, give or take (haven't seen the exchange rate in a while). In most parts of Mexico, rent is a lot cheaper than in the US, but everything else is pretty similar in price, or more expensive, when you consider luxury goods like Levis jeans or digital cameras. Granted, not all of Mexico's middle class earns as little as the floor, but the lower middle class in Mexico has a quality of life far below what we typically consider middle class in the US.

Uptate: I realize now that I misread that slightly, but the point about Mexico's poverty indicators holds all the same.