Poverty and inequality in Mexico. The ideological and factual construction of diverse and unequal citizenships

Abstract

Based on the concept of social citizenship developed by T. H. Marshall, it is argued that economic, social and cultural rights (escr) are associated with needs whose satisfaction depends on economic resources, and, therefore, involve poverty. It is argued that the right not to be poor would remain at a very abstract level if it is not specified what is required for not being poor. Based on this idea, the rights recognized in the Constitution and in international treaties are analyzed. The relevance of the definition of satisfaction thresholds to live without poverty is highlighted. The official method for measuring multidimensional poverty is critically reviewed and it is concluded that, given that Coneval established low satisfaction standards in all dimensions in the official method (such as popular health insurance), the official measurement violates the escr. The evolution of poverty in Mexico for the 1968-2016 period is presented using different methods. The social and economic regressions experienced, particularly those caused by the crises and the change of economic model in the last 30 years, are described. Based on the integrated poverty measurement method (ipmm), an analysis of territorial differences in poverty and inequality of income is included as well as inequalities in access to health services and to social security by deciles.