MEXICO NEWS: Why is Mexico screwed up?

By QUORA: Curt Bryant, works at Retirement

I’m an American who lives in Mexico. I love Mexico and I have a deep affection and respect for Mexicans and their culture. As individuals and families, they are amazing people. Unfortunately, as a society they (just like all societies) have some serious issues to resolve. Most of the problems really boil down to money. Here are some very real, first-person examples:

Government Corruption: Although lobbying, corporate tax credits, and special interest groups may lead to some corruption in the US government; it is nothing compared to Mexico. The level of corruption is worse by 10 orders of magnitude. Examples:

When the PAN took over my town after the June elections, the electricity to City Hall was shut off. It turns out that the previous administration had pocketed the $4,000,000 MX that was intended to pay the CFE (Comisión Federal de Electricidad) bill.

When the old government left office, they took all of the furniture and computers with them.

The mayor (presidente municipal) lived in a very modest house and lived a very ordinary life prior to his one term. He is now building a $16,000,000 MX villa. Again, he served ONE term.

Election Fraud/Corruption: Trump and his supporters are all acting like there is massive voter fraud in the US. There is no empirical data to prove that claim. I don’t know what empirical data there is for Mexico, but let me tell you what I’ve seen first hand:

My house and the one next to mine are on very large lots. My lot was raised about two feet before my house was built. Consequently, I can see down into my neighbors lot even with their two meter wall. The house next door is vacant. Last spring, prior to the June election, I noticed a LOT of activity over there. I started watching and noticed truck after truck arriving over the course of a week. The yard filled up with boxes, building materials, and all sorts of “parts.” I was worried that some sort of business was moving in so I kept watching. I was wrong. It was the PRI. Over the next several weeks, all of the “parts” turned into triciclos (full-sized tricycles used to transport all sorts of things), the boxes turned into children’s bicycles, pots and pans, microwaves, and rice and beans, and the building materials were for other people’s homes. A few of my local friends explained that the PRI would give you a triciclo if you signed a promise that you would bring them 10 votes. The rest of the items were single vote bribes. They took them to the poorest neighborhoods and bought votes. When I seemed shocked by this, they said that this is how it has been done for a very long time and this is how the PRI has kept a stranglehold on so much of the country. The poor people need these things and they are willing to give a vote to get them. It should be noted, however, that the PRI lost this election after being in power for 40 years. A lot of people returned their triciclos and a lot of others just laughed, kept the gift, and voted their conscious instead!