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Iniquality in Mexico aftter Independence

Mexico is known as the new Spain in the past as this country was under the

colony of Spain for more than 300 years since 1521 (Mexico, A Brief History, n.d.). That time

is an era of colonialism which many empires were fight for more colony, more power, and

export of Western values. One of the main objectives of colonialism was to exploit economic

wealth to the mother country (Williamson, 2009), as Spanish Empire did to the native

Mexican. They promoted their ethnic rivals by favoring their people above the native,

Aztecan (Marker, 2003). As a result, lots of the Aztecan, were forced into slavery. It distribute

an inequality in Mexico, the existence of unequal opportunities and rewards for different

social position or statuses within a group or society (What Is Social Inequality in Sociology,

n.d.). However, Property rights of land and labor did not experience drastic changes the war

of independence, the civil wars continued for decadesafter independence (Escosura, 2005 ).

This research paper will be explained Why the class inequality to indigenous in Mexico

persist after the end of colonialism.

Therere many factors affect the inequality in Mexico. In the past, Latin America

always been more unequal than other parts of the world (Williumson, 2009) as Spain has the

most unequal distribution of land and the land inequality in the former colonial motherlands

is as high as their colonies (Frankema, 2006). The colonial heritage of land inequality is still,

after two centuries of the independence, a major pillar of persistent high levels of income

inequality in Mexico (World bank, 2004). At the start of Mexicans independence, the

minority group, the elite who used to work for Spain, are in control of labor force. They own

more land than the average indigenous and were trying to make profit from the low income

agricultural societies who planted cash crops. It generates long run consequences for the

distribution of income. As a result, these profits created the income gap economic inequality

between the minority and the majority (Frankema, 2006).) The rich become richer while the
poor become poorer. The poverty coincides with large inequality gap of both wealth and

income.

The reason of the spreading of Spanish colonialism is not only wealth, but also

power by spreading their culture, language, and Catholicism. Mexico become the largest

Spanish-speaking population in the world (Lipka, 2016). Also, Mexican today have remained

tied to Catholic, indeed, it is the second-largest number of Catholics country in the world

(Lipka, 2016). According to Frankema (2006), the spread of Catholicism is strongly related to

the inequality in the colonies. As Spain put an effort to assert control over all the Catholic

church, its to control the Mexican (Palmer, 2013). By favor one religious and one cultural

group over others in the colonial societies, it give the higher status to a group of people and

promote inter-group rivalries (Marker, 2003).

By giving exclusive access to a group of people, it only sent an unbalanced share

of the country's development into only some part of the country. Therefore, as the higher class

society are in one place, it result more than half of the countrys wealth onto only a sector of

the country (Marker, 2003). Its a capitalism that the development is in only capital or big

cities of the country, and inequalities ingrained in the laws of motion of capitalism.(Yates,

2012). This establish the separation between the rich and poor. After the independence, it

even more obvious to see how the capitalism worked in Mexico. In addition, most of the

people still have vigorously continued the practices of their early colonial masters

(Williamson, 2009).The new government are always the influenced person, it visible to see

their desire to keep the boundaries that were used during the colonial time (Marker, 2003).

After being under Spain control for decades, the new government still lack of governance

skills and experience to rule the people. Theyre also lack of vision to improve peoples life

and containing the sustainable development.


In conclusion, most of the countries which were taken over during the colonialism

are still ruled by the repressive and restrictive regimes after the independence (Marker, 2003).

Mostly its because of the Spanish colonization effects. During the colonialism, Spain have

created the beneficial rule for the Spanish in Mexico which had been distributed the

inequality between Indigenous Mexican and the Spains progeny. After the independent war,

these people still have more power and land, which created the income inequality compared

to the labors. Some of them became a government which they were trying to made

advantages for their own group. The rich people live in the big cities while the natives can be

only their workers in an undeveloped part of the country. It became the seperation of skin that

obvious to see and still work as it happened for a long time before the independence.
References

De la, L. P., Escosura. (2005, February). Colonial Independence and Economic

Backwardness in Latin America. Retrieved December 2, 2016, from

http://eprints.lse.ac.uk/22482/1/wp10.pdf

E.H.P. Frankema, E. (2006, June). The Colonial Origins of Inequality: The Causes

and Consequences of Land Distribution. The Colonial Origins of Inequality: The Causes and

Consequences of Land Distribution, 1-5. Retrieved December 2, 2016, from

http://siteresources.worldbank.org/INTDECINEQ/Resources/1149208-

1147789289867/IIIWB_Conference_ColonialOrigins_of_InequalityREVISED.pdf

Escosura, L. P. (2005, November). Colonial Independence and Economic

Backwardness in Latin America. Colonial Independence and Economic Backwardness in Latin

America, 1-14. Retrieved December 2, 2016, from http://eprints.lse.ac.uk/22482/1/wp10.pdf

Lipka, M. (2016, February 10). A snapshot of Catholics in Mexico, Pope Francis

next stop. Retrieved from http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2016/02/10/a-snapshot-of-

catholics-in-mexico-pope-francis-next-stop/

Mexico, A Brief History. (n.d.). Retrieved December 01, 2016, from http://history-

world.org/mexico.htm

Marker, S. (2003, December). Effects of Colonization | Beyond Intractability.

Retrieved December 01, 2016, from http://www.beyondintractability.org/essay/post-colonial

Michael D. Yates Topics: Economic Theory , Incarceration , Inequality , Political

Economy. (2012, February 1). Poverty and Inequality in the Global Economy by Michael D. Yates

| Monthly Review. Retrieved November 30, 2016, from

http://monthlyreview.org/2004/02/01/poverty-and-inequality-in-the-global-economy/
Palmer, R. (2013, May/June). A Brief History of Catholicism in Latin America.

Retrieved December 2, 2016, from

https://www.thetrumpet.com/article/10541.24.154.0/religion/roman-catholicism/a-brief-history-of-

catholicism-in-latin-america

What Is Social Inequality in Sociology? - Definition, Effects & Causes - Video &

Lesson Transcript | Study.com. (n.d.). Retrieved November 30, 2016, from

http://study.com/academy/lesson/what-is-social-inequality-in-sociology-definition-effects-

causes.html

Williamson, J. G. (2009, August). Five Centuries of Latin American Inequality. Five

Centuries of Latin American Inequality, 3-11. Retrieved from

http://scholar.harvard.edu/files/jwilliamson/files/fivecenturiesoflainequality.pdf

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