Mexico

As Mexico's most underdeveloped state, Chiapas faces the highest levels of inequality, poverty, and unemployment in the country. 

 

Challenges

According to the most recent statistics from Mexico’s National Institute for the Evaluation of Social Development (CONEVAL), national poverty rates in Mexico have risen to 46.2%.  Rural poverty in Mexico is concentrated in areas with large Indigenous populations, notably in its southern states. Chiapas is home to 12 federally recognized Indigenous groups and is also the poorest state in Mexico with levels of poverty close to 75%.

According to CONEVAL, six out of ten municipalities with the highest percentages of populations living in poverty are located in Chiapas, all with poverty rates over 96%. In the Municipality of San Juan Cancuc, one of the communities where Horizons works, 97.3% of the indigenous families live in poverty and extreme poverty rates are three times the national level. Farmers and their families struggle with chronic undernutrition and often do not have enough to eat.

The state of Chiapas has a significantly underdeveloped infrastructure compared to the rest of Mexico. The region lacks access to basic services such as health, education, sanitation and housing. Moreover, resources such as land, technology, education, and credit - which would enable small farmers to improve their productivity and income - are not readily accessible.

What We Do

Our partners in Mexico are grassroots organizations working directly with impoverished rural communities. They are experts who lead local projects to help their own communities:

  • Defend Indigenous peoples’ rights and strengthen community leadership,

  • Work with local farmers and cooperatives to gain a fair market price for produce,

  • Promote sustainable agriculture and environmental protection,

  • Empower women and combat gender-based violence.