VZCZCXRO1236
PP RUEHCD RUEHGD RUEHHO RUEHMC RUEHNG RUEHNL RUEHRD RUEHRS RUEHTM
DE RUEHME #1300/01 1202049
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 292049Z APR 08
FM AMEMBASSY MEXICO
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 1645
INFO RUEHXC/ALL US CONSULATES IN MEXICO COLLECTIVE
RHEHNSC/NSC WASHINGTON DC
RHMFIUU/CDR USSOUTHCOM MIAMI FL
RHMFIUU/CDR USNORTHCOM
RUEHC/DEPT OF LABOR WASHINGTON DC
RUCPDOC/DEPT OF COMMERCE WASHINGTON DC
RUEATRS/DEPT OF TREASURY WASHINGTON DC

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 MEXICO 001300 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR A/S SHANNON 
STATE FOR WHA/MEX, WHA/EPSC, EB/IFD/OMA 
STATE FOR EB/ESC MCMANUS AND IZZO 
USDOC FOR 4320/ITA/MAC/WH/ONAFTA/GERI WORD 
TREASURY FOR IA (LUYEN TRAN, RACHEL JARPE) 
NSC FOR RICHARD MILES, DAN FISK 
STATE PASS TO USTR (EISSENSTAT/MELLE) 
STATE PASS TO FEDERAL RESERVE (ANDREA RAFFO) 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: ECON ELAB EFIN EINT ETRD MX
SUBJECT: MEXICAN PRESIDENT ANNOUNCES STRATEGY TO COMBAT 
POVERTY 
 
¶1. (U) SUMMARY:  President Felipe Calderon on April 28 
announced a new strategy to tackle poverty and social 
inequalities in Mexico called "Vivir Mejor" ("To Live 
Better").  This strategy serves as an umbrella for 
coordinating and improving existing social programs.  On the 
positive side, this strategy puts more emphasis on reaching 
out to the "very poor" who are not currently helped by 
existing programs.  Apart from this point, the strategy 
mostly entails expanding and repackaging existing social 
programs.  While Calderon,s goal of eliminating food-based 
poverty over the medium term is laudable, it is a very 
ambitious goal given Mexico,s low tax base and the fact that 
the 14.4 million people who live in extreme poverty are 
widely dispersed throughout a large country with poor 
transportation infrastructure and still-developing 
institutions.  END SUMMARY. 
 
¶2. (U) President Felipe Calderon on April 28 announced a new 
strategy to tackle poverty and social inequalities in Mexico 
called "Vivir Mejor" ("To Live Better").  This strategy will 
serve as an umbrella for coordinating and improving existing 
social programs.  With "Vivir Mejor," the administration 
seeks to eliminate extreme poverty over the medium term and 
redouble efforts to alleviate urban poverty.  (Note: 
Officials from Presidencia told Emboffs earlier this month 
that Calderon's goal is to eliminate food-based poverty in 
Mexico by 2030.  Currently, 14.4 million Mexicans, 13.8% of 
the population, do not earn enough to meet basic nutritional 
needs.  End Note.)  Calderon said Vivir Mejor was created 
under the premise that the market cannot generate the 
conditions needed to bring people out of extreme poverty 
without some government assistance.  He remarked that the 
strategy is not populist, paternalistic, or a form of charity 
since it was created to tackle the root causes of poverty, 
not just the effects of poverty. 
 
¶3. (U) Vivir Mejor has four key points of action: 
 
--  The creation of a program to feed those that live in the 
most marginalized parts of the country called "Food Program 
for Marginalized Areas."  This program will cover Mexicans 
who live in areas so remote that they do not receive any aid 
from the government, not even from Oportunidades, Mexico's 
principal anti-poverty program.  In its first stage, this 
program will help 150,000 poor families. 
 
--  Vivir Mejor aims to improve human capital by expanding 
the availability of medical services, educational 
opportunities, housing, and basic utilities such as water and 
electricity.  Several existing programs, including 
Oportunidades and those that provide benefits to the elderly, 
will be strengthened.  The government plans to guarantee 
medical treatment for all Mexicans under the age of 18 who 
have cancer or are HIV positive; improve the infrastructure 
of educational facilities; and increase the number of public 
works projects in remote communities. 
 
--  The government will strengthen existing programs that 
protect the income and savings of families affected by 
natural disasters, accidents, and sickness. 
 
--  The fourth action item is to link social and economic 
policies so both are more efficient. 
 
¶4. (SBU) To accomplish these goals, Calderon said the 
government will have to maintain macroeconomic stability to 
achieve sustained economic growth while avoiding crises and 
high inflation.  He added that it is essential for Mexico to 
invest in its people so they have opportunities for a better 
education and well-paying jobs.  Calderon also stressed the 
need to develop job skills, increase the number of daycare 
centers so more women can join the labor force, and protect 
the environment since it is closely linked to human 
development. 
 
 
MEXICO 00001300  002 OF 002 
 
 
------- 
Comment 
------- 
 
¶5. (SBU) Calderon is clearly trying to do a better job of 
marketing what his government is doing to combat poverty. 
The GOM is trying to sell Vivir Mejor as a new initiative -- 
when it is mostly an expansion and repackaging of existing 
programs.  It offers little in terms of new efforts.  For 
this reason, it is not surprising that some members of the 
Party of the Democratic Revolution and the Institutional 
Revolutionary Party have described it as a ploy for electoral 
purposes.  If one separates this strategy from existing 
social programs, Vivir Mejor will only yield tangible 
benefits for Mexico's poor if the government -- the 
Secretariat of Social Development in particular -- follows up 
 
SIPDIS 
to make sure progress is being made on improving existing 
programs and if the GOM really makes an effort to improve 
conditions for Mexico's most marginalized households. 
 
¶6. (SBU) While Calderon's goal of eliminated food-based 
poverty over the medium term is laudable, expanding social 
programs to reach over 14 million poor people that are 
geographically widely dispersed throughout a large country 
with poor transportation infrastructure and still-developing 
institutions would challenge any government.  This challenge 
is particularly tough in Mexico, where tax evasion remains 
the favorite national sport after soccer.  End Comment. 
Visit Mexico City's Classified Web Site at 
http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/wha/mexicocity and the North American 
Partnership Blog at http://www.intelink.gov/communities/state/nap / 
GARZA