Mexico's Wealth Gap: Ultra-Rich vs. Working Class

0:00It's March 13th. Here's your Sydney news in two minutes. A new report highlights Mexico's Stark-Welfth Gap, where the top 1 percent controls 40 percent of the country's riches. The nation's 22 billionaires have doubled their fortunes over the last five years, hitting a record $219 billion. Combined, this inequality has deep roots, stretching back centuries, with the ultra-wealthy polling further ahead amid global trends. Let's call it unbelievably entrenched, as the rich isolate themselves and gated enclaves away from everyday public services. In Mexico City neighborhoods like Santa Lucía Ria Camotto, the divide hits home. Working class families live in modest homes, squeezed between luxury towers and secure communities, where residents sell goods just to eat in face. Rising crime after dark. On a brighter note, recent policies made a dent. Under the previous president, poverty fell for 13.4 million people, nearly 26 percent, thanks to big minimum wage hikes.

1:02Extreme poverty also dropped from 9 million to 7 million, the lowest inequality since 2006. Still, the chasm remains wide. Locals appreciate jobs from fancy developments, but cherish their community traditions over isolated luxuries, underscoring how the rich and poor, worlds rarely mix. This story is shared with support from our sponsor. Some chase peace. I put my head in it, S-O-L-I-S-O-L-P-L-O dot com.