In 2013, Mexico performed below average on each OECD educational test, yet invested the same mean amount of money as other OECD countries in their educational system. However, 90% of Mexico’s budget encompasses wage expenditures. Much of this money is funnelled to teachers who are one hundred years old and to ‘phantom’ schools which don’t exist. In an effort to curb this rampant corruption, President Enrique Peña Nieto put forth a three-part education reform bill which mandates that teachers keep their jobs based on students’ and teachers’ performance on new standardized tests. While corruption in Mexico’s education system is a serious problem, President Nieto’s dishonest execution of reform hasn’t resonated well with the public, and produced
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Media support, for instance, was crucial towards gaining popular support. Media broadcasts would often include Mexico’s below-par OECD test scores to shame the public into supporting education reform. In fact, Mexicanos Primeros, an organization supported by Mexico’s wealthiest companies and individuals such as Carlos Slim and Carlos Hank pays millions annually to ‘inform’ the public about these scores. The president of Mexicanos Primeros is the co-founder of the Televisa Foundation which was a deciding factor when determining the last three presidential races in Mexico. Televisa, the only television network in Mexico aside from Universal, advocates for standardized testing and merit-based pay for teachers. According to Ashley E. Sherry, a political scientist at the University of Massachusetts who conducted extensive fieldwork in Mexico, “PRI has censored media and used security forces to silence dissident voice” in regards to educational reform. Moreover, the media was reported to unequally cover injuries of police and teachers never reporting on teacher injuries, but framing teachers as violent towards police officers. All of this bad rep towards the CNTE teachers union and publicity towards education reform in general allowed Nieto to create a “silent majority” of supporters of education reform in general allowing him to pass education reform with little visible …show more content…
David Bacon, a political scientist and author of the award winning Illegal People, points out how it was forced aired first in the World Bank and speculated that it was probably financed in part by the United States through. He reasons that Mexico’s push for educational reform is largely due to international forces such as OECD, the US, and other developing countries’ models of education such as South Korea or
Media support, for instance, was crucial towards gaining popular support. Media broadcasts would often include Mexico’s below-par OECD test scores to shame the public into supporting education reform. In fact, Mexicanos Primeros, an organization supported by Mexico’s wealthiest companies and individuals such as Carlos Slim and Carlos Hank pays millions annually to ‘inform’ the public about these scores. The president of Mexicanos Primeros is the co-founder of the Televisa Foundation which was a deciding factor when determining the last three presidential races in Mexico. Televisa, the only television network in Mexico aside from Universal, advocates for standardized testing and merit-based pay for teachers. According to Ashley E. Sherry, a political scientist at the University of Massachusetts who conducted extensive fieldwork in Mexico, “PRI has censored media and used security forces to silence dissident voice” in regards to educational reform. Moreover, the media was reported to unequally cover injuries of police and teachers never reporting on teacher injuries, but framing teachers as violent towards police officers. All of this bad rep towards the CNTE teachers union and publicity towards education reform in general allowed Nieto to create a “silent majority” of supporters of education reform in general allowing him to pass education reform with little visible …show more content…
David Bacon, a political scientist and author of the award winning Illegal People, points out how it was forced aired first in the World Bank and speculated that it was probably financed in part by the United States through. He reasons that Mexico’s push for educational reform is largely due to international forces such as OECD, the US, and other developing countries’ models of education such as South Korea or