preview

How Did The Economy Affect The Mexican Economy

Better Essays

Decades later, another series of events led to a new wave of feminists. In the 1970’s, Mexico became one of the world’s largest oil suppliers to the world market. International bankers made loans to Mexico, who promptly accepted them, but sooner than later the interest rates and debt rose to an uncontrollable point. Intending to boost the country's economy, the Lopez Portillo administration spent vast amounts of public spending on electricity generation, construction, the mining industry, and manufacturing. However, the country’s debt rose due to the US and other countries taking advantage of their large amounts of oil. The world oil market collapsed, and with it, the Mexican economy. In addition, an earthquake in 1985 killed almost …show more content…

Since husbands were away, the mothers became the heads of the family. Despite earning less than their male counterparts, women tended to invest their money in the needs of the household, rather than spending money for their own use. Without the male presence in the home, the families tended to be smaller, and the family income was distributed to fewer members. Therefore their family per capita was greater than when the men were in charge. The economic crisis of the 1980’s caused great harm to the Mexican economy, but had lasting beneficiary effects on gender equality.
Because many men often migrated to other parts of the country or bordering countries to find better work, the women were forced to join the workforce. Families assimilated to the lack of presence of women at home, generating creative strategies to continue on. 70% of households bought less food, clothing, shoes, etc. and spent less on transportation and food than prior to the economic crisis. There was a dramatic increase of women aged twenty to twenty-four in the workforce, rising by ten percent since prior to the crisis. However, some social customs still remained. While the men still in charge of families were able to eat the more expensive foods such as meat and eggs, female heads of the family ate less hearty, unhealthy food, which mainly consisted of beans, tortillas, fruits and

Get Access