The poverty is a violation of human rights and the affected people must be considered at the center of the design and implementation of public policies, he said. Javier Becerril García, researcher at the Faculty of Economics of the Autonomous University of Yucatán.
Today commemorates the International Day for the Eradication of Poverty to make this problem visible.
In Yucatán the figures are alarming, said the Uady researcher.
He 26.6% of the population (approximately 634 thousand people) lives in multidimensional poverty situation y 3.6% (around 85 thousand people) in extreme povertyaccording to the National Institute of Statistics and Geography (Inegi).
Furthermore, high labor informality still persists as the most important obstacle to achieving a more effective reduction in poverty, despite the progress that has been made to reduce this problem.
The problem of labor informality, which affects more than 50% of the population employed, It is a quite complicated barrier to reduce the situation that affects numerous families in the state.
Informal employment, in addition to lacking social security, such as access to health services so necessary in a pandemic, is associated with lower income; That is, they are more likely to be in a situation of working poverty, the organization explained. Mexico, how are we doing?
This growing group is made up of social scientists, mostly economists, who since 2014 have constituted a non-profit organization.
The group’s purpose is to promote sustained economic growth in order to generate more and better jobs.
Although significant progress has been made in reducing poverty in Yucatán in recent years, structural challenges persist that limit faster and more sustained progress.
Based on the 2022 poverty and evaluation report of the National Council for the Evaluation of Social Development Policy (Coneval) and Inegi, programs focused on areas such as food, health, housing and social security are key to these improvements.
However, it was highlighted that high labor informality affects more than 50% of the employed population and continues to be the main barrier to a more effective reduction in poverty.
Low salaries
Informality, however, translates into low salaries and lack of access to benefits, which prevents many families from overcoming poverty, despite economic growth, said México, como Vamos?, which states that in the second quarter of 2025 it reached 58.6%.
The contrast between the economic growth of Mérida and the persistence of poverty in its police stations and municipalities in the interior is notable. While the state capital shows dynamics that generate formal employment and better income, police stations and rural areas face conditions of informal employment, educational backwardness and lack of access to basic services.
The data reveal that, although public policies achieved historic reductions in poverty and extreme poverty in Yucatán, There are still significant challenges that must be addressed.
These include promoting the formalization of employment and the creation of decent jobs.
Although Yucatán is making notable progress in the fight against poverty, labor informality and inequality continue to be important obstacles that require immediate attention. The policies implemented have proven to be effective, but it is necessary to continue working to guarantee that the benefits of economic growth are distributed equitably among the population, Becerril García pointed out.
The researcher emphasized the need to reflect on the issue of poverty, and the requirement for effective participation of those who face deprivation to guide evidence-based solutions.
“Unfortunately in Mexico, and Yucatán is no exception, direct transfer programs such as Becas Bienestar generate dependency in people, instead of solving the underlying problem and promoting human capital, skills and the generation of employment in the well-paid formal sector.”
He also indicated that recent data reveal that in 2024, 29.6% of the population in Mexico (approximately 38.5 million people) lives in multidimensional poverty, while 5.3% (7 million) is in extreme poverty.
Becerril García stressed that the high labor informality, which is around 56.6% in Yucatán, is one of the main barriers to poverty reduction.
Likewise, the researcher warned about concern for the health of Yucatecans, citing that the effectiveness in reducing the poverty is “partial”, since some dimensions are overcomesuch as income, but failed in crucial areas such as health and education.
“Mexico has renounced the PISA test, which is worrying because the situation of our children and young people is not being adequately evaluated,” he added.
Regarding subsidy programs such as Sembrando Vida, Becerril García considered that they present light and dark points.
“Although there is progress in agricultural production, implementations are heterogeneous and unsustainable, and the dependence on toxic agrochemicals is alarming,” he stated.
The interviewee called for applying effective public policies that focus on the generation of formal employment and increasing productivity, which would help achieve the goal of “zero extreme poverty” by 2030.
“It is essential to avoid the ‘scrap of Yucatecan food’ and guarantee that citizens have access to healthy eating, in addition to establishing school food programs at all educational levels,” he said.
Becerril García highlighted the urgency of a comprehensive approach to eradicate poverty in Yucatán, emphasizing the importance of integrating direct transfers with productive and labor strategies that are measurable and evaluable.
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