AUT: English Chiapas al Dia 162 I

[CIEPAC <ciepac@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

ENGLISH VERSION OF "CHIAPAS AL DIA" BULLETIN No. 162
CIEPAC
CHIAPAS, MEXICO
(July 17, 1999)

ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL RIGHTS IN CHIAPAS
WORK AND WAGES (I/II)


A compilation of economic information, carried out by CIEPAC over the last
few months, verifies the backward condition of Chiapas.  It is interesting
that the greatest part of the information confirming this disadvantage
comes from official sources.  But, as could be expected, all the
information is not clear, convincing or precise.  It is often just the
opposite:  confusing, tampered with, and ambiguous, as we shall see further
on.

We shall begin with a few basic economic figures concerning the performance
of the GNP.  In 1997, Chiapas recorded a Gross Domestic Product of 52
billion pesos (versus 3.2 trillion pesos in the country), with a real
growth of 4.2% from 1996 to 1997 (the national median was 7%), a per capita
GDP of 15.5 million pesos (33.5 in Mexico), the equivalent of $1962
(compared with $4233 per capita nationally).

That is, Chiapas produced barely 1.6% of the GNP in 1997, and it had a
growth rate that was 40% less than the national rate and less than half the
per capita national GNP.

A de-industrialization of the economy can be observed in Chiapas, as well
as nationally.  The small contribution of the Chiapaneco manufacturing
industry to the state GDP represented 6.6% in 1985, and it fell to 6.2% in
1993.  The decline in the manufacturing sector was more marked at the
national level:  from 27% in 1988, it fell to 20.1% in 1993.  These figures
confirm that nationally, as well as in the state of Chiapas, the
manufacturing sector has lost strength since the structural adjustment
policies - also known as neo-liberal policies - began in 1982 (and with
more momentum beginning in 1985).  It should be remembered that
manufacturers have been the foundation of every "leap forward" by all the
countries that are now developed.  No country that is now developed has
ever, in the history of the world, been able to achieve modernization of
their economy based on the primary sector (agricultural and mining) or on
the tertiary sector (services).  This is true of the countries that
achieved the category of developed nations in the last century, as well as
in this century, including the "Asian tigers," that is, Japan, South Korea
and Taiwan.

Distribution of GNP Throughout Mexico

							1988		1993
Agriculture			 			7.9%		6.8%
Mining				 			3.3%		1.8%
Manufacturing		  	 			 27%	          20.1%
Transportation, Storage and Communication		7.6%		9.7%
Financial Services, Insurance and Real Estate	7.9%	          14.5%
Community, Social and Personal services	          15.3%	          20.8%


Distribution of GDP in Chiapas

						1985		1988		1993
Agriculture					29.7%		19.7%		18.4%
Mining						     7%		  4.9%   	  2.1%
Manufacturing					  6.6%		10.3%		  6.2%
Transportation, Storage and
	Communication			  4.0%		 3.9%		  6.4%
Financial Services, Insurance and
	Real Estate				  5.5%		  7.2%		 17.8%
Community, Social and Personal
	Services				11.2%		13.9%		19.9%

Here we can clearly see one of the most serious structural problems in
Mexico and in Chiapas, which have been repeated in many parts of the world.
 As traditional sectors, such as agriculture and mining, have been losing
strength within the economy, and therefore their ability to generate jobs:
where are people able to go in search of employment?  It has traditionally
been manufacturing.  This is what occurred in the first country to benefit
from the Industrial Revolution of the 18th century - England - and so it
has been in all the countries that are now considered to be developed.  The
unemployed masses from the countryside and the mines could find refuge in
the cities, thanks to the vitality of the manufacturing sector.

Now, however, history is not repeating itself.  The importance of
manufacturing within the GNP has been slowly declining (in Chiapas) or
plummeting (in Mexico).  This sector has not been creating enough jobs to
employ young persons entering the labor force every year, nor for people
displaced from agriculture and mining.

As demonstrated by the previous figures, it is the service sector that is
occupying a more prominent place in the GNP.  Unfortunately, however, this
does not mean that they are generating the jobs needed in Chiapas and in
the country.  On the contrary, it has been demonstrated that the service
sector is creating proportionately fewer jobs than other sectors, per
dollar invested in them.  In addition, the jobs that are being created are
for persons with a relatively high level of education.  For a country such
as Mexico - with a surplus of relatively unskilled labor - and even more so
in Chiapas - the numbers suggest only one thing:  there will be more
unemployment over the mid and long term.

Now, for those (few) persons who do find employment in the formal sector
(that is, with a company, institution or established business), we see a
tendency for a drop in salaries, nationally as well as at the state level,
but even more markedly in Chiapas, as we see in the following table:

				Employed Population 1995	Employed Population 1996
Income Groups		National	State		National	State

Not Receiving Income	11.6%		19.2%		 14.6%	            30.0%
Less than Minimum Salary	*		37.4%		 19.5%		35.7%
1-2 Minimum Salaries		48.9%*	20.1%		 31.5%		17.7%
2-5 Minimum Salaries		25.2%		12.4%		 24.0%		10.8%
5+ Minimum Salaries		  9.6%		  4.5%		  6.9%		  3.0%
Not Specified			  4.7%		  6.4%		  3.5%		  2.8%
TOTAL			 100%		 100%		 100%		 100%
Source:  Chiapas Statistical Guide, Treasury Department of Chiapas, 1998
* covers the range from less than 1 minimum salary to 2 minimum salaries

Several interesting figures emerge from this table.  In 1995, at the
national level, 60.5% of the population had an income of less then two
minimum salaries.  During the same year in Chiapas, the corresponding
figure was almost 66%.  The following year, in 1996, the corresponding
figures are 66% nationally, and an incredible 83% in Chiapas, with the
state leading in marginalization rates.  Note in particular the increase in
the percentage of persons in Chiapas who are supposedly "employed," but who
do not receive any income:  from 19.2% in 1995, to 30.0% in 1996, that is,
a 50% increase in just one year.

The tendency is clear both nationally and in Chiapas.  More and more people
receiving less income.  The minimum salaries in Mexico are currently:  for
Zone "A" (which includes Mexico City): 34.45 pesos per day (US$3.63), and
for Zone "C" (which includes Chiapas):  29.50 pesos per day (US$3.13).
This daily wage in Chiapas is equal to 4 liters of milk a day, to 1 kilo of
cheese, to 2 kilos of eggs, to 2 liters of oil, to a kilo and a half of
chicken, to 2 kilos of detergent, or to transportation from a town in Los
Altos to San Cristobal de Las Casas.

To put it in other terms, 17.5% of the population in Chiapas earn between
US$3.13 and US$6.25.  35.7% earn less than US$3.13 per day, and 30% of the
population earn nothing at all.

The absurdity of not only the reality of the majority of Chiapanecos - but
also of the official figures - does not end here.  According to the
National Institute of Geographic and Computer Statistics (INEGI), in "Women
in Chiapas, 1995," in Chiapas - where 26% of the population above the age
of 15 is illiterate, according to official sources, and where there is a
high rate of malnutrition, poverty, marginalization and disadvantage -
women have income equal to, or greater than, the men:

Distribution of Employed Population by Sex and Income Level, 1990:

					Men		Women
Without income			20.3%		10.6%
Less than 1 Minimum Salary		40.6%		35.5%
1-2 Minimum Salaries			20.6%		24.7%
More than 2 and less than 3		  7.0%		14.0%
3-5 Minimum Salaries			  3.9%		  5.3%
More than 5 Minimum Salaries	  3.6%		  3.3%

This apparent contradiction can be explained by looking at the figures of
the most recent census at the municipal level in Chiapas (1990).  There, in
a state mostly rural and disadvantaged, the majority of the women state
that they are "not economically active" (or it is stated for them, because
many times their spouses answer the surveys for them).  That is, a man who
works in the fields declares himself to be economically active, while a
woman who does that - and other domestic work - due to the way in which her
role in generating income has been traditionally conceived - is
characterized as being "inactive."

And so the universe of "economically active" women is drastically reduced
in a state such as Chiapas, in comparison with the universe of men in the
same category.  And, for obvious reasons, those that are there would be
women from the cities, who have a much higher level of education than do
women in the country, with jobs that could, in effect, pay one, two or
three minimum salaries.  And so the percentage of women earning more than
the minimum salary would be greater than that of men:  the universe of the
men polled is larger, and it includes more men in the rural areas, where
income is relatively lower.

In the International Pact of Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (PIDESC),
the member states of the Pact, such as Mexico, committed themselves to
presenting periodic reports to the Economic and Social Council - the
primary coordinating body for economic and social work of the United
Nations and of those specialized bodies and institutions that make up the
"United Nations System."  Among the responsibilities of those bodies is
examining international economic and social problems of a world-wide or
interdisciplinary nature;  formulating economic, social, cultural,
educational, public health and related recommendations;  and holding
consultations with non-governmental organizations that are concerned with
those issues heard by the council.

In Article 6 of the PIDESC, the Right to Work, it states:  "1. -  The
States Party to the present Pact recognize the right to work, which
includes the right of all persons to have the opportunity to earn a living
through work that is freely chosen and accepted, and they will take
adequate steps to guarantee this right."  It adds:  "2. -  Among the
measures that each one of the States Party to this Pact will have to adopt
in order to achieve the complete effectiveness of this right, should be:
professional technical guidance and training, the preparation of programs,
regulations and techniques designed to achieve a continual economic, social
and cultural development and the full and productive occupation - under
conditions that guarantee fundamental political and economic freedom - of
the human person."

Meanwhile, Article 7 of the PIDESC, on the Right to equitable working
conditions, states that:  "The States Party to the present Pact recognize
the right of all persons to enjoy equitable and satisfactory working
conditions that especially ensure:  a)  Remuneration that minimally
provides all workers with:  i)  An equitable salary, equal to work of equal
value, without any kind of distinction;  in particular, it should ensure
women working conditions no less than those of men, with equal wages for
equal work;  ii)  Dignified conditions of existence for them and for their
families, in accordance with the regulations of the present Pact;  b)
Security and hygiene in the workplace;  c)  Equal opportunity for everyone
to be promoted, within their work, to the higher category that corresponds
to them, with no considerations other than the factors of length of service
and ability;  d)  Breaks, the enjoyment of free time, a reasonable
limitation of working hours and regular paid vacations, as well as
remuneration for holidays."

And thus official figures have to make do as best they can, because the
accounts are tallied from the heights of a country which wishes to be
baptized as "first world," by NAFTA or by the Organization for Economic
Development Cooperation (OCDE). Only 29 countries belong to the latter, the
exclusive club of the world's wealthiest.

Chiapas could not be further away from all that.  And, if we continue to
dig around in the official figures, we will find more surprises.  According
to the Chiapas Government Report 1996-1998 -as regards authorized public
expenditures - in the municipality and capital of the state, Tuxtla
Gutierrez, current spending reached 76.56%, and direct investment was only
23.43%;  while direct investment was 46.5% in San Cristobal de Las Casas.
The results in the poorest municipalities, however, were different:  3.4%
of current expenditures in Amatenango del Valle, 5.5% in Chenalho, 3% in
San Andres, 7.7% in La Trinitaria, 5.2% in Salto de Agua and, to draw your
attention, 21% of current spending in Tila, a municipality equally poor,
but overrun with police forces, soldiers and alleged paramilitaries,
accused of receiving public monies, such as those in which the former head
of the VII Military Region, General Renan Castillo, acted as honor witness.

Note:  Some of the figures mentioned here come from a research project
carried out by CIEPAC and supported by the Convergence of Civil
Organizations for Democracy, under their program for Indicators of
Economic, Social and Cultural Development project.

Gustavo Castro
Miguel Pickard

Center   of   Economic   and    Political    Investigations   of  Community
 Action,   A.C. (CIEPAC)

CIEPAC, member of CONVERGENCIA (Convergence of Civil Organizations for
Democracy) and RMALC (Mexican Action Network on Free Trade).

******************************************
Translated by irlandesa for CIEPAC, A.C.
******************************************

Note:  If you use this information, cite the source and our email address.
We are grateful to the persons and institutions who have given us their
comments on these Bulletins.  CIEPAC, A.C. is a non-government and
non-profit organization, and your support is necessary for us to be able to
continue offering you this news and analysis service.  If you would like to
contribute, in any amount, we would infinitely appreciate your sending to
the bank account in the name of:

CIEPAC, A.C.
Bank:  BANCOMER
Bank Account Number:  1003458-8
Branch:  437
San Cristobal de las Casas, Chiapas, Mexico.
Thanks!

Note:  If you wish to be placed on a list to receive this English version
of the Bulletin, or the Spanish, or both, please direct a request to the
e-mail address shown below.  Indicate whether you wish to receive the email
or the "attached file" (Word 7 for Windows 95) version.

Email:                                    ciepac@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx

VISIT OUR NEW WEB SITE:   http://www.ciepac.org/

(Visit us:  We have new maps on the situation in Chiapas)

_________________________________________________________________________

CIEPAC, A.C.
Center for Economic and Political Investigations of Political Action
Eje Vial Uno Numero 11
Col. Jardines de Vista Hermosa
29297 San Cristobal, Chiapas, MEXICO

Telephone/Fax:	In Mexico:	01 967 85832
          Outside Mexico:      +52 967 85832

_____________________________________________________________________
CIEPAC, A.C.
Centro de Investigaciones Económicas y Políticas de Acción Comunitaria
Eje Vial Uno Número 11
Col. Jardines de Vista Hermosa
29297 San Cristóbal, Chiapas, MEXICO

Tel/Fax:	en México	01 967 85832
		fuera de México	+52 967 85832
Página Web:	www.ciepac.org
________________________________________________________________________


     --- from list aut-op-sy@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx ---