Civic Congress to Mark Fourth Year of Government
 Suzanne Stephens Waller - Presidencia de la República
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November 29, 2010
| | (Presidencia de la República) | |
Mexico City - President Felipe Calderón led the Citizen’s Meeting to mark the fourth year of government, in which he detailed the ten major changes carried out by the democratic governments from 2000 to 2010, which enables Mexicans today to live better. These include health, education, social development, poverty reduction, equal opportunities, infrastructure, economy, environment, public security and democracy.
During his speech at Mexico City's National Auditorium, the President declared that the period from 2000 to 2010 will go down in history as the decade of health and the humane governments that created Popular Insurance.
He said that in 2000, only 47 million people had medical coverage whereas today, over 93 million Mexicans are protected. In one decade, democratic governments have equaled what was done throughout the 20th century.
In education, he explained that today, 1 out of 3 students is able to continue his studies as a result of a Federal Government grant. Moreover, today, two and a half times more resources are assigned to grants than in 2000, which support 7 million young people and 1 out of 3 Higher Education spheres were opened during this decade.
In Social Development, he said that in the year 2000, the Progresa program covered 2.5 million families, whereas nowadays, Oportunidades supports 6.5 million families while during the past decade, financial assistance for the poorest families tripled.
Food consumption has increased by 22% while child malnutrition has been reduced by over 50%. Over the past 10 years, the federal budget to support the development of indigenous peoples has tripled.
During the past decade, the proportion of the population living in extreme poverty was reduced by 25% and in just 4 years, 9 more times public daycare centers have been created than throughout the whole of the 20th century.
Over the past 10 years, one out of four dwellings have been financed, with more dwellings being financed during this decade than all those existing in the Federal District and the state of Mexico.
The president stated that investment in infrastructure has tripled from 200 to 600 billion pesos while investment in PEMEX is four times higher than it was a decade ago.
The economy is stronger than it was in the 1980s, when purchasing power was halved, and in the 1990s, when it fell by 35%, since during this decade, Mexico has grown by nearly 4%.
During the 1995 crisis, nearly 50% of Mexicans were unable to pay their mortgages and 1 out of 10 jobs were lost. During the international crisis of 2009, 96% of the population was able to pay its mortgages and only 2 out of 100 jobs were lost, which have now been totally recovered.
This year, nearly 900,000 net new jobs have been created. This is one of the highest employment figures in history.
As for the environment, the President said that this year, the smallest forest loss in decades was achieved, whereas during the previous decade, 355,000 hectares were lost unlike today, when far less than half of Mexico’s forests have been lost.
In 2000, only 23% of wastewater was treated, a figure that has now doubled thanks to the 400 treatment plants. In 2012, 60% of the country's wastewater will be treated.
For the first time ever, Mexico is dealing firmly with the scourge of crime, as a result of which Federal Government will not rest until Mexico is free of the cancer of organized crime.
He added that in the past, government controlled the media whereas nowadays, there is freedom of expression.
He ended by saying that 10 years ago, with the strength of citizens' votes, the old authoritarian structure, which existed throughout the 20th century, was dismantled, as a result of which there are now far more Mexicans who wish to regard this land as the fair, orderly, generous country it was meant to be.
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