Out of 108 nations on UNESCO's index of reading, Mexico ranks second to last. Mexicans read an average of 2.8 books a year, and only 2 percent of the population has the lifelong habit of reading, while in Spain people read 7.5 books a year and in Germany it is twelve.

In Mexico there is only one library per 15,000 inhabitants and a bookstore for every 200,000, according to the National Reading Survey of 2012, cited by the Senate upon forming a commission to promote this activity. In contrast, 41 percent of the population spends their free time watching television, the Survey says, while less than 12 percent spend it reading.

Among young people 12-17 years old, 30 percent say they do not like reading, 61 percent say that they "don't have time." On International Book Day - April 23rd - senators also warned that reading by the general population in Mexico declined from 54.6 percent in 2006 to 46 percent last year, which is to say that less than half of the population reads. Forty-eight percent say they have "never even entered a library."

The coordinators of the Political Coordination Committee also warned that the activity of reading is the only one that can improve the education and civic training of Mexicans. The Commission for the Promotion of Reading will consist of one senator from each political party and will focus on activities throughout this Legislature.