Informal Workers Hit Hard as Inflation Fuels Poverty Diana Baptista - Thomson Reuters Foundation
go to original August 2, 2022

High Inflation and Material Shortages Fuel Food Insecurity in Mexico (CGTN America)

After 30 years of selling deep-fried fish empanadas on a stall outside a Mexico City market, record cooking oil and corn prices are threatening to put Angeles Cadena out of business.

"The situation is bad. Every week, little by little, the costs are increasing," Cadena, 45, told the Thomson Reuters Foundation. "It's actually becoming cheaper for me not to work in this anymore."

The conflict in Ukraine has hit global grains and fertilizer supplies, pushing the price of corn to a nine-year high in April and forcing Mexicans to cut back on staple snacks such as tacos and empanadas.

Vegetable oil prices in Mexico have increased by 23% during the last year, according to the latest data by the National Institute of Statistics and Geography, driving inflation that is running at a 21-year high of nearly 8%.

Most of Cadena's customers can no longer afford to eat her 23-peso ($1.10) empanadas, while her own family has had to cut down on meat.

"We are currently living day-to-day, eating nothing but beans. Everybody says a crisis is coming, and I feel very stressed and very sad. What is going to happen to us?" she said.

In a June report, the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) warned that 2.5 million people would fall into poverty in Mexico during 2022 due to rising inflation related to the COVID-19 pandemic and the conflict in Ukraine.

People working in the informal economy, who represent 55% of all Mexican workers, are particularly at risk of falling into poverty, according to the latest national employment survey.

Informal workers such as Cadena do not have health insurance, social security, or any kind of labor protection to help them weather tough economic times.

During the first three months of 2022 - even before a spike in global food prices, 39% of Mexicans could not afford the basic food basket, according to CONEVAL, an institute that measures poverty in the country.

Food insecurity has been a growing problem in Mexico since the pandemic. Between 2019 and 2021, 26% of the population suffered from moderate or severe food insecurity, according to a recent report by the United Nations' Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO).

Read the rest at Thomson Reuters Foundation

Related: 17 of 24 Basic Products Have Risen in Price Despite Anti-inflation Strategy (Mexico News Daily)

Related: Inflation and the Possibility of a Recession Have Fundraisers Worried (Philanthropy.com)

Related: Inflation Risks in Mexico Remain on Rise, Says Central Bank (Macau Business)

Related: War in Ukraine Could Help Drive Mexico’s Inflation to 10%, Economist Warns (Mexico News Daily)

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