Culture is valued differently according to each country, and its people’s beliefs, although it is not always clear how one could measure this. According to Ernesto Piedras, in his book “¿What is the value of Culture? Economic Contribution of Copyright Protected Industries” the value of culture considers activities which are developed upon artistic and literary original creations, which are subject to copyright. Ernesto Piedras implies that cultural industries are by themselves, a sector of economic activity that shares similar characteristics to other economic activity sectors.

Although Mexico is known for its cultural heritage around the world, culture is sometimes not given the importance that it really has based on its contribution to the economy. This shows how culture is esteemed in the country. Cultural industries in Mexico, which will be shortly explained, have an above the average value when compared to the rest of the world. This sector is of great economic importance given its contribution to GDP, high productivity and, ultimately, to the extent that provides the country with competitive advantages in commercial interaction with the rest of the world.

To perform this study, Piedras followed the guidelines of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), which classifies the companies into five main categories, namely:

a) Base Industry: press and literature, music, film and video, radio and television, photography, visual and graphic arts, advertising and collective societies
b) Independent Industry: TV sets, radios, VCRs, CD players, DVD players, video games and similar devices, computers and equipment, musical instruments, photographic and cinematographic instruments, photocopiers and paper
c) Partly related industries: textiles clothing and shoes, jewelry, other types of art, furniture designs collection for music in nightclubs and discos, design of household goods, china and glassware collection for music in bars and restaurants, architecture, engineering and interior design museums
d) Not engaged Industries: wholesale and retail, general transport, libraries, and internet
e) Illegal and informal economy Industries: production and sale of works of art without registration, production and marketing of illegal discs, videos and books, printing and marketing illegal posters, pictures and photographs and public communication unregistered music.

It is important to note that WIPO takes into account both the legal and illegal economic spillover, which allows to realistically approach the actual value of culture in a country.

Mexico, in a comparison with 12 countries, holds the third place on the list on the value of cultural industries in relation to the total GDP of the country, just below the United Kingdom and United States, both with 8 per cent contribution to GDP. Mexico´s cultural industries contribute 6.5 per cent of GDP, while the average in Latin America, including Brazil, is just over 3 per cent. Spain’s contribution of culture to the GDP is about 4 per cent, below Mexico.

In some cases, like in Mexico, culture had more weight in the country’s GDP than the construction sector, with 5 per cent or telecommunications, with 4.2 per cent.

So we must ask ourselves, what are we telling ourselves about the cultural impact and level of the country? What do figures tell us about the actual level of Mexico’s culture? We must learn to see Mexico as the country it really is, allowing us to acknowledge it and its people in a powerful way.

Mexico has made strides in the last 10 years on diminishing teenage pregnancies. A study by the Swedish doctor and researcher Hans Rosling, with data from the World Bank’s World Development Indicators Online, shows how in Mexico teenage pregnancies rate per thousand women aged 15 to 19, has significantly lowered.

Today, there are 65.84 pregnancies per thousand teen women, while in 1996, 77.8 were observed; twelve teen pregnancies less per every thousand women each year.

Overall, Latin America has still high rates of teenage pregnancy. Moreover, according to Rosling, the Americas has high rates compared with the rest of the developed world. Of course, there are differences within the continent. Brazil, for example, is far from Mexican standards, with a teenage pregnancy rate of 89.36 per thousand inhabitants. On the other hand, Chile and Argentina have lower rates than Mexico with 60 and 57.7 respectively.

What’s interesting here to observe is the velocity with which these figures have moved lately. Particularly in Mexico, it has had a significant improvement in the last ten years compared with other countries. Spain, for example, a country with a higher per capita income has had an increase in teen pregnancies by 1.47 in the last decade. On the other hand, in LatinAmerica, Brazil rates are exactly the same as nine years ago, no advance whatsoever. With a fertility rate of 89 pregnancies per thousand women, Brazil has 37% more teen pregnancies than Mexico.

Apart from countries differences, this figure is not easily modified and seems to be related not only to the country’s income level. Evidence to support this is the relatively high rate of pregnancies that the United States has when compared to England. The United States has 34% more income per capita than England, and yet almost twice the number of teen pregnancies per thousand.

In general, according to Rosling, considering income levels, America as a continent, has a higher rate of teenage pregnancy than Europe. Africa has rates that surpass the 200 teen pregnancies per thousand women.

As a country, Mexico has definitely improved and there is still room for improvement. However, mexico is definitely on the right way, along a path that presents great challenges for all countries.

Clearly, Mexico has a teenage fertility rate that is closer to first world than to that of developing, and continues to improve. Why then do we insist that Mexico is a country comparable to the BRIC group, with the third world? Mexico is doing the job and obtaining first tier results on efforts challenging to all, developed and developing countries. This is how the OECD lives Mexico, this is how other countries live Mexico and this is what statistics show. Begin to aknowledge where Mexico really is standing and live it that way!

The global financial crisis of 2008-2009 has had a significant impact in all countries and, in particular, most levels of economic growth and employment have been significantly affected.

In the case of Mexico, given the close commercial link with the U.S. due to NAFTA, the effects of the mortgage crisis resulted in a lower level of exports and employment. The commercial link between the two countries is so great that the contraction of the U.S. economy impacted an economic decrease for Mexico by 6.5 per cent. This contraction rate has not been seen since 1932, and it is the result of both the contraction of imports, consumption and tourism, and the dramatic rise in inflation. Mexico’s growth decline was the third highest in a comparative list of more than 180 countries.

However, when we look at employment figures, surprisingly, Mexico has had quite a reasonable behavior. In 2009, employment in Mexico behaved significantly better than in most OECD countries. The Mexican economy observed an unemployment rate of 5.5 per cent in 2009, while the OECD average was 8.3 per cent. Only five of the OECD countries (Netherlands, Korea, Switzerland, Austria and Japan) had unemployment rates lower than Mexico. Obviously, when comparing ourselves with the emerging BRIC countries, only China, with a 4.2 per cent rate, has a marginally lower level of unemployment.

Mexico has been through several financial crises in the last decades, and though this last global one has been by far, the greatest since the great Depression of 1930, it is the one that has least impacted our employment level. While the economy shrank by 6.5 per cent, unemployment has only fallen in less than half point. Furthermore, in the case of youth employment, we can see that Mexico has been one of the countries that have dealt with this in the best manner. Even though youth unemployment rate has decreased since 2007 as a result of the financial crisis it is now at 8 per cent, compared with the world average of 13 per cent.

Moreover, if we compare with ourselves with our 90s situation, unemployment levels are lower today. In the 1995 crisis, we had an unemployment rate of 8 per cent while the general rate today is 5.5 per cent.

We should also have in mind, that Mexican migration has had a net decrease in recent years. According to INEGI figures, net migration shows a downward trend, which means that Mexico expels fewer persons from the country as time goes on. This index has declined from 5.4 people per thousand inhabitants who left the country in 2007, to 1.4 per thousand in 2010.

Fewer Mexicans leave the country, and yet employment has been relatively protected during this period of global crisis. Mexico appears to be a safer place to keep a job.

The obvious question is then, why do we perceive that the situation is tough unemployment figures are significantly lower? Why are there so many questions about whether migration is drastically reduced? What are we not seeing about employment? Acknowledging ourselves is the first step, to powerfully see what is missing and how we can make a difference.

In recent months the debate about violence in Mexico has heated up significantly. Most news channels have been giving a broad coverage on the facts of crime, which are usually focused on the issue of combating organized crime.

When it comes to human lifes, it is always difficult to speak coldly about figures. But when we need to know what really is going on, in terms of crime, we can do nothing but refer to them.

The indicator which measures the violence in a country is the number of violent deaths per 100,000 people. This indicator has the advantage of allowing us to compare figures between countries with different population sizes.

This indicator is highly reliable and comparable between countries of the world, since in all countries it is necessary to produce death certificates to account for a death caused for any reason whatsoever. In the case of violent deaths, there is no possibility that this indicator, unlike others, observe significant levels of sub report because violent deaths are registred by law in all countries.

According the available indicators, Mexico as a country has a general level of 13.3 violent deaths per 100.00 inhabitants, making it one of the safest countries in Latin America. Levels in Argentina, Brazil and Venezuela surprised us since they are at high as 16.8, 36.7 and 44.9 deaths per 100,000 population, respectively. Brazil and Venezuela are two and almost three times more violent than Mexico, respectively.

Moreover, if we compare this indicator with some U.S. cities we will see that our country is much better than we would expect to imagine. Comparing Mexico to Washington DC, New Orleans or Detroit the difference is very big, violence is a tangible problem in those cities. And without going too far, Mexico City has 9.8 violent deaths per 100,000 people, far below of other major cities like Houston, with 12.5, Phoenix, witn 12.6, and Los Angeles, with 17.1. It is true that there is a big problem in Ciudad Juarez and three other municipalities, which altogether sum up to more than 50% of violent deaths in Mexico. The rest of the 2,396 municipalities which form the country have relatively low violence levels.

According to figures provided by the government of Mexico, the battle against organized crime has caused 24,826 violent deaths in the last four years. As it is continuosly said, inside and outside the country, it has turned Mexico in an extremely dangerous country to live. A country that sadly some have said is in “civil war” and that is a “failed state.” This is definitely not true.

Although a number like 24,826 seems pretty high, it is time to put it in context. This number represents a little over 6,000 deaths per year on average. Each year, 20,000 people die in Mexico in road accidents and more than 50,000 because of diabetes. If we look at violent deaths to compare, in the U.S. 6,000 veterans commit suicide every year. So, during the same period, the same amount of persons have died as a consecuence of the U.S. post-war trauma, as the war on drugs in Mexico.

And while there is some exposure about this phenomenon in the U.S. media, it does not reach the same exposure as in Mexico. Here we are in a frenzy of daily information that the only thing it communicates is the presence of violence. Our conversations with family, friends, office, restaurants, are all about violence. We enrol ourselves and enrol others, including foreigners, in the idea that violence in Mexicohas reached unsuspected levels. And there’s no evidence to support that. It is only our perception. We find ourselves filtering and searching all events and news, looking for those that speak of violence. And likewise, those are the news we speak about. It is a conversation, just a conversation.

This has affected the levels of tourism, investment and economic prospects for the country, and it is not supported by real figures, data and facts, it is only a perception. The good news is that we have the power to change that perception. It just takes to take a look at the data and facts.

Ultimately, the best way to combat any violence is to leave the fear that is generating this behind and doing something that makes us confident. Enrol ourselves and enrol others with the fact that violence stops us, it paralyzes us. What would be possible if we focus on facts anda data to make us and others see that we can be responsible for creating an environment to grow and prosper instead of creating a violent space with our everyday conversations? You have this power, do it for north America and in the end you will be doing something positive for yourself and for others.

A recent internet study has shown that internet use varies by country. For instance, in Asia, the use of the internet is in a social manner, while in the West the Internet is considered more as a tool to publish ideas and make public personal point of views.

In general, BRIC and other developing countries are the countries that demonstrate more use of the internet, although for different purposes. For example, in Asia, about 45% of Internet users write some kind of blog, but this is considered to be in a more familiar way such as to keep in touch with the family rather than for other purposes. However, in Western countries -where less than 15% of internet users have admitted to write a blog- the blog is used as a means to publish or disclose a point of view.

Out of all internet users in Mexico, over 54% of Internet users have said they use social networks to upload photos and/or videos. Among them only 15% say they use micro-blogs (i.e. twitter), which represents a percentage similar to that of Brazil, and well above the United States. In our country there is still a very important area of opportunity for micro blogging. However, Mexico has a big portion of internet users who write a blog. About 30% of Mexicans who use internet have written in some kind of blog, while in the United States and Brazil, only about 12% and 20% respectively have written a blog.

An interesting phenomenon is that the use of the internet in developing countries is much better distributed than in developed countries. This means that users in developing countries use internet tools in a much more even way. This may be the case because when the Internet started being used in developed countries there was a much more limited tool supply which made it harder to adopt the technology while nowadays there is a greater variety of user friendly services and technologies. It seems that this trend will go on.

We have seen that users in BRIC and other developing countries use the web in a much more diverse way. What would be possible if developing countries used the internet in a manner that improved communication between them? What would happen if in countries like Mexico and the USA, who have a lot of users who do write blogs, used these blogs to promote powerful contexts and the wellbeing of their citizens?

The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) was founded in 1945 with the aim of contributing peace and security to the world through education, science, culture and communications. The Convention concerning the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage was founded in 1972 merging from two separate movements, the first focusing on the preservation of cultural sites, and the other dealing with the conservation of nature.

Every year the UNESCO publishes the World Heritage List, which lists objects (such as a forest, mountain, lake, desert, monument, building, complex, or city) that is listed by UNESCO as of special cultural or physical significance. The list is a catalogue of sites of outstanding cultural or natural importance to the common heritage of humanity.

In the 2010 classification, Mexico is ranked on top six along with Spain, France, Italy, Germany and China out of the 148 countries participating in the UNESCO list, followed by the United Kingdom and India, with 28 and 27, respectively. Of these 29, only four are natural heritage, so the 25 remaining are cultural heritage –not natural beauty-, which speaks of the worldwide importance of Mexican culture. However, when it comes to the Americas Mexico has the honor of being on with more objects that any other country are considered heritage for humanity.

In the list of objects that are considered heritage for humanity in Mexico we can point out the historic centers of cities such as Morelia, Puebla, Zacatecas and Guanajuato, as well as impressive Mexico City with its Aztec-Spanish unique cultural syncretism. Even though San Miguel de Allende, still remains a small town, it is considered an important heritage to humanity because of the wealth of its colonial art. More recently we can find the Agave Landscape and Ancient Industrial Facilities of Tequila, another small town in western Mexico, home of Mexico’s most famous liquor and one of the most popular in the world.

We can also find pre-Hispanic cities such as Teotihuacan, founded by the Mexicas, Chichen Itza and Palenque from the Mayan culture and El Tajin, from the Olmec culture. Likewise, more contemporary buildings, such as Hospicio Cabañas or the main campus of the Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico (UNAM), are also considered to be of great importance and cultural value, and that for, world heritage.

Mexico´s cultural legacy to the world is, and has been, unique, powerful, and unmatched. The vast and outstanding contribution to architecture and the profound influence that its people have had with universal culture, in pre-Hispanic, colonial or present times, is an example of what Mexico is all about today. This is Mexico´s legacy to the world.

Mexico, according to a study by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), is in fifth place in the proportion of individuals who read newspapers on the Internet for private purposes, just below Korea, Norway, Iceland and Japan, of all the 31 OECD members list.

This finding goes along with the data that inform us that the circulation of “traditional” newspaper has fallen, implying a further decline in advertising revenue. In the study “The Evolution of News and the Internet” of the OECD, it is also mentioned that both the decrease in traditional newspaper readers, such as increased use of electronic means to that end, is directly proportional.

Although Mexico is still lagging behind compared to other OECD countries in terms of broadband connections and Internet access, we can see that the use of these resources is high. The number of readers of recently printed newspapers (for the day or day before) tells us that in Mexico readers fell from 36% to 34%. On the other hand, and as mentioned before, Mexico is among the first places in the world where the population uses internet to read the news, with 60% of users reported using the internet to download or watch any news, above the United States and Finland, both with 57%, as well as Sweden with 45% .

One very interesting data from this study is that reveals that most Internet users are young people, which could increase the number of electronic media usage significantly. According to the OECD study, “The reading of print newspapers is usually lower among young people, who tend to attribute less importance to these media, however print newspapers still have a future.”

It is necessary to increase the capacity and infrastructure in technology in Mexico to achieve leadership. This contrasts with our perception about Mexico, that we are not able to adapt and conceive technology as part of our daily lives. This is a perfect example of how technology can be used to close gaps, in this case, information.

Talking about taxes is always a difficult issue. In fact hardly anyone likes to think about paying them. However, according to a KPMG study, Mexico is a country where the tax burden is relatively low compared with other Western countries. In a study of 10 developed countries, including France, Japan, Italy, Germany, United States, the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, Holland and Mexico and the result is that Mexico is the country with the lowest load of taxes in terms of corporate taxes.

A lower tax rate compared to other countries results in a direct benefit to the country’s economy. It becomes a competitive advantage, since it encourages direct investment in the country, and this always translates directly into new job sources for Mexicans.

Mexico has the lowest Total Tax Rate (TTR) in all countries studied, with a score of 59.9. This means that Mexico’s tax rates are 40.1% lower than those in the U.S., which is the country with the highest rate of all countries studied, with a TTR of 100.

It is true that in Mexico there is a widespread complaint about the application of taxes, and on equality with which we split the payment thereof, but the reality is that Mexico has a tax scheme very accessible to its citizens and investors. In fact, Mexico is a tax haven. The study shows that taxes in Mexico are not as high as they might seem. Our revenue as a percentage of GDP amounts to 11% when the Latin American average is 18%, according to United Nation´s Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (CEPAL).

This clearly is advantageous. However, the cost of having such low levels of collection is that it reduces opportunities to allocate public resources to meet needs of different population groups and to strengthen social policies and human development. Moreover, in the case of Mexico, the government compensates for the low recovery with the proceeds from the revenues from the national oil company.

It is important to note that the Government of Mexico makes an effort not to raise tax rates to be at the level of other developed countries, much less emulate our northern neighbors. In fact, taxes are not a way in which the government exploits us or gives luxuries to public officials.

In fact, Mexico has the lowest government spending measured as a percentage of GDP of all Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) country members. This comparison shows that Mexico has a low tax collection and is possible to run the required government structure and functions with that budget.

What would it be possible if instead of complaining about the high taxes and collection, we realize that we are fortunate to have to pay low rates? What would be possible if everyone of us cooperates with our taxes to support the government in developing our country´s needs?

In recent weeks, a tense atmosphere on the issue of border security with the adoption of SB1070 and the recent murders of Mexican citizens at the hands of U.S. immigration police has arrived.

This is due mainly to the idea we have that the observed violence In Mexico as a consequence of the war on drugs, could have a spillover effect across the border. U.S. governors of border states have demonstrated their concerns and sent to President Obama a letter asking for support and requesting the dispatching of 6,000 military elements.

However, according to a recent study by the FBI, the top four big cities in America with the lowest rates of violent crime are all in border states. San Diego, Phoenix, El Paso and Austin among the safest regions of the US. moreover, only 3% of the active border policemen suffer from some sort of attack, while 11% of policeman in the rest of the USA do.

The idea of a threat of violence crossing boundaries and getting into the U.S. has gained popularity among governors of border states, but according to Lloyd Easterling, a spokesman for U.S. border police, “The border is more secure now than it has ever been.”

According to Arturo Saruhkan, Mexican ambassador to the U.S., reports from the border are almost always one sided, and do not reflect what actually can happen at the border. Saruhkan said that “the effect of transfer of violence from Mexico to the United States does not exist”. In fact, most cartels operating in the border are not controlled by Mexican drug trafficking, and have been established there for a long time now.

Although governments in border states have requested support from the federal government to combat violence, statistics show that not only has it not been increasing, but has decreased, and the border states are among the safest in the U.S. A 2009 FBI crime report indicates that crime in Arizona has fallen. Violent crime in border towns has dropped by more than 30% and out of the 25 largest cities in the United States, San Diego, where one in four residents is an immigrant, has the lowest rate of violent crime.

In fact, according to data from a 2009 report by the World Health Organization (WHO), Mexico is much less violent than what is publicly perceived, even despite the fight against organized crime. Mexico is the fourth safest country in Latin America. Furthermore, the U.S. ranks # 42 in murders per 100,000 inhabitants, while Mexico is ranked 52 in the same list.

Border state governors have no solid foundations to have this fear. In fact, according to Martha Sanchez, a reporter from the Associated Press. in the U.S. it is safer to be a border police than a police in any city across the country. The figures speak for themselves. How would you perceive the violence if you would focus only on data and facts, and you drop your interpretation? How would others perceive Mexico? The power is ours.

Imagine a country where your future did not depend on where you come from, how much your family earns, what color your skin is, or whether you are male or female. Imagine if personal circumstances, those over which you have no control or responsibility, were irrelevant to your opportunities, and to your children’s opportunities. And imagine now a statistical tool that can help governments make that a reality. Welcome to the World Bank Human Opportunity Index (HOI).

The HOI calculates how personal circumstances (like birthplace, wealth, race or gender) impact a child’s probability of accessing the services that are necessary to succeed in life, like timely education, running water or connection to electricity. The HOI runs from zero to 100; a society that has achieved universal coverage of all services would score at 100.

The good news is that all LatinAmerican countries have raised their HOI in the last decade and a half, some quite rapidly. The great news is the fastest improvement occurred in Mexico during the last 15 years. The top performers in the 2010 report are:

1.Chile- 95
2.Uruguay-92
3.México-90

This means that Mexico has been leveling the playing field year by year and making chances much more equal for all Mexicans. These data and facts really contrast with some of the interpretations and stories we make up to disempower us. It is all about recognizing ourselves for our actions.

On behalf of all these children born in a much more even playing field let’s recognize ourselves for what has taken us to reach that place, for our commitment, generosity, and our passion to do things.

Imagine what else is possible for Mexico if we keep taking responsibility and causing what we want…