Mexico

Underdeveloped Latin America, Africa, and the Orient share common if not identical problems: great rural poverty, unbalanced economies favoring urban minorities, concentration of land in the hands of an elite, ethnic and language difficulties, widespread illiteracy, and ancient traditions that make change difficult. Long before the Orient and Africa had stirred, a social revolution swept Mexico- The Constitution of 1917 sanctioned major changes through laws covering land ownership, foreign investors, the church, and labor. But with the rural masses demanding a better life, one of the most essential reforms was in public education. Since 1921, Mexico has built thousands of schools in isolated villages; millions of Mexicans attend them. The census of 1960 reported that more Mexicans were able to read and write than ever before. There are, nonetheless, more illiterates than in 1921 and more children out of school than ever in Mexican history. The birth rate is rising faster than the literacy rate; the battle against ignorance and poverty is not won. Mexico: The Challenge of Poverty and Illiteracy is a reappraisal of Mexico's struggle to achieve social and economic progress through public education, particularly in the rural areas.