New Gas Stations Are Opening

moisheh wrote:
Dani3l: If you go the tink that I posted you will see that this Foundation is doing the things you mentioned. They work with children. Not only do they provide a hot breakfast for primary kids they teach: honesty, hygiene and much more. The kids get to go on a few trips to HMO. But as you stated the parents are hopeless. The men drink and chase women. The families have too many kids and something like 50 % of the men beat their wives when they come home drunk. But the people at the foundation persist. Hopefully the kids will turn out better than their parents. I am told that this "culture" is all over the West Coast. We stopped the Xmas food program as I felt the money could be spent on something better. The men would stop working 2 weeks before Xmas as they knew 40 lbs. of food was coming. But at least the children got a good meal.

Btw: One of today's paper had something about a 8% rise in the cost of fuel. Later in February the price will be adjusted whenever the world price of oil or the peso changes.

Moisheh

I will be the first to admit that there are some Good NGO's out there doing good work. And I really urge you to read Dark Star Safari. But I have seen first hand many many times, in fact on a regular basis the millions of dollars wasted by NGO's such as Save The Children.

I have watched as one day STC descended into a neighborhood in Cambodia, rounded up a bunch of kids, handed out T shirts and took a series of photos for their fundraising purposes. In the end they were portrayed as Orphans (Big business in SE Asia) To my knowledge all of the kids came from homes and families on that street. They were just glad to get a new T shirt.

And how does STC spend this money they raise from well meaning folks like you and others?

They had full color expensive coated paper NOTEPADS printed in Singapore and handed them out to virtually any business or person who wanted one. Oh yeah...on each page was a slogan related to Child Protection or how wonderful STC was. And their staff? They live in great homes and drive brand new Land rovers or Toyota Land Cruisers and make very good First World wages. (I dont begrudge them this but let's be honest about how the money is spent)

In my personal experience STC is like so many other NGO's very little of the money actually gets to those the givers think it will. Too many of them are there to promote a religious agenda or ideology most often Christian or some version thereof. In fact I have witnessed many times these NGO's insist that the people that need the help must first listen to the preaching before receiving any handout or help. And the pressure to give up their own religion is severe. I have seen this in Mexico on several occasions.

I say all of this so people will think twice and investigate thoughtfully any NGO that is asking for your money. Ask the hard questions.

America and Canada are made up of mostly generous caring people, unfortunately too many are naive about the developing world, NGO's and the huge global business of AID.

Never doubt that your trip with your RV to Mexico does good. The money you spend in Gas or Fuel, Food, Gifts, Staying in RV parks or campsites and all the other money you spend does help at the local level and improves lives. It increases employment, English literacy (a ticket to a better job almost everywhere)food security and upward mobility.

Go for sure and do not ever let some expat living off of his Social Security try to make you feel guilty because you are not part of the "culture" as he thinks he is.

Quick Google found these news items about gasoline prices.



http://www.excelsior.com.mx/nacional/2016/12/27/1136493


http://www.excelsior.com.mx/nacional/2017/01/05/1136526


http://www.animalpolitico.com/2017/01/compras-panico-colapsaron-gasolineras-alistan-protestas-alza-combustibles/


http://www.eluniversal.com.mx/articulo/cartera/tu-cartera/2017/01/2/los-aumentos-de-precios-que-llegaron-con-el-2017


http://elpais.com/especiales/2016/precio-gasolina-mexico-2017/



http://sipse.com/mexico/aumento-precio-gasolina-magna-salario-minimo-mexico-236879.html

News papers in Mexico City, I am currently living in Mexico City at my house that the wife and I own, not speculating just mentioned what every one in Mexico City knows, there is a couple of massive protests scheduled since I do care about them I do not have the exact date, I heard from my sister in law that one is for next Sunday she is post poning a visit with her sister, I have better things to do with my time.

navegator

navegator wrote:
I am not speculating, that was anounced in the news paper so if the price goes down great! if not ya nos fregamos otravez!

navegator

Any references would be appreciated.

You're right. It's part of the culture. I have thought about this all day. Daniel is correct. It's not with money. With your foundation, and I'm glad you no longer give handouts, why not offer scholarships for job training. Let's face it. A fisherman working a skiff alone is only sustenance income or day by day living. Technical training, learning how to repair things, tourism, etc. Scholarships to encourage kids to stay in secondary and high school. It's not a macho thing to go to school and that is cultural.

In most cases, money isn't needed for the above. It's guidance that cannot come from the home unless the parents have education.

As I stated several years ago, my SO was working on and is now finished with his PhD in Education. His dissertation was on dropout rates in high schools. In all 1000 surveys in seven states we visited, the end result was lack of interest not economics.

Let's face it. Day to day living in rural and coastal communities in Mexico is still viable and that's why it continues to this day. Here in my community people live, and fairly well, by selling chile del monte, peyote in season, cabrito, and home grown vegetables. They collect leña for cooking and heating. Most kids finish secondary and that´s about it.

Look at the southeastern states of the U.S. Pretty much the same.

Dani3l: If you go the tink that I posted you will see that this Foundation is doing the things you mentioned. They work with children. Not only do they provide a hot breakfast for primary kids they teach: honesty, hygiene and much more. The kids get to go on a few trips to HMO. But as you stated the parents are hopeless. The men drink and chase women. The families have too many kids and something like 50 % of the men beat their wives when they come home drunk. But the people at the foundation persist. Hopefully the kids will turn out better than their parents. I am told that this "culture" is all over the West Coast. We stopped the Xmas food program as I felt the money could be spent on something better. The men would stop working 2 weeks before Xmas as they knew 40 lbs. of food was coming. But at least the children got a good meal.

Btw: One of today's paper had something about a 8% rise in the cost of fuel. Later in February the price will be adjusted whenever the world price of oil or the peso changes.

Moisheh

I am not speculating, that was anounced in the news paper so if the price goes down great! if not ya nos fregamos otravez!

navegator

moisheh wrote:
Daniele: Please tell me just what in that quote you posted is outdated. I see the poverty every day and work with organizations that are trying to make change. For 7 years I ran a charity that provided food for the needy every Xmas. Some of those people live in cardboard shacks with no running water. Kids and dogs everywhere. They get next to no help from DIF. So my posts are based on what I see in my Mexico. There are hundreds of villages along the coast that are the same. This is in sharp contrast to the wealth that prevails in many large cities. There is more than one Mexico! So just what is outdated in my post?
Foundation


Moisheh

Let me explain: after my service during Vietnam in the USAF I joined the Peace Corps and was sent to West Africa, after my PC tour I worked for USAID designing appropriate technology for developing economies. I have lived in truly poor countries that make Mexico look like Switzerland including Egypt, Cambodia and Nigeria to say nothing of Sierra Leone, Senegal and Liberia.

I know poverty well probably much better than you. And I can tell you without a doubt that you could go to any of those countries and empty out your entire bank account on some poor beggar in the street and it would have absolutely ZERO effect on the problem.

The problems of poverty are structural at a very deep level and some are in fact cultural. I came to the conclusion long ago that the money that is spent by tourists, whether they are driving RV's or flying in is one of the most important factors in raising the standard of living for so many in truly poor countries.

Further there is nothing that irritates me more than the expats who claim the moral high ground because they "live" in a place that is poor and smugly think they are better than the tourist or the visitor.

Read Paul Theroux's book Dark Star Safari for a real look at this issue.

The way to cure the issues of poverty is to create jobs. I did that with my businesses overseas. And in one country alone my one hundred employees were conservatively speaking, supporting 400 people. With the good salaries they EARNED by working for me. They didnt do it with handouts.

So please do not lecture me on poverty in the developing world. It is good that your intentions are in the right place but I think as far as Mexico goes you are a bit out of date overall.

moisheh wrote:
But if as you wrote the increase is a good thing then Mexicans will have no need to hold rallies. They will be joyous that they cannot afford to drive their cars. Do not hold your breath waiting for gasoline to drop in price!

Moisheh

You don't get out much, do you?

But if as you wrote the increase is a good thing then Mexicans will have no need to hold rallies. They will be joyous that they cannot afford to drive their cars. Do not hold your breath waiting for gasoline to drop in price!

Moisheh