As Violence Spreads in Mexico, Philanthropy Lags

Mexico has one of the lowest giving rates among the world’s big economies, a circumstance researchers and advocates say exacerbates the government’s failure to effectively combat poverty and rampant drug violence, writes The Washington Post.

With the world’s 13th largest economy, Mexico ranks near the bottom of the 34-nation Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development in charity. While it has grown in recent years, philanthropy amounts to about 0.18 percent of gross domestic product, according to one expert’s calculation.

While informal charity is widespread, researchers say it does not build the kind of civil society that can pressure the government to do more for the poor or supplement government’s work. With about one-third the population of the United States, Mexico has less than one-half of 1 percent of the number of tax-exempt charities and few grant-making institutions.

In addition, corporations and wealthy and middle-class individuals are loathe to give publicly for fear of extortion and kidnapping by drug gangs.