Mexican bandit

The Economist highlighted that Basilio Gonzalez is an “unusually well paid civil servant”. He earns $213,000 a year, which is not bad for a 70 year old. What catches the eye is that his job is President of the National Minimum Salary Commission.

Over his 23 year tenure in that role the minimum wage has dropped by 43% (to 66 pesos or $5 a day), significantly below the poverty line, meaning a typical recipient would have to work for 116 years to equal Senor Gonzalez’s annual pay. It is an indictment of Mexico’s press and institutions that this holdover from a bygone era lingers.