Globalization: Mexicans Become More and More Connected to the Global World

During a recent trip to see some ancient Mayan cities in Chiapas, we traveled by boat on the Usumacinta River, the border with Guatemala, the only way to reach the site of Yaxchilán. The jungle was all around, with few indications of human inhabitants or modern life. (We did note that the boat was powered by a Yamaha motor.) Then the boatman pulled out his cell phone and began chatting in Mayan to his buddies somewhere up the river. A cell tower rose on the river bank. 


In line with this, we recently came across some interesting statistics on how Mexicans (and Latin Americans) are increasingly becoming connected to the global communications network. 

A recent Mexican poll found that 38.9 million Mexicans - 36% of the population - use computers and 32.8 million (29%) have access to the Internet, out of 112 million people. Only 22.9% of households have their own Internet connection, but the number grew 23% between 2009 and 2010. In the wealthier parts of Mexico, such as Mexico City and the northern border states, 43% of households have computers. In poorer, southern states, such as Chiapas and Oaxaca, only 14% do.

In a recent speech on Public Diplomacy and Social Media in Latin America, Judith A. McHale, U.S. Under Secretary of State for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs noted that "On average, 89 percent of people in Latin American and Caribbean have a mobile phone."