This research examines the evolution and underlying mechanisms of the gender wage gap among Mexican professionals, comparing STEM and Non-STEM university graduates over a 21-year period (2005-2025). Data from the National Survey of Occupation and Employment (ENOE) were analyzed using the Oaxaca-Blinder decomposition technique, corrected for self-selection arising from the employment decision. The findings reveal that the gender wage gap is larger and to the disadvantage of women in the STEM sector, while in the Non-STEM sector, the difference remains slightly in favor of women. The evidence strongly suggests that, in scientific and technological fields, wage inequality does not originate in observable human capital differences, but rather in a structural differential valuation of women’s skills and competencies. This differential valuation likely reflects mechanisms of implicit discrimination operating in highly specialized occupations.
This article discusses agricultural changes and the dynamics of contemporary land grabbing in Chile between 2007 and 2021. This case study provides a good example for analyzing, from national and subnational perspectives, what is happening in other geographical areas of Latin America. Based on descriptive statistical techniques and a review of specialized materials on the subject, the results suggest that contemporary agricultural changes in Chile are determined by global demand for primary products, where control of land has shifted from remote regions with so-called “unproductive lands” to areas of high value for the production of food and non-food products such as fruit growing and forestry. Companies promote forms of land control at the subnational level, but also at the intraregional level. The forms of land grabbing are varied, including acquisitions, traditional land purchase procedures, or leases to reduce investment risks. One of the most important dynamics is the increase in land acquisition for the production and export of cherries in recent years, making it one of the food products of greatest interest to the Chilean economy. Therefore, in view of the increased demand for land associated with this and other products, it will be important to consider the creation of explicit public policies to regulate land grabbing, otherwise social gaps and the precariousness of life in the most vulnerable rural sectors may increase.
In the context of labor precarization within higher education institutions in Latin America, psychological distress and workplace bullying emerge as significant psychosocial risks that impact the well-being of university staff. In this scenario, self-esteem functions as a key protective resource for mental health preservation. The objectives of this study were: (1) to analyze the relationship between self-esteem, psychological distress, and workplace bullying; (2) to assess the influence of sociodemographic variables and psychosocial risks on self-esteem; and (3) to determine their causal effect and predictive capacity. This was a cross-sectional quantitative study involving 400 university employees in Puerto Vallarta, Jalisco, Mexico. Pearson correlation analyses, binary logistic regression, and linear regression were conducted. Results indicated that psychological distress had a negative and significant correlation with self-esteem and was the only significant predictor in both regression models. Although workplace bullying was correlated with both psychological distress and self-esteem, it did not directly predict self-esteem. Additionally, sociodemographic variables did not show statistically significant effects on self-esteem. It is concluded that psychological distress is the main factor associated with and predictive of self-esteem among university personnel. Therefore, it is recommended to implement programs focused on preventing and addressing psychological distress, as well as strategies for emotional support and the promotion of healthy work environments,
The objective of this research is to analyze water consumption in the primary sector in Mexico. To this end, using an economic and ecological accounting analysis and the series of annual matrices from 2003 to 2018 from the INEGI's Experimental Statistics Program, the direct and indirect water consumption of the primary sector is quantified from an agri-food chain perspective. By 2018, primary sector products destined to satisfy final demand (fresh, unprocessed foods) accounted for 53% of the total water consumed directly in the production of this sector; while products for final consumption in the manufacturing industry (processed foods), by requiring intermediate inputs from the primary sector, represented 45% of the water consumed directly in the production of this sector. The food industry represents the largest indirect consumer of water in the manufacturing sector. The amount of water incorporated into the final products of this sector remained unchanged during the period 2003-2018. In contrast, the water incorporated in unprocessed fresh products intended mainly for external markets (exports) has increased.
Since 2006, Mexico has experienced several cycles of criminal violence at the subnational level that have affected different actors and social groups. Among the many forms of violence in the country, the disappearance of persons is an extreme and repeated practice to which institutional responses have been insufficient. In this context, the state of Veracruz has repeatedly ranked among the entities with the highest number of reported cases. Faced with this human rights crisis, search groups for missing persons have become central actors in the struggle for memory, truth, and justice. This article aims to reflect on some of the practices carried out by the Orizaba-Cordoba Collective of Families of the Disappeared, with a special focus on the first ritual of healing dolls (small cloth figures made from the clothes of the disappeared) that are given to the mothers, sisters, and wives of the collective. The analysis is grounded on emotion theory, discourse studies, and a model of interaction rituals. From a qualitative methodology with an ethnographic approach and critical discourse analysis, the article shows how, in these types of processes marked by loss and pain, these interaction rituals enable the actors to reconfigure their emotions, strengthen emotional bonds and moral commitments, and generate the emotional energy necessary to sustain the search for their loved ones.
