Mexico reduces illiteracy, but challenges remain
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In Chiapas, Mexico, Education Secretary Mario Delgado announced a historic drop in illiteracy to 3.8 percent of the population aged 15 and older.
This represents progress from 4.1 percent in 2024 and 4.7 percent in 2020, and a considerable improvement from the 9.5 percent reported at the start of the century. Delgado framed literacy as an act of justice and a key component of the government’s focus on helping the poor. However, this achievement masks a continuing problem.
With a total population of around 134.4 million, the 3.8 percent illiteracy rate still means over 3.8 million adults and adolescents in Mexico lack basic reading and writing skills, limiting their opportunities for expression, critical thinking, and full participation in society. The announcement is therefore seen as bittersweet, calling for further action to completely eliminate illiteracy. The remaining illiteracy is concentrated among poor women and in socially disadvantaged areas like Chiapas, Guerrero, and Oaxaca.
Addressing this requires tailored strategies, as illiteracy rates vary significantly even between neighboring states, for example, Puebla has 5.9 percent while Tlaxcala has 2.8 percent. Although not explicitly stated as a goal in national development plans, eliminating illiteracy could be a concrete objective, potentially incorporating nearly 4 million people into the world of literacy, and perhaps multiple languages.
The author points to Cuba, which alfabetized almost a million people in one year in 1961, as an example of what is possible.
