I also want to thank you for the post - it’s strange to think of a Mexican upper class for some reason - I’ve not been in Mexico, I’m sort of aware of the cronyism - but, to think that there is discrimination and a ‘class’ system in Mexico is something new to me. I’m now betting that you have made the point and discovered the problem. Mexicans really need to deal with this in their country.
Mexico has some extremely wealthy elite people who feel they have earned that right by birth and no one else is entitled to gain status or wealth. They do a great job at protecting their status- no mingling of classes or marrying up in Mexico. The system doesn’t even force the rich to contribute to the infastructure- the rich keep all their money to spend, the majority of taxes they do pay go into the pockets of other elite (corrupt gov’t officials). Spending the money on infastructure would create jobs for the poor that would allow them to get ahead. That is why Mexico appears to be a poor country. Mexico is not a poor country; they have an abundance of natural resources- they just refuse to do anything that might upset their class structure.
This is why all efforts on the part of the U.S. to help Mexico have failed miserably. The elite simply pocket the money or take other resources we give them. When we attempt to help the poor in Mexico we are only further lining the pockets of the rich- there is no trickle down in Mexico, everything is closely held at the top.
There are really only two classes in Mexico, the rich and the poor; their system does not allow for a middle class. Poor people in Mexico are really limited as to what they can do to gain status or wealth- realistically the only way they can gain wealth is through illegal activities- and they have to pay off and keep the elite happy or they can’t even do that. The system is very discriminatory and centers on racism- against the usually darker skinned Mestizo or mixed race people that make up the poor class. They simply do not care what happens to their poor- they can starve in the streets for all they care- that is why they encourage the poor to come to the U.S. it is an easy way for them to deal with their poor. By allowing illegals to come here we are only enabling the elite in Mexico- to keep their system the way they like it.