The politics of science and the science of politics

Image Source: mexicoinstitute.wordpress.com

The campaign trail of the Mexican presidential elections wasn’t just a battleground for change. A new sense of progress seemed congruous to the national economy’s bullish image. One of the most adamant calls was for intellectual and scientific advancement, as figures have been revealing a drop in research spending.


In Latin America, Mexico used to get the points for scientific achievement. While at the vanguard of watershed researches on new anti-drug addiction vaccines and cleaning up oil spills, Mexico lost some sway as a scientific hotspot. Brain drain and weak investments killed off some of the potential.

Image Source: telegraph.co.uk

Intellectual curiosity and expectation greet the tenure of President Enrique Pena Nieto, who had vowed to restore Mexican science to its glory days. His administration promised the allotment of 1% of GDP to this end, in response to restless demand from the scientific community. No less than the Mexican Academy of Sciences and Mexican state universities are serving strategy documents on the President’s plate. The goals of these are mere logical outcomes of funding increase.


The graph here is a mathematical embarrassment. Showing its R&D spending values in proportion to GDP, the Mexican bar is looking peanuts next to the humongous allotments of other Latin American countries.

Image Source: cirugiadetorax.org

Despite the plateau, Mexican scientific activity is looking to reconfigure through the priorities of President Enrique Pena Nieto’s R&D platforms. Track the trajectory of the country’s achievements on this Facebook page.