As Mexicans risk their lives to illegally emigrate to the USA and Yet in places such as this tourist town that caters to the burgeoning middle class outside Mexico City, many Mexicans say their future looks brighter than it has in generations.
On weekends, a line of Chevrolet hatchbacks and other inexpensive new cars snakes into parking lots at the town’s water-slide parks. There, tourists munch on $2 corn dogs, snap pictures with digital cameras and spend some of their modest incomes. Every year, their numbers grow, the town’s tourism department says. And every year, they have a little more to spend.
“The last five or six years have been good for Mexico,” says Crescenciano Montiel, 34, manager of the Valle Paraiso water park. “Little by little, things have improved.”
Such stories abound, involving Mexicans of all income levels. The Mexican economy is growing steadily, and poverty rates are declining significantly. Crime is down, public health and education levels are improving, and Mexico’s democracy is more robust than at any time in its history.
