Wealth Threatens Democracy in Latin America, According to Oxfam: Mexico's Outlook

Latin Americans is approaching the combined Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of Chile and Peru. This phenomenon, far from being a mere statistical anecdote, reflects an economic model that concentrates income, influence, and opportunities, while broad sectors of the population face precarity, inflation, and insufficient public services.

Billionaires, Power, and Democracy at Risk: Oxfam

Oxfam emphasizes that the problem is not merely the existence of vast fortunes, but the speed and conditions under which they grow. Since November 2024, global billionaire wealth has increased at a rate three times faster than the average of the last five years. This surge coincides with shifts in fiscal, regulatory, and labor policies that have disproportionately favored capital.

In a global context where approximately 3,000 individuals hold fortunes exceeding a billion dollars, the contrast is stark: just 12 men possess more wealth than the 4 billion people comprising the poorer half of the planet. For Oxfam, this extreme disparity is not neutral, as it translates into an increasing capacity for economic elites to influence—and in some cases capture—public decision-making.

The report Against the Empire of the Richest introduces a revealing fact: individuals with fortunes exceeding a billion dollars are 4,000 times more likely to hold public office than an average citizen. This overrepresentation of the ultra-rich in positions of power constitutes, according to the organization, a form of institutional control that erodes democratic plurality.

During her participation in the World Economic Forum, Gloria García-Parra, Oxfam’s regional director for Latin America and the Caribbean, warned that the historical record achieved by fortunes in 2025 is “undermining political freedom” and deepening structural gaps already characteristic of the region.

Record Number of Billionaires in Latin America

Oxfam’s diagnosis indicates that Latin America and the Caribbean are experiencing an unprecedented boom in the number and wealth of their billionaires. Currently, the region has 109 individuals with fortunes exceeding a billion dollars, 14 more than in 2024.

Some key data from the report are: -The total wealth of these billionaires amounts to approximately 622 billion dollars. -Since the year 2000, this capital has increased by 443%. -In the last year alone, growth was 39%, a rate 16 times greater than regional economic growth.

Mexico: One of the Countries with the Highest Wealth Concentration

Within this regional panorama, Mexico stands out for its level of concentration. One in five billionaires in Latin America is Mexican. In total, 22 ultra-rich individuals concentrate approximately 219 billion dollars, representing over a third of the total wealth of the region’s billionaires.

The organization highlights the Mexican fiscal framework, noting the absence of wealth or inheritance taxes. Furthermore, the tax system taxes labor up to three times more than capital gains. In addition, large fortunes practically do not change hands, and when they do, “they only change names, but not surnames.”

This design, Oxfam warns, perpetuates intergenerational inequality and limits the state’s capacity to finance public policies aimed at social welfare, health, education, and infrastructure.

Economic Power and Direct Access to Politics

The report also analyzes the mechanisms through which large fortunes gain direct access to political power. In Mexico’s case, the creation of the Business Advisory Council is mentioned as a space for privileged dialogue between the government and a small group of business leaders.

According to Oxfam, the participation of figures such as Carlos Slim and Ricardo Salinas Pliego in these spaces institutionalizes the relationship between economic power and political power, creating asymmetries in public decision-making.

The document also refers to local cases of tax benefits associated with politically influential actors, such as the waiving of 971.8 million pesos in property taxes in the municipality of Colón, linked to a political figure with significant economic connections. For the organization, these examples illustrate how wealth concentration facilitates formal and informal channels of state influence.

Media, Exclusion, and Public Narrative

Another central axis of Oxfam’s analysis is the role of media in contexts of high inequality. When media outlets are controlled by billionaires, the report indicates, they tend to systematically neglect the interests of the most vulnerable sectors.

In Latin America: -Only 3% of people appearing in the news are indigenous. -Barely one in five people mentioned is a woman. This underrepresentation reinforces social and political exclusion, while consolidating narratives aligned with the interests of economic elites.

Meanwhile, Oxfam’s report extends its analysis to the technological sphere. Elon Musk’s purchase of Twitter (X) is highlighted as a turning point in the use of digital platforms as tools of political and social influence.

Following the acquisition, the study documents a 500% increase in posts with racist, misogynistic, and transphobic content. Also, the platform’s use by security forces in countries like Kenya to identify and locate government-critical protesters.

Furthermore, Oxfam warns about concentration in the artificial intelligence sector, as three companies control approximately 90% of the generative AI chatbot market. This grants them an unprecedented capacity to shape information flows, narratives, and public debates on a global scale.

Can Inequality Be Reversed?

Despite the starkness of the diagnosis, Oxfam concludes its report with a proactive perspective. The organization maintains that extreme wealth concentration is not inevitable and can be reversed through a new fiscal and democratic pact.

Among its main recommendations are: -Implement taxes on large fortunes and inheritances. -Strengthen the regulation of lobbying and political financing. -Establish stricter controls over algorithms and digital platforms. -Incentivize citizen participation through social organizations, unions, and community networks.

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