A political economy of youth policy in Mexico

Abstract

This article discusses the recent adoption of a large-scale youth programme in Mexico. Political economy approaches offer a critical account of the institutional arrangements that have resulted in the emergence of specific educational, labour and, more recently, youth policies in the Latin American region. Studies of youth policies are still developing and are a multidisciplinary field. This article draws on various theoretical traditions from various fields, constituting a novel approach to studying these policies. This article combines empirical evidence drawn from interviews with policy stakeholders with the analysis of key policy documents. It employs a Cultural Political Economy (CPE) approach to explain the Mexican government’s adoption of the youth programme Jóvenes Construyendo el Futuro’ (JCF) in 2018, which provides paid on-the-job training to 2.3 million young people aged 18–29. The JCF’s adoption resulted from the rising to power of a left-wing political coalition presenting an anti-neoliberal alternative based on explicit notions of social justice and inclusion with a national development plan reminiscent of an inward-oriented development paradigm aimed at strengthening the internal market, reminiscent of recent ‘neo-developmentalist’ projects in the region. JCF represents a notorious case study of the political economy of youth policy in Mexico.