Quality of life of the rural population in the Huasteca Region of Mexico

Abstract

In Mexico, the rural territory comprises more than So percent of the country's surface, where 23 percent of the population lives (FAO. 2018), which has high rates of poverty, marginalization, illiteracy, lower income, lack in their homes, lack of basic infrastructure, among other indicators that reflect inequality and a lower quality of life compared to the urban population. In this context, the objective of the article is to provide an analysis of the quality of life of the rural population located in apart of the Huasteca region of Mexico, to encourage reflection regarding the established quality of life standards and if these are appropriate to the rural context. The article analyzes the quality of life of the rural population in the Huasteca of Mexico, through the Multiple Weighting method, proposed by Torres and Adame (2013) and the adequacy of the sustainable development model proposed by Leva (200s). It is observed that although the development gap between urban and rural communities is still wide, in addition to the fact that there are still unresolved structural problems, urgent attention is required for comprehensive rural development, which addresses the multidimensional problems of rural territory. To achieve this, coordinated care at the local level is considered essential and integrates community participation to improve their homes, paying special attention to their own reality and context, respecting their natural and sociocultural environment that defines their way of life.