“The problem with 3rd world countries is that they were not founded on Judeo-Christian values. This is important because our culture is unique in that we uphold honest and decent behavior as the key to mutual prosperity.”
This is true even with ostensibly “Catholic” Mexico. One of my latino coworkers with close family in Mexico once described the prevailing attitude of his homeland as “do unto others before they do unto you”. And he wasn’t trying to insult Mexico he simply was making a comment about how it operates.
Not that there isn’t a generous side to Mexican culture as well because there is. But the habit of taking advantage of others is deeply embedded in their civic culture and that’s a big reason why Mexico is corrupt and poor.
““The problem with 3rd world countries is that they were not founded on Judeo-Christian values. This is important because our culture is unique in that we uphold honest and decent behavior as the key to mutual prosperity.”
This is true even with ostensibly “Catholic” Mexico.”
Mexico was a very Christian (Catholic) country, which early in the 20th century was taken over by radical leftists who harshly oppressed the Catholic Church, including a period of open warfare called the Cristero War. No coincidence that Leon Trotsky fled to that leftist experiment when he had to leave the Soviet Union, or that daddy Mussolini named his son Benito, after Benito Juarez.
The Party of Institutionalized Revolution (PRI in Spanish) ruled the Federal Government of Mexico for over 70 years, downplaying religious values and indoctrinating leftist values. The economy was far from a star during their rule.
After the fall of the Soviet Union, the PRI also lost power in the 1990’s. Over the twenty years since, the Mexican economy has grown considerably faster than before, and the standard of living and opportunity has noticeably improved. They also benefited from NAFTA during this time.
Culture plays a role in productivity, but Government policy is the main factor. Given a free market and rule of law, the world will beat a path to their door to grow the economy.
You could argue that the underlying culture and morality ultimately determines what kind of leadership they end up with, and what policies.