Are we ready to be miners?

Albert Einstein is perhaps the scientist most famous worldwide for developing the theory of relativity which revolutionized science known until the 20th century. He went on to say: “The world we create is our thought process. “It cannot be changed without changing our way of thinking.”

Two years ago I read Why Countries Fail, a brilliant work by economists Daron Acemoglu (Turkey) and James Robinson (UK). This takes you on an adventure that distorts the history of the modern world, but in principle, as the countries colonized by the British Crown differ greatly in economic matters compared to those colonized by the Spanish Crown. The first, almost all of them, are currently from the first and second world, all of them without exception, doomed to backwardness and poverty.

Although there are no subjective references, the historical journey gives us a clear perception that allows us to draw our own conclusions about the reasons that led to this great difference between nations.

However, historically these conditions arose as a result of the way in which the private interests of those who colonized them were directed. On the one hand, the Spanish Crown in the Americas was responsible for extracting the natural resources found in these lands, and on the other hand, the British Crown did not suffer the same fate because the lands it found in North America did not have the same fate. The same abundance of minerals found in Central and South America.

Therefore, the economic institutions and policies of the Spanish colonies were extractive (based on extraction for the benefit of the empire); The British were inclusive in order to take advantage of the new territories for the benefit of the Commonwealth. Leading to a radical reorganization of economic institutions in favor of innovators and entrepreneurs, based on the emergence of more secure and efficient property rights.

When these regions became non-empires through acts of independence, social and political leaders adopted the same policies (extractive or inclusive) that had come from their colonizers. It is certain that important political changes occurred, but economic institutions remained isolated from these circumstances.

This allowed the United States to become a great power and Mexico to continue to develop. Because only countries that have comprehensive economic institutions and policies are able to rapidly adopt new innovations and technologies that develop the mentality of the political class based on prosperity and well-being, while countries with extractive economic policies and institutions concentrate a mentality in the political class that does not separate the public from the private, that is, the public He can touch the private and vice versa.

In short, economic success varies between countries because of differences in their institutions, the rules that affect how the economy works, and the incentives that motivate individuals.

This is where the mindset of the political class and individuals make the decisions that make the difference. For example, the United States extracts its mineral and natural resources and keeps them as a great treasure, while in underdeveloped countries it sells them to the highest bidder.

It is important to realize that our country currently does not have effective political institutions, nor rules that allow public welfare to be fairly provided with the product of exploitation of natural resources and which at the same time maintain environmental conservation.

This does not mean that we must oppose the exploitation of our natural wealth, but rather we must first create the conditions that allow us to build treasures in a fair, sustainable and sustainable way through these resources and that this be accompanied by economic tools. The environment and policies that enable and encourage individuals to achieve a higher collective interest do not allow room for this interest to converge with the interests of individuals in political power or the interests of national or foreign companies, at the expense of national interests.

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