Ximena González is a freelance writer and editor based in Calgary. Her work has appeared in the Globe and Mail, the Tyee, and the Sprawl.
For the middle class, homeownership is held up as the key to financial security. But there’s a dark side: government policies that prop up the homeowner-as-investor are deeply implicated in the housing crisis and rising wealth inequality.
Every winter, thousands of North American tourists flock to sunny destinations in Mexico to be served by workers on poverty wages. The Mexican government has promoted tourism as a route out of poverty, but the profits from the industry are flowing away from local communities.