Introduction

Convinced of the importance of broadening the education horizons for low-income talented students and the promotion of teachers’ abilities and skills, four years ago in 2006, the Mexican Bank Association (Asociación de Bancos de México), the principal banks in the country and Fundación Televisa created Bécalos. Although in the short run the benefits from having access to education are for them and their surroundings, in the long term they become the nations horizon that will allow México to become a competitive, pacific and safe country.

The development of Bécalos has been possible thanks to the enthusiastic collaboration of diverse private and public institutions, but above all thanks to the generosity of the bank clients who, within their capacities, donate through ATM machines. Each one of their donations expresses a belief in the new generations’ potential and a solid faith in México.

Between high school and college students and teachers that have received training and continued their education, in 2010 Bécalos has more than 113,000 beneficiaries. Many of them are already graduates. It’s interesting that the program celebrates its first hundred thousand this year, when México celebrates the centennial of its 1910 revolution. One of the main achievements of this historic event, consecrated in the 1917 Constitution, was the conquest of social rights, particularly the access to quality education as a mean to promote social mobility and achieve a better distribution of the country’s richness.

Today we must build a more harmonious and fair nation in which gender equality and recognition of our country’s multiculturalism becomes a reality. Every anniversary is an invitation to reflect and a motivation to make an effort. In this historically significant year we thank those who have contributed to the fortification and enhancement of Bécalos, we also invite them and all potential donors to discover the fruits it has rendered and to continue supporting it. Today our country’s history and its destiny are in the hands of the common citizen and the power of their belief in a better future for México, in the decided steps of the student that enthusiastically goes to school and the dedication of the teacher that every day gives its best in the classroom. They are the discreet heroes of today; they are building the country that we all want.

October, 2010