Mexico raises minimum wage by 20%, to $6.50 per day

Mexico raised its national minimum wage 20% Monday, but it still doesn’t amount to even $1 an hour.

The Labor Department said the lowest legal wage will be 123.22 pesos a day starting Jan. 1, or about $6.50 at current exchange rates.

That is a boost from the 120.68-peso minimum wage prevailing this year.

While the increase well above the 3% annual inflation rate, it is barely enough to keep one person over the poverty line, even though Mexico’s constitution says it should be enough to support a worker and his family.

The minimum . . .