Forjando Patria: Pro-Nacionalismo

8: Some Considerations on Statistics

45 First, statistics is a conjunction of qualitative and quantitative data that refer to the population and to its activities at home and abroad. Second, these data should be systematically and empirically collected so that they have legitimate value and do not falsify the result of calculations that will later be made with them. Third, mathematical procedures are applied such that comparisons, sums, and correlations can be drawn from these data. Groups, classes, and series will be formed. Maximums and minimums will be obtained, as well as averages, medians, and percentages and so forth. This will be expressed graphically through diagrams when necessary. Fourth, when these data are observed by persons of real competence, the probable causes of certain unfavorable social phenomena can be deduced and means can be suggested by which these phenomena can be turned into favorable ones. In this way, it is possible to promote the physical, intellectual, and economic development of the population. Given these general guidelines, which are universally accepted in regard to statistical studies, we will evaluate the positive value of works of statistics already conducted in Mexico and speak of some innovations that could be implemented in order to obtain truly practical results in the future. 8 Some Considerations on Statistics 46 S o m e C o n s i d e r a t i o n s o n S t a t i s t i cs A. Works of Statistics Undertaken in Mexico An integrated work of statistics has never been done in Mexico. That is, we have never synthesized data on all of the population of the republic nor have we gathered data on all of their relevant characteristics and activities. With few exceptions, the compilation of data has been conducted naïvely, without scientific systematicity. Only on very few occasions were the mathematical procedures necessary for the management of said data and the deduction of consequent results used. Because of this, the positive value of these studies is limited, and the conclusions that can be drawn from them lack exactitude. In the past, the institutions charged with gathering statistical data were content to produce purely descriptive results. They did not make a practical application of these conclusions, which made it impossible to deduce a means of promoting greater efficiency in the activities of the population. Deficient works of statistics that have been conducted in our country include those concerned with labor and with the sales prices of certain articles. Ethnico-demographic statistics are of primary importance in countries like Mexico, where the population is heterogeneous in race, culture, language, and nutrition. However, such studies have never produced data of interest or reliable conclusions here. Studies of vital statistics, or the rise or decline of the number of births, deaths, and marriages, have been so limited that their results cannot be summarized. But despite the aforementioned deficiencies, the statistical material already collected by state and federal offices could still yield a great deal of useful data, if this material is properly selected and synthesized. B. A Nationalistic Sensibility Is Needed for the Formation of the Future Mexican Statistics The general concepts used in conducting statistical investigations are the same in all countries, given that the fundamental nature of all men is the same. Nevertheless, one should not and cannot use the same statistical methods or get the same results in all countries. First, in Mexico it would currently be impossible to use the same statistical methods employed in the United States, because we do not count with the powerful economic resources that are necessary for such a task. We also lack competent personnel and the cooperation of a large part of the population, which has always shown itself unwilling to provide data. Second, in Germany and France, ethnographic research is not given a major role in statistical work. Given the unity of those populations in terms of race, culture, and language, other elements of statistics are privileged. Given 47 S o m e C o n s i d e r a t i o n s o n S t a t i s t i cs the ethnic heterogeneity of the Mexican population, the diversity of its ideals , languages, and so forth, it becomes indispensable to have an ethnographic reconnaissance and classification of its diverse social groups. This is the only way of making their characteristics and activities collaborate in a harmonious national...