Tag: South America

Carlos Rodarte sends postcards to himself from almost every place he travels. Such a hobby seems strange, except Rodarte is the head of regional operations for Mexican postal service Sepomex. He’s testing his own company’s efficiency–and trying to change the image of his long-neglected state-run employer. “What better proof,” he says, pulling dozens of postcards out of his desk. Rodarte and his colleagues have a lot to prove. The Mexican postal system handles 700 million letters a year, which sounds like a lot but adds up to just seven pieces per inhabitant. Comparisons make it clear that Mexico’s postal system is under-used by a skeptical public. Brazilians, for example, send out 8 billion mailings a year, which translates into 46 letters per inhabitant. Plus, Sepomex officials are also working in a statistics vacuum: It’s difficult to gauge to what degree Mexican mail volumes have deteriorated over the years since past administrations inflated numbers. Despite low volumes, Sepomex operates at a loss.