The government of Oaxaca state of Mexico allocated 1.5 million pesos to co-operatives in an attempt to support social economy.

The Governor of Oaxaca, Gabino Cué announced in December 2012 government plans to sustain co-operative development. As a result, 22 co-operatives received furniture, machinery and tools and other co-ops were created across the eight regions of Oaxaca. Scholarships were also awarded to Oaxacan co-operators in a ceremony taking place at the Government's Palace on 9 January.

Overall, 828,000 co-operators will benefit from this investment. The initiative is part of a programme that supports social economy and co-operative development, with the aim of generating jobs. Governor Gabino Cué said in the first two years of his mandate, he has sought to place a strong emphasis on social economy; providing training and advice for 928 co-operators from 165 co-operatives.

Mr Cué also said that out of the 99 per cent Oaxaca's social economy, 143 million companies come from small and medium enterprises (SMEs), and many out of these are co-operatives. Furthermore, co-operatives employ 239 million people in Oaxaca across the eight regions of the state, particularly in the craft, industrial and services sectors.

Labour Secretary Daniel Juárez López also said that co-operatives are key to the social economy of the state and play an important role in securing jobs. When announcing the measures in December 2012, Mr López referred to the International Year of Co-operatives saying that creating new co-ops is essential for the economic development of the state.

To boost co-operative development the government also organised an expo that took place between 8 and 9 November 2012. More than 100 co-operators attended the event and 50 co-operatives exhibited their products.

The Labour Secretary also said that the government is working jointly with the International Labour Organization to increase exports and a better commercial flux for Oaxacan co-operatives.

With the funding received from the government, co-ops will be able to improve their products, redistributing wealth into the local economy.

Next year the government of Oaxaca plans to allocate 10 million pesos to its Co-operative Development Programme, supporting the creation of more co-ops across the state.