If Bill Gates was in charge in Mexico, he’d bet on its people as its greatest resource, not its oil.

The Microsoft founder told the publication Forbes México in an interview that he would urge President López Obrador to invest in education rather than fossil fuels.

Mexico’s educational institutions have a long way to go to reach the levels that will give Mexicans a better quality of life, he said.

“Undoubtedly, the education system is the primary key to developing a country or the intelligence of its people,” Gates said. “Mexico has places like the Technological Institute of Monterrey, in which they train world-class engineers. But speaking in more general terms, the education system in Mexico is quite weak …”

In addition, Gates said, Mexico isn’t turning out enough teachers.

“Having a good education system is much more important than taking petroleum out of the ground,” he said, adding that more informed citizens are happier ones.

Gates recognized that the world’s nations are still dependent on fossil fuels as a fundamental part of their economies but argued that reducing oil and natural gas consumption for the good of the environment is crucial.

“We only have 30 years to go before we get to 2050 and we still depend on gasoline for people to get to their jobs, to move the economy,” he said. “How quickly can we reduce our consumption of gasoline?”

Ultimately, he said, how much of the world’s dependence on fossil fuels can be reduced by that 2050 deadline is not clear, but nations need to try to “let go of the expectation of making so much money by selling petroleum or natural gas.”

It will be a challenge, he admitted, “for Russia, for Nigeria [and] for Mexico,” he said.

Source: Forbes México