MEXICO

1. MEXICO Part 1

2. one of the great revolutions in world history • modern constitution • A middle income country • longest ruling single-party government in history • nationalization of subsoil rights • managed reliance on export earnings • slow transition to democracy • greater consolidation, less risk of regression • transition from state-led development to neoliberal economic policy

3. Comparative revolutions, early 20th century • Russia (1917) • China (1911) • Mexico (1910) • compare: • motivations • characteristics • outcomes

4. Comparative revolutions: motivations • Russia: • defeat authoritarian government; implement Marxist ideology • China: • Drive out ‘foreign devils;’ defeat authoritarian, weak government; assert nationalism • Mexico: • Defeat authoritarian government; break dependence on foreign nations; elite power struggle

5. Comparative revolutions: characteristics • Russia: • led by V.I. Lenin and Bolsheviks; violent, sudden change; carried out in middle of WW I • China: • regional warlordism; violent, sudden change; chaotic, competing forces • Mexico: • conflict among elites joined by populist forces; sudden, violent change; chaotic, competing forces

6. Comparative revolutions: outcomes • Russia: • 4 years of civil war; triumph of Marxism-Leninism; one-party state • China: • years of chaos, 2 competing forces; triumph of Maoism; one-party state • Mexico: • years of violence, instability; elites ‘umbrellaed’ under PRI for stability; one-party state

7. the ‘Mexican miracle’: a model for LDCs • rapidly increasing GNP • orderly transition from authoritarian to democratic government • problems: • drop in oil prices, 1980s • mounting debt • ethnic conflict • political corruption, violence

8. Mexico as an NIC • PPP $14,200 • 58% employed in service sector • economically a developing country • politically a transitional democracy

9. sovereignty, authority and power • great fluctuation in sources of public authority • from arrival of Spaniards in early 16th century to independence, 1821: rule by viceroy • centralized, authoritarian rule, no participation by indigenous people • from independence to mid-20th century: rule by military generals • late 20th century: economic growth  democratization

10. legitimacy • Revolution of 1910-11: source of legitimacy • revolution as a pathway to change • charismatic legitimacy • admiration for leaders: Miguel Hidalgo, Benito Juarez, Emilioi Zapata, Panch Villa, Lazaro Cardenas • revolution legitimized by formation of Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI) in 1929 • no successful challenge until late 20th century

11. historical traditions • 3 stages: • colonialism • chaos of 19th – early 20th centuries • recent period of economic growth • 4 issues: • authoritarianism • populism • power plays/divisions within the elite • instability and legitimacy

12. political culture • strong sense of national identification based on common history, dominant religion and language • religion: • until 1920s. Catholic Church participated actively in politics • revolutionary era of early 20th century, government moved toward an anti-cleric position • population largely devout Catholics whose religious beliefs influence their political values and actions

13. political culture, cont. • patron-clientelism: the glue that held an agrarian society together • network of camarillas • pressure to change due to democratization and industrialization • PRI’s loss of influence: a sign of decline of clientelism? • corporatism still plays a significant role in policymaking • Economic dependency: • Mexico has always been under the economic shadow of a more powerful country (Spain  USA)

14. geographic influence • extreme geographic diversity • mountains and deserts: separate regions, communications and transportation, limit productive agriculture • varied climates • natural resources: abundance of oil, silver • border with USA: migration and dependency issues • population: world’s most populous Spanish-speaking country • urbanization: ¾s of population lives in cities of interior or along coasts

15. Political and economic change • long history of authoritarian government • Spanish colonial rule: unlike British approach, allowed no local autonomy • mestizaje: unlike British, Spanish colonizers engaged in deliberate racial mixing, strict racial hierarchies • haciendas: caused indigenous people to lose control of the land • 20th century: populism, violence, instability • recent trend toward democratization

16. Economic change: • for most of its history, Mexico’s economy was rooted in the primary sector: agriculture and mining • influence of USA: drive to industrialize • encouragement of foreign investment  dependency on foreign economies • struggle to manage dependence on oil • today, moving rapidly toward industrial or even post-industrial economy

17. colonialism • Spain, 1519 – 1821 • social hierarchy • cultural heterogeneity: mixing of populations • 60% of Mexicans today are mestizo • Catholicism: aggressive and extensive missionary drive • economic dependency : controlled by mother country, existed to enrich it • authoritarian – no indigenous autonomy

18. Independence/new country • 1810-1911 • wave of revolutions across Latin America in early 19th century • popular rebellion against Spanish rule led by Miguel Hidalgo  Spain recognized Mexico’s independence in 1810 • Independence followed by instability • 36 presidents in 22 years • rise of the military • domination by the USA • liberal vs. conservative struggle • Constitutionalism vs. authoritarianism