Mexico
population: 107 million
Civilizations in the Americas Before 1500
An Olmec mask
Olmec Civilization 1200BC200AD
Chichen Itza
Mayan Civilization peak
300-700AD
Tikal
Palenque
Toltec Civilization 600-1300 AD
Toltec warriors
Teotihuacan (tayeteewakan)
Teotihuacan Today
Quetzalcóat
Aztec Civilization 1300s-1520s
Aztec
Calendar
Tenochtitlán
Spanish conquest and colonialism
The makings of the modern Mexican
nation came together in the Spanish
Conquest, when Hernán Cortés
conquered the Aztec empire in 1519.
Merchantilist economy, strict
military rule, racial miscegenation of
Europeans and Amerindians to
create mestizo society, large landed
aristocracies (haciendas).
Class and racial divisions between
Europeans, mestizos, Indians. This
led to problems in building national
unity after independence.
Mexican Independence Movement 1810-1821
Independence and the
Creation of the Mexican
State - September 16, 1810insurgency led by Miguel
Hidalgo begins
Hidalgo, a Catholic priest,
was executed by the Spanish
in 1811 along with other
insurgency leaders.
Miguel Hidalgo 1753-1811
Independence comes in 1822
Followed by instability and rivalry between liberals and
conservatives.
Liberals sought to modernize and democratize Mexican
society.
Conservatives wanted a restored monarchy, centralized
power, and strong role for the Catholic Church.
The rivalry between liberals and conservatives produced a
great deal of political instability in the early years.
24 presidents between 1823 and 1855
Rebellion and Instability in Mexico
The Texas Revolution 1835-1836
The Republic of Texas
1836-1845
Battle of the Alamo 1836
Battle of San Jacinto 1836
Gen. Santa Anna and Sam Houston
La Intervención Norteamericana 1846-1848
Boundary disputes
provokes MexicanAmerican War
1846-1848, after
which Mexico
looses nearly half
its territory to the
United States.
French Intervention of 1862
Intervention by the United States
and France stimulates Mexican
nationalism.
In 1861, France under Napoleon
III invades and establishes a
short-lived monarchy under
Maximilian.
The monarchy was accepted by
conservatives, but opposed by
liberals.
Emperor Maximilian I
1864-1867
Revolt of 1867
In 1867, the Liberals led by
Benito Juarez (a Zapotec
Indian) revolt against the
monarchy and execute
Maximilian and his
generals.
Juarez serves as president
of Mexico until his death in
1872.
Benito Juarez, President
1858-1872
Cinco de Mayo is not Mexican
Independence Day
Commemorates defeat of
French at the Battle of Puebla
May 5, 1862
Not a federal holiday in
Mexico, mainly celebrated in
Puebla state
The Porfiriato 1876-1911
Gen. Porfirio Diaz is
president, 1876-80 and 18841910 (porfiriato).
Diaz sought to use his strongman leadership to modernize
Mexico with the help of a
team of close advisors,
referred to as cientificos
(scientists).
Gen. Porfirio Diaz
President
Mexico experienced unprecedented
growth under Diaz, driven mainly
by investment in mining and
railroads.
Much of the investment poured in
from the United States, though
many Mexicans grew to resent
widespread foreign ownership of
Mexican industry, land, and
national wealth.
The fact the United States was a
strong backer of the Diaz regime
ultimately undermined its
legitimacy.
Mural depicting Diaz’s cientificos
The Diaz regime also did little to alleviate the problems of the
peasantry.
After the Constitution of 1857, collective land ownership
(ejidos) was eliminated as was vast holdings of land by the
catholic church.
Much of this land was ultimately transferred into large hacienda
estates by the country’s elite, with large peasant populations
working as sharecroppers rather than landowners.
Sugar Plantation
Hacienda Tabi
Yucatan Peninsula
Mexican Revolution of 1910
In 1910, opposition to Diaz’s rule
united around Francisco Madero’s
presidential campaign.
Madero was a US educated wealthy
liberal landowner who began work on
democratic reforms.
The Mexican Revolution began in
1910 with the ousting of Diaz who
fled the country.
Key to Madero’s victory were two
prominent figures – Emiliano Zapata
and Pancho Villa.
Francisco Madero
President 1910-1913
The Mexican Revolution 1910-1920
Emiliano Zapata
Liberation Army of the South
“Zapatistas”
Pancho Villa
División del Norte
The 1913 coup
Madero assassinated in 1913
by former supporters of Diaz,
plunging Mexico into
anarchy.
The assassination had
actually received the backing
of the US ambassador to
Mexico, Henry Lane Wilson,
who feared Madero’s
government would move
against foreign investors.
Following Madero’s death, a
military dictatorship was set up
under Victoriano Huerta
Civil war ensued between
federal forces and the armies of
Zapata and Villa.
Victoriano Huerta
1913-1914
Villa and Zapata in Mexico City, 1915
In 1915, Zapata and Villa drive Huerta from power and briefly
assume control of government. But fighting continues as rival
groups cannot agree on what direction in which to take the country.
Mexican Constitution of 1917
In 1917, Constitutionalists
under Venustiano Carranza,
drive Villa and Zapata from
power.
Carranza is elected president
and his government drafts the
Mexican Constitution of
1917, which remains the
present day constitution of
Mexico.
Venustiano Carranza
Pres. 1917-1920
Ending the Revolution
In 1920, Constitutionalists are
driven from power as Venustiano
Carranza is assassinated in a
military coup.
Marks the beginning of the
Sonoran Dynasty.
In the course of the revolution
nearly a million Mexicans are
thought to have died.
Mural to Carranza
The Sonoran Dynasty 1920-1934
The Sonoran dynasty takes its name
from a series of big boss leadership (jefe
maximo) from the Sonoran province.
First was Gen. Álvaro Obregón, one of
the conspirators in the Carranza
assassination, who himself was
assassinated after his re-election in
1924.
Gen. Álvaro Obregón
Pres. 1920-1924
The Sonoran Dynasty 1920-1934
Obregón was followed by
Plutarco Calles, who ruled as
President from 1924-1928
and then hand-picked his
successors until 1934.
Plutarco Calles
Pres 1924-1928
Important Developments under Calles’ rule
Establishment of the Institutional Revolutionary Party
under Calles
Efforts to limit the power of the Catholic Church
(anticlericalism)
Nationalization of economic policy (much of Mexico’s
industrial and agricultural wealth had been under the
control of private investors/foreign investors prior to
Calles).
The goal of the PRI was to unite all factions into one mass
revolutionary party and end decades of political violence.
For the most part, it worked, and it gave Calles
unprecedented control over Mexican politics.
Lázaro Cárdenas, Agrarian Reform and the Workers
In 1934, Calles makes a miscalculated
choice that brings an end to the
Sonoran Dynasty.
Lazaro Cárdenas becomes president
in 1934 and initiates major
revolutionary policy changes
Lázaro Cárdenas
Pres. 1934-1940
Land reform
Distributes nearly 49
million acres of land to
peasants in the form of
ejidos (collective lands)
thereby creating a strong
dependency between the
peasantry and the
government (clientelism).
He also creates the National
Peasant Confederation CNC
as a peak association for the
peasant groups as part of
the PRI.
Ejidos - collective land
Promotes labor organizing (built labor unions around the
PRI – also clientelism) Creates the Mexican Workers’
Federation (CTM) as a peak association for labor unions,
also under the PRI.
Cardenas also nationalizes the oil production industry from
US and British companies in 1938 creating a giant state
owned enterprise Petroleos Mexicanos (PEMEX). This
would prove fortuitous when vast oil belts were discovered
in Mexico in the 1970s.
Cardenas success at incorporating various interest groups
into the PRI gave him extraordinary control over Mexican
politics, including the ability to hand pick political
successors and co-opt political opposition.
Expansion of Presidential Power
Cardenas’ expansion of presidential power - more
revolutionary than FDRs New Deal coalition in the
United States, but without any real competition on policy
making from Congress.
Between the 1930s and 1990s, no single presidential bill
was ever turned down (overridden) by the Mexican
Congress.
Cardenas also centralized control of revenue, leaving
regional state governments and municipalities heavily
dependent on the state.
Economic Growth but No Democracy
1940s-1970s – rapid economic growth but limited
democracy (women do finally get the right to vote in
1953)All political power consolidated around the PRI, with
a succession of PRI presidents each serving single six
year terms (sexenios).
By the 1960s the PRI becomes repressive of
opposition.
1968 is indicative of the
problems facing Mexico
Economic development has
won it the right to host the
1968 Summer Olympic
Games, but its also a year
of brutal crackdowns.
1968, 1971 Student
Demonstrations in Mexico
City.
1968 Student Demonstrations
‘Tlaltelolco Massacre’
If we had been studying Mexican politics in the 1970s, we
would note that while Mexico has an elected President,
congress, and state governments, the regime has much
more in common with the military rulers of South
American than democracies of Canada and the United
States.
Mexico was in effect a one-party authoritarian
government under the PRI and had been so since its
founding in 1929 until 2000.
Central features of Mexican politics included
presidentialism, centralism, state corporatism, clientelism.
Economic development
State capitalism – government management/intervention to
encourage private investment, development
Import-substituting industrialization (ISI) and large state
involvement in the economy produced “Mexican miracle”
from 1950s to 1970s, but left millions of poor behind; many
emigrated to U.S.
The PRI tended to favor big projects and grants to large
corporate industries rather than small business or small
farmers on the ejidos.
Many people left the countryside in the 1960s and 1970s
leading to dramatic urbanization and overcrowding of cities
like Mexico Cities and border towns in the north.
The last president to vigorously
pursue ISI was Luis Echeverria
(1970-76) who drew the wrath of
the business community with his
expensive populist programs
Echeverria was also highly
critical of the United States over
Vietnam and support of Israel.
He was also the most repressive
president of opposition groups
and even today, there are still
ongoing cases about human
rights abuse during his tenure.
Luis Echeverría
Pres 1970-1976
Pres. Jose Lopez Portillo (1976-82)
mends fences with business
Oil discoveries spark economic
boom, but Mexico runs up massive
foreign debt.
Most of the debt is generated as a
result of the PRI trying to co-opt
many diverse interest groups.
Buying loyalty was becoming more
expensive.
José López Portillo
Pres. 1976-1982
Oil!
Pipeline System
Economic crisis ensues after as oil prices drop after
1981.
The threat that Mexico might default on its foreign
loans, caused major capital flight and devaluing of
the peso.
Ultimately, the United States intervened with loans
to restructure Mexico’s debt.
Economic Crisis and Reform 1998-2001
Presidents Miguel de la Madrid
(1982-88) and Carlos Salinas
(1988-94) abandon ISI and
heavy state involvement in the
economy.
Move toward more market
mechanisms and trade in an
increasingly globalized
economy—neoliberalism,
privatization, NAFTA.
Miguel de la Madrid
Pres. 1982-1988
Salinas Presidency
Neoliberal economic practices
improved Mexico’s economy.
However, the costs of
transition were largely born
out by the poor who saw a
drop in real wages by nearly
40% in the 1980s.
Also major cuts in spending
on entitlements and social
welfare programs.
Carlos Salinas
1988-1994
Zedillo Presidency and Fall of the PRI
Another financial crisis struck Mexico
in 1994 at start of President Ernesto
Zedillo’s term.
Zedillo was forced to enact a number
of unpopular austerity measures to
revive the economy, including cuts in
social services like health care and
education.
PRI was no longer in a position to buy
political support and opposition forces
were growing in strength.
Ernesto Zedillo
Pres. 1994-2000
1994-Turbulent Year in Mexican Politics
Zapatista Army of National
Liberation - Chiapas
Assassination of PRI Presidential
Peso loses half value
Candidate Luis Colosio
NAFTA
Luke-warm reception of NAFTA at the beginning both in
Mexico and the United States.
Strongest symbol of Mexico’s transition from Import
Substitution to a neoliberal export-led growth economy.
NAFTA has led to substantial growth in trade and investment
in and out of Mexico.
One interesting question is whether NAFTA has contributed
to Mexico’s speedy transition to democracy.
Critics of NAFTA both in the US and Mexico point to the
“negative externalities” of the neo-liberal program.
Mexico’s proximity to the United
States is critical to its economy
and plays an important role in
political life.
Almost 80% of Mexico’s exports
are bound for US markets.
Conclusions about Economic Development
Rural poverty still a huge problem in Mexico, especially
among indigenous peoples.
Urban poverty has likewise grown with large populations of
squatters and tenement communities.
Population growth rates continue to be high in Mexico.
Overall, however, living conditions have improved
dramatically since the 1940s.
A sizable middle class continues to emerge.
The gap between rich and power, however, is also widening.
In 1940, the top 30% of the population controlled 60% of the
national wealth.
By 2000, they control nearly 80%, while the bottom 40% account
for only 10% of the nations wealth.
Rural areas in the south and center of the country are most
affected.
In contrast, border towns with the United States have experienced
tremendous growth, especially in manufacturing (maquiladoras).
NAFTA has led to much greater integration of the Mexican-US
economies.
In 2000, 89% of Mexico’s exports go to the US, and 74% of its
imports come from the US.
Mexico Today
Mexico is largest Spanish speaking country in the world.
Mexico’s transition to democracy has come slowly, the
result of many efforts by opposition politicians and
democracy advocates to pressure the PRI to yield power.
Despite political upheavals and crisis, Mexico has been
remarkably stable in the 20th century under the governance
of the PRI.
Today, Mexico is moving successfully toward consolidated
democracy.
Living standards have improved. The country has urbanized,
industrialized, and modernized from its largely rural agrarian
past.
At the same time, the benefits of economic modernization
still fail to reach many urban and rural poor.
Mexico city alone has 18 million inhabitants and ranks
as one of the largest cities in the world. Mexico’s
population has dramatically urbanized as people living in
the country fail to find much prospects for employment.
Regions of Mexico differ dramatically in terms of
economic conditions and activities.
Regionalism (north, central, and south)
Regionalism in Mexico
Regions of Mexico differ dramatically in terms of
economic conditions and activities.
The border areas specialize in export goods to the US.
Central Mexico is the site of most heavy industry such
as automobiles and steel.
The south is more agricultural and has actually
experienced some decline as a result of increased US
grain imports following NAFTA.
Cultural Differences
There are also important cultural differences between
the north and the south.
The north of Mexico – “rugged individualists” we
associate with the west, a dislike of government
intrusion into local affairs, and a general inclination to
private enterprise over state industry.
Mexico city residents –”cosmopolitans” that tend to
look down on rough life in the countryside.
The deep south remains very traditional. Indigenous
groups practice communal land ownership, reject
private enterprise, and want to maintain local autonomy
and long-standing traditions.
Indigenous Groups in Mexico
Ethnic heterogeneity (Hispanic, mestizos, native Indians) are
part of Mexico’s social fabric.
Race and Ethnicity in Mexico
There are also important racial/ethnic differences.
Northerners are more likely to be Caucasian or mestizo.
Southerners are more likely Amerindian or mestizo.
Northerners tend to hold negative views of the
indigenous south as well as bureaucrats in Mexico City.
One Northern politician put things this way: “The north
works, the center thinks, and the south rests”.
Governance
Organization of the State – Mexico’s
political institutions closely resemble
those in the United States (checks and
balances, three branches of government,
bicameral legislature, supreme court,
etc).
Congreso
The Mexican Congreso has a Senate
composed of 128 senators (three from
each of 31 states + 3 from Mexico City +
32 elected by PR).
The lower house is called the
Chamber of Deputies and has 500
members – 300 elected using SMD
and 200 using PR.
Elections also take place on the state
and local level.
Presidents, governors, and senators
serve 6 year terms.
Deputies serve three year terms.
Chamber of Deputies
The President
Powerful position in Mexican
politics
In the PRI years, each
president would hand pick his
successor.
Power of appointment,
patronage still prominent.
Since 1970s, most presidents
are coming from backgrounds
in economics, finance, and
business. Before the 1970s,
most presidents had military
backgrounds.
Presidential Palace
Bureaucracy -large, powerful
federal bureaucracy.
Also many important parastatal institutions like PEMEX.
Since 1990s, privatization has
reduced the number of parastatal institutions.
The Military – Mexico has
better civilian control over the
military than most other Latin
American countries.
The Judiciary and the
Constitution
Legal system based on Roman
and Napoleonic Law (codified
law, less room for interpretation
or overturning precedents).
Constitution is more easily
amended than in the United
States.
The structure of the judiciary is
similar to the US, but the
Mexican Supreme Court is
generally much weaker than the
US counterpart.
Supreme Court
Estados Unidos Mexicanos
State government – Mexico has a federal system like the US, but
there is much more federal control in Mexico than US
(centralization). State governments have little tax revenue. Conflicts
and tensions between state and federal government are common.
Policy-making
Most policy making is directed by the President and his
cabinet. Congress tends to be reactive.
Congressional challenges to Presidential authority have
grown in recent years, since the PRI no longer has absolute
majorities (new era of divided government?).
Women are heavily underrepresented in Mexican politics,
accounting for less than a quarter of representative
positions in Congress. This is generally true throughout
Latin America.
2000 Presidential Election
Vicente Fox (Party of
National Action-PAN)
defeats leftist PRI candidate.
Major milestone in Mexican
politics. PRI ruled Mexico
for over 70 years.
A major transition in
Mexican political thought
toward neoliberalism and
away from socialism.
Vicente Fox-PAN
2000-2006
2006, 2012 Presidential Elections
Enrique Peña Nieto
Pres. Felipe Calderon
PAN
President Elect - PRI
Political Parties
Labour Party
Green Party
Institutional
Revolutionary
Party
Party of the
National Action
Party
Convergence
Democratic
Revolution
Political Culture, Citizenship, Identity
Traditional state run broadcast media was highly passive in
its coverage of the state.
This remains generally true of new private TV and radio
media as well like Televisa and TV Azteca.
In contrast, the print media tends to be much more critical
and investigative journalism has expanded significantly.
In essence, Mexico now has a much freer and critical press
which is essential to a democracy
Recent Developments
Increasing citizen participation, interest groups, social
movements (especially on human rights issues,
socioeconomic reform), expansion of role of women.
One of the more important reforms to come about was the
2002 requirement that at least 30% of candidates for all
parties must be women in congressional elections.
In the 2003 midterm elections, women moved up from 16%
to 23% of elected representatives in Congress.
Issues in US-Mexican
relations
Migration to the United
States – millions of
immigrants seeking jobs,
sending revenue back to
Mexico ($16 billion each
year). Long tradition of
Mexican immigration to
the US (braceros –
seasonal laborers).
The United States, for better
or worse, has also functioned
as a social safety valve for
Mexican society.
When people can’t find jobs in
Mexico, legally or illegally,
many head for the United
States.
Mexico also benefits from
billions of dollars in savings
that Mexicans remit from the
United States each year back
home.
In 2000, both President Bush
and Vicente Fox were in favor
of easing restrictions on
immigration and guest workers
from Mexico.
September 11, however,
ultimately created divisions that
prevented the close relationship
that Fox and Bush had initially
envisioned.
The bulk of US aid and attention
that had been intended for Latin
American development
suddenly got shifted to the
Middle East and the War on
Terror.
Resolving the problem of
immigration appears to be one if
the important opportunity costs
of the Bush administrations
ongoing war on terror.