Mexico: Political and
Economic Liberalization?
February 9
“Poor Mexico,
so far from God,
so close to the United States.”
- Porfirio Díaz, Mexican President, 1876-1911
The Mexican Revolution, 1910-20
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Dictatorship of Porfirio Díaz, 1876-1911
The revolution was precipitated by demands for
liberal democracy (against the ‘re-election’ of Díaz).
However, it soon generated demands for social
revolution and dissolved into a civil war.
Pancho Villa led an army of small ranchers and
workers in northern Mexico.
Emilio Zapata led peasants in central and southern
Mexico demanding agrarian reform.
Mexican Constitution, 1917
Lázaro Cárdenas:
The Revolution Revitalized
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Cárdenas, president 1934-40
Mobilized and incorporated peasants and
workers into political system via the PRI.
Introduced significant agrarian reform,
redistributing some 40-50 million acres of
land.
Much of this land was distributed as ejidos or
communal land holdings.
Nationalized the oil industry – PEMEX.
The PRI: The Revolution Tamed
PRI: Institutional Revolutionary Party – the governing
party of Mexico, 1929-2000.
The origins of the PRI date back to 1929, though it
was only named the PRI in 1946.
While elections were held regularly, the outcome was a
foregone conclusion.
Outgoing Presidents would designate their successor
as leader of the PRI.
“The Perfect Dictatorship”
The PRI was able to sustain itself in power through a
skillful use of corporatism, clientelism, patronage,
corruption, co-optation, fraud and repression.
PRI and the labour movement
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Fidel Velázquez served as the head of the
Confederation of Mexican Workers (CMT)
from 1941 to 1997.
Closely tied to the PRI, the CMT kept a tight
rein on the labour movement, disciplining or
expelling militants and cooperating with
employers and the state.
Independent unions and activists were
repressed.
Repression
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Hundreds of student protesters were
massacred shortly before the 1968 Olympics
in Mexico City.
Maquiladoras
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Since 1965, Mexico has encouraged the
development of assembly plants in the
northern border region.
These plants were allowed to import
equipment, materials and parts without
paying duties. The finished products would
then be exported.
Companies are attracted by cheap labour.
Mexico gains foreign investment and jobs.
The Debt Crisis, 1982
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Economic growth slowed in the 1970s.
Buoyed by new oil discoveries and facilitated by
easy access to credit, the Mexican state undertook
extensive spending programs.
By the early 80s, the Mexican state faced a
combination of declining oil prices, major
international recession and soaring interest rates.
The result was the debt crisis.
Mexico announced that it could not pay the interest
on its foreign debt. Brazil soon followed.
The Shift to Neoliberalism
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Presidents Miguel de la Madrid (1982-88) and
Carlos Salinas (1988-1994) embraced
neoliberalism.
Mexico joined GATT in 1986.
NAFTA signed in 1993 and comes into effect in
1994.
The central bank was given greater independence.
The public sector was reduced through
privatizations.
A constitutional amendment was passed to allow
ejidos to be broken up and sold to individual owners.
The Decline of One Party Dominance
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In 1988, the PRI lost its two-thirds majority in
the Chamber of Deputies.
In 1997, the PRI lost its majority in the
Chamber.
In 2000, the PRI lost the presidency.
In 2006, the PRI finished third in the
presidential and congressional elections.
However, in 2009 the PRI finished first in the
congressional elections.
The EZLN: The Zapatistas
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Zapatista National Liberation Army
Emerged on January 1, 1994 seizing control
of four towns in the southern state of
Chiapas.
Prominent spokesperson: Subcomandante
Marcos.
The PAN:
Vincente Fox and Felipe Calderón
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The PAN: National Action Party, a conservative party has
emerged as the most successful alternative to the PRI
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Fox, former CEO of Coca Cola in Mexico elected President in
2000. His power was limited by PAN’s lack of a majority in
Congress.
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Calderón narrowly elected President in 2006, though there were
allegations of election irregularities and massive protests.
The PRD
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The PRD: Party of the Democratic
Revolution, a moderate leftist party is the
third major party.
PRD members have been elected governors
of a number of states and mayor of Mexico
City.
The PRD finished second in the presidential
and congressional elections of 2006.
Mexican Democracy
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Mexico now has competitive elections and is no longer
dominated by one party. Mexico is considered an “electoral
democracy” and designated as ‘free’ by Freedom House.
However, there are still many allegations of electoral
irregularities.
The judicial system remains weak and corrupt.
Corruption remains significant throughout the political system.
The human rights situation remains problematic. The police act
arbitrarily and dissent is suppressed.
Journalists are subject to intimidation and violence.
Drug cartels have significant regional strongholds. President
Calderón has targeted the cartels, resulting in significant violence
and death (more than 2000 dead in 2006, more than 2500 dead
in 2007, more than 6000 dead in 2008).
Repression
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“In April 2006, a large demonstration in the
town of San Salvador Atenco led to clashes
between police and protesters that left two
people dead, more than 200 arrested, and
legal controversies over police conduct and
harsh prison sentences against protesters.”
Freedom in the World, 2009
Repression
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“An even more serious crisis occurred in Oaxaca,
where an attempt by Governor Ulises Ruiz of the
PRI to forcefully disperse protesters resulted in the
deaths of several demonstrators. In the following
months, protesters demanding Ruiz’s resignation
engaged in occasional shootouts with paramilitaries
associated with the governor, causing over a dozen
deaths. Fox avoided sending in federal police until
late October, when the situation reached a boiling
point with the death of a U.S. journalist.”
Freedom in the World, 2009
Mexico under NAFTA
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Financial crisis, 1994.
“Mexico’s economy grew at an annual per capita rate of only 1.6
percent between 1992 and 2007.”
“since 2000–2001 Mexico has been losing business, particularly
to China, and China has moved ahead of Mexico as the second
largest exporter to the United States. According to some
estimates, over half of Mexican exports to the United States are
‘under threat’ from Chinese exports.”
“informal employment…accounted for a remarkable 57 percent of
the economically active population in 2004, up from 52 percent in
1992”
Video: Maquilapolis: City of Factories
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“Explores the environmental devastation and
urban chaos of Tijuana's assembly factories
and the female laborers who have organized
themselves for social action.”
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Video available from York library.