Mexico S Politics And Society In Transition

An exploration of the interrelated trends of Mexico's transitional politics and society. Offering perspectives on the problems on the Mexican agenda, the authors discuss the politics of change, the challenges of social development, and how to build a mutually beneficial US-Mexico relationship.

Between 1995 and 1996 in Tepoztlan, Morelos, a movement was made against the construction of a large tourist development project. The case gained international attention as community members rejected their elected officials, designed their own local government and eventually won bitter victory against both the state and the internationally financed corporation developing a golf course and country club. This work focuses on how, in a time of generalized political change in Mexico, activists blended local, national and transnational courses of identity and social change to produce political practices that allowed them to win redress of their grievances, to alter local social relations and to contribute to changes within the national political system. Here, the anti-golf movement is chronicled. Important symbolic and organizational networks within Tepoztlan that took part in the conflict are explored. The role of global influences on the community's everyday life is examined, as well as the ways in which the movement contributed to the evolution of a more democratic culture. Parallels in the more recent movement in Atenco against the construction of Mexico City's new international airport are analyzed.

This book is a collection of essays on the Mexican transition to democracy that offers reflections on different aspects of civic culture, the political process, electoral struggles, and critical junctures. They were written at different points in time and even though they have been corrected and adapted, they have kept the tension and fervour with which they were originally created. They provide the reader with a vision of what goes on behind those horrifying images that depict Mexico as a country plagued by narcotrafficking groups and subjected to unbridled homicidal violence. These images hide the complex political reality of the country and the accidents and shocks democracy has suffered.

Initiated in the mid-1970s, Mexico's program of political reform was designed to provide a new opportunity for political competition. In this book, contributors examine the significance political mobilization has had and the extent to which the reform has served as a vehicle for defusing discontent in the wake of Mexico's failed oil-based developme

Now in a thoroughly updated edition, this comprehensive and engaging text explores contemporary Mexico's political development and examines the most important policy issues facing Mexico in the twenty-first century. The first half of the book begins with a broad historical overview leading to the 1910 Revolution, the emergence of the modern Mexican political system, and the transition from single party rule to democracy. The second half of the book analyzes key challenges, including economic development, poverty and inequality, civil society, crime and violence, and relations with the United States. The text is richly supplemented by new figures and tables that illustrate broad political, social, and economic trends, boxes and provide in-depth treatment of a variety of subjects and concepts. Readers will find this widely praised work remains the most current and accessible text available on Mexico's politics and policy.

This book examines Mexico's attempts to initiate political reform and economic restructuring. It addresses the problems of implementing reforms that attack vested interests and lead to greater inequalities at a time of economic crisis, and asks how the government can create a ""South-East Asian"" economy and limit the worst effects of the entry into global capitalism while maintaining stability. The contributions cover the last ten years.