The United Mexican States

Quick Facts• Capital: Mexico City

• Language: Spanish w/many indigenous

• Population: 114.96 million

• Size: About 3x the size of Texas

• System type: Federal and a Presidential Republic

Quick Facts• Head of gov’t and state: President

Enrique Peña Nieto (PRI)

• Religion: Predominantly Catholic (76.5%)

• Population Growth Rate: 1.086% (vs. China, which is 1.3%, Britain, which is 0.3%, and Russia, which is 0.2%)

Quick Facts• World’s ninth biggest economy

and eighth biggest producer of oil• Mexico is full of paradoxes:

wealth, urban and modern yet also poor, rural and traditional

• 1 in 10 Mexicans is illiterate yet 1 in 6 go on to higher education (comparable to many Eur. countries)

Quick Facts• Few religious or ethnic problems

• 60% mestizo (Amerindian and Spanish), 30% pure native American

• Most of areas far away from Mexico City remain pure native

• Less direct racism & discrimination than in US

Political Development• Until 15th century, natives like

Mayas and Aztecs inhabited most of land

• Spanish arrived in 1519 – Cortes subjugated Aztecs easily

• By mid-16th cent., all of Mexico & large parts of US conquered

Political Development• Native population fell from 11 million

to 6 million• Agitation for independence in early 19th

cent• Elaborate social hierarchy with

Spanish- born on top & natives at bottom

• Struggle between peninsulares (Spanish administrators) & Mexicans of Spanish descent (criollos) and mestizos

Political Development• Mexico won independence in 1821

& then tried to build its own empire in central America

• But economy weak and power struggles b/t liberals who wanted democratic federal system and conservative who wanted a more centralized system (monarchy)

Political Development• 30 presidents in the first 50 years of

independence – revolution, rigged elections, and rapid changes in leadership

• Conflicts w/US, esp. w/Texas – by 1855 Mexico had lost 50% of its territory to US

• Conflicts w/Eur, esp. w/Napoleon III who made Mexico a French dependent

Political Development• 1867 – Benito Juarez became

president when emperor under French rule was executed

• Strong civil liberties, regular elections, reductions in power of church, & expanded public education

Political Development• 1876 –1910 – The Porfiriato• Military gov’t of Porfirio Diaz• Political stability, economic

expansion, national income, foreign investment & trade all grew

• But political freedoms ended – no free elections or free speech

Political Development• Brought with him the científicos, a

group of young advisors that believed in bringing scientific & economic progress to Mexico

• Growing gap between rich & poor – elite led lavish lifestyles but majority remained poor

Political Development• Peasants lost land & forced to

become laborers, middle class excluded from power

• Diaz announced he would step down but then refused and rebellion broke out – he was defeated and went into exile in 1911

Political Development• 1910-1917 – Revolution & civil

war• Rev. came from middle and upper

classes (like Russian Rev.)• Seeking to end influence of foreign

capitalists and open up opportunities for themselves

• Madero – 1st leader of rev.

Political Development• 1913 – murdered in US-sponsored coup

by Victoriano Huerta• Brief & violent civil war broke out w/3

groups against Huerta• 1. Peasant army led by Emiliano Zapata• 2. Workers and cattlemen led by

Pancho Villa• 3. Ranchers & businessmen led by

Venustiano Carranza

Political Development• Carranza in control by 1915 and Villa and

Zapata both eventually assassinated

• 1917 – new constitution that has been base of Mex. gov’t ever since

• Separation of powers, federalism, Bill of Rights

• But gave state control over natural resources & federal gov’t the right to redistribute land

Political Development• Many describe this Rev as the 1st

great social rev of 20th cent. but Mexico’s condition today allows one to argue that goals of rev. haven’t been met yet & that it continues

• 1924-1940 – Stabilizing the Rev. but period of warlordism

Political Development• Plutarco Calles – created National

Rev. Party in 1929

• Brought caudillos together under 1 big political party & this was intended to bring stability through agreement to “pass around” power from 1 leader to next for 6-yr. period (SEXENIO)

Political Development• Other leaders would be given

major positions in gov’t to establish their influence

• Party went on to govern Mexico for the rest of the century

• Changed its name to PRI in 1945, (Partido Revolucionario Institucional)

Political Development• 1. Power of traditional rural landowners

undercut

• 2. Catholic Church influence curtailed (anticlericalism)

• 3. Power of foreign investors limited (had owned lots of land)

• 4. New political elite agreed to bargain & accommodate instead of using violence

• 5. Strong central government

Political Development• Lazaro Cárdenas even more influential –

most left-wing president (1934-1940)

• Redistributed land (ejidos - collective) more than 7 predecessors combined, supported unions, & most importantly, launched nationalization program

• 1938 – created Pemex – state oil corporation (Petroleos Mexicanos), upsetting US, which boycotted oil

Political Development• Gov’t built roads, provided electricity,

& created public services that modernized Mexico

• Stabilized the presidency & peacefully let go of his power when his sexenio was up

• STATE CORPORATISM – inclusion of various groups in policymaking

Political Development• Pendulum Theory – back-and-forth

effect in policy• Socialist reform to free-market

economic development and back again• Each president following Cárdenas

either used Cárdenas as a model or chose opposite direction

• As Mexico reached 1970s, pendulum appeared to stop

Political Development• New generation of tecnicos (educated,

business-oriented leaders) appeared to take control of gov’t and PRI with moderate, free-market approach to politics

• By 1980s Mexico settled into neoliberalism – calls for free markets, balanced budgets, privatization, free trade, & limited gov’t intervention in economy

Political Development• 1976-1982 – Oil Crisis

• After Cárdenas, Mexico’s econ. & pol. development paved way for steady growth until 1968

• Mexico City Olympics provided media spotlight on students who demanded political liberalization

Political Development• Gov’t crackdown caused deaths of as

many as 500 students by army

• Mex’s econ. in trouble – expensive oil exploration program found vast new oil resources

• Encouraged Portillo (prez from 1976-1982) to follow more liberal line in domestic politics & economic policy

Political Development• Heavy investments made in transport,

industry, education, healthcare, communications & jobs created

• Spending caused inflation & encouraged more imports than exports

• Price of oil began to fall & Mexico borrowed to cover spending, building large national debt

Political Development• 1982 – nearly defaulted on debt so

moved to more open & competitive free-market system instead of centralized econ. Management

• 1986 – member of GATT (General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade)

• 1994 – member of NAFTA

Political Development• 1994 – member of OECD (Org. for

Economic Cooperation & Dev.) lib• Peso also collapsed this same year,

to which Clinton responded with $50 billion international rescue package of loan guarantees to help Mexico avoid defaulting on debt

• Drug trafficking on the rise

Political Development• Unrest in southern states (esp.

Chiapas, which rebelled in 1994) – denounced NAFTA, felt that they were cheated out of land & were being denied basic services

• Zapatista National Liberation Army (EZLN) led by Subcomandante Marcos seized towns – army put down, 150 deaths, peace agreement signed

Subcomandante Marcos - always wears mask and pipe

Political Development• Series of electoral reform

encouraged rise of opposition parties

• 1997 – PRI lost majority in lower house and 2000 lost majority in Senate as well as presidency

Political Development• Today – healthy multiparty

democracy & prez has been unable to manipulate gov’t

• Inefficient state-owned monopolies replaced by privately owned businesses

• Bigger GDP than India, Spain, or South Korea

Political Development• Tenuous peace in Chiapas – rebels

still control state but Marcos marched to Mexico City

• Mexico’s foreign policy more assertive & independent of U.S.

• Developed reputation as champion of free trade

• Good relations w/rest of Latin Amer.

Political Development• Vicente Fox’s election in 2000 – first

non-PRI president in 7 decades

• But Fox found it difficult to bring about changes he had promised

• He & his team lacked experience

• New structural factors limited his ability to secure approval so was unable to overcome opposition

Political Development• Since domestic agenda was stalled, he

decided to concentrate on foreign policy, esp. building strong relationship with the U.S.

• Then 9/11 occurred, changing this• US moved its focus to Middle East• Nationalism & Immigration issues

remain important factors in Mexican politics