Origins of Instability in Early Republican Mexico

Origins of Instability in Early Republican Mexico
Author: Donald Fithian Stevens
Publisher: Duke University Press
Total Pages: 212
Release: 1991
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 9780822311362

In the decades following independence, Mexico was transformed from a strong, stable colony into a republic suffering from economic decline and political strife. Marked by political instability--characterized by Antonio López de Santa Anna's rise to the presidency on eleven distinct occasions--this period of Mexico's history is often neglected and frequently misunderstood. Donald F. Stevens' revisionist account challenges traditional historiography to examine the nature and origins of Mexico's political instability. Turning to quantitative methods as a way of providing a framework for examining existing hypotheses concerning Mexico's instability, the author dissects the relationship between instability and economic cycles; contradicts the notion that Mexico's social elite could have increased political stability by becoming more active; and argues that the principal political fissures were not liberal vs. conservative but were among radical, moderate, and conservative. Ultimately, Stevens maintains, the origins of that country's instability are to be found in the contradictions between liberalism and Mexico's traditional class structure, and the problems of creating an independent republic from colonial, monarchical, and authoritarian traditions.

Mexico's Political Stability

Mexico's Political Stability
Author: Roderic A. Camp
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 362
Release: 2019-08-28
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 042971226X

Mexico is undergoing its worst economic cr1s1s since the world depression of the 1930s. In this volume contributors analyze significant patterns that might affect political stability and legitimacy, economic viability, and social change over the next several years, often reaching controversial conclusions. They argue, for example, that the military is not likely to change its present civil-military role; that political opposition, rather than political violence or pressure from foreign governments, will have the most profound influence on the changing pattern of political legitimacy and system stability; and that decision-making in the private sector may have the greatest potential to resolve or exacerbate the current crisis. Finally, they suggest that because economic conditions have been altered so dramatically in the recent period, Mexican policymakers will need to develop a new range of political alternatives to stabilize the economy and redirect the country's future.

The Politics of Property Rights

The Politics of Property Rights
Author: Stephen Haber
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Total Pages: 420
Release: 2003-05-26
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 9780521820677

This book addresses a puzzle in political economy: why is it that political instability does not necessarily translate into economic stagnation or collapse? In order to address this puzzle, it advances a theory about property rights systems in many less developed countries. In this theory, governments do not have to enforce property rights as a public good. Instead, they may enforce property rights selectively (as a private good), and share the resulting rents with the group of asset holders who are integrated into the government. Focusing on Mexico, this book explains how the property rights system was constructed during the Porfirio Díaz dictatorship (1876-1911) and then explores how this property rights system either survived, or was reconstructed. The result is an analytic economic history of Mexico under both stability and instability, and a generalizable framework about the interaction of political and economic institutions.

Party Systems in Latin America

Party Systems in Latin America
Author: Scott Mainwaring
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Total Pages: 525
Release: 2018-02-08
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 1107175526

This book generates a wealth of new empirical information about Latin American party systems and contributes richly to major theoretical debates about party systems and democracy.

Cultural Politics in Revolution

Cultural Politics in Revolution
Author: Mary K. Vaughan
Publisher: University of Arizona Press
Total Pages: 284
Release: 1997-03
Genre: History
ISBN: 9780816516766

"Innovative study of the cultural legacy of the Mexican Revolution, using the story of rural schools. Focuses on Puebla and Sonora and the attempt by the central government to implement socialist education and to advance its nationalist agenda. Stresses the importance of negotiation among national and local leaders, teachers and peasants"--Handbook of Latin American Studies, v. 58.

Dictablanda

Dictablanda
Author: Paul Gillingham
Publisher: Duke University Press Books
Total Pages: 0
Release: 2014-04-04
Genre: History
ISBN: 9780822356318

In 1910 Mexicans rebelled against an imperfect dictatorship; after 1940 they ended up with what some called the perfect dictatorship. A single party ruled Mexico for over seventy years, holding elections and talking about revolution while overseeing one of the world's most inequitable economies. The contributors to this groundbreaking collection revise earlier interpretations, arguing that state power was not based exclusively on hegemony, corporatism, or violence. Force was real, but it was also exercised by the ruled. It went hand-in-hand with consent, produced by resource regulation, political pragmatism, local autonomies and a popular veto. The result was a dictablanda: a soft authoritarian regime. This deliberately heterodox volume brings together social historians, anthropologists, sociologists, and political scientists to offer a radical new understanding of the emergence and persistence of the modern Mexican state. It also proposes bold, multidisciplinary approaches to critical problems in contemporary politics. With its blend of contested elections, authoritarianism, and resistance, Mexico foreshadowed the hybrid regimes that have spread across much of the globe. Dictablanda suggests how they may endure. Contributors. Roberto Blancarte, Christopher R. Boyer, Guillermo de la Peña, María Teresa Fernández Aceves, Paul Gillingham, Rogelio Hernández Rodríguez, Alan Knight, Gladys McCormick, Tanalís Padilla, Wil G. Pansters, Andrew Paxman, Jaime Pensado, Pablo Piccato, Thomas Rath, Jeffrey W. Rubin, Benjamin T. Smith, Michael Snodgrass

Corruption & Politics in Contemporary Mexico

Corruption & Politics in Contemporary Mexico
Author: Stephen D. Morris
Publisher: University of Alabama Press
Total Pages: 228
Release: 1991
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 9780817305253

This book addresses the causes, effects, and dynamics of political corruption in Mexico. Systematic analysis of corruption is critical to a better understanding of the politics of Mexico, and despite the many conceptual and methodological obstacles, the importance of the subject matter demands treatment. Morris's work should therefore be seen not as definitive, but as an initial step in understanding a central dimension of Mexican politics. Corruption, as a topic of research, invites certain misunderstandings, as it is a broad concept conveying a variety of moral connotations. This inquiry into political corruption is not intended to depict the Mexican people or society as any less or more moral than others. The study draws on extensive content analysis of news reports from the Mexican press, a public opinion poll conducted in 1986, and personal interviews. The objective is not to expose scandals and wrongdoing by Mexican officials, name names, or point fingers; it is an academic endeavor. The author discusses scandals and gives examples of corruption for illustrative purposes, but his analysis is more theoretical than anecdotal. He questions whether in fact corruption has enhanced or diminished the stability of the Mexican government, and examines the reasons for the failure of many anti-corruption efforts.

Gender and Welfare in Mexico

Gender and Welfare in Mexico
Author: Nichole Sanders
Publisher: Penn State Press
Total Pages: 184
Release: 2011
Genre: Social Science
ISBN: 0271048875

"Examines the political and social influences behind the creation of the postrevolutionary Mexican welfare state in the 1930s, 1940s, and 1950s"--Provided by publisher.

Post-stabilization Politics in Latin America

Post-stabilization Politics in Latin America
Author: Carol Wise
Publisher:
Total Pages: 324
Release: 2003
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN:

Since the early 1980s Latin America has seen a definitive shift toward civilian rule. Significant trade, fiscal and monetary reforms have accompanied these changes, exposing previously statist economies to the forces of the market. Despite the conventional notion that liberal economic reforms sprang out of necessity, as opposed to an enlightened set of policy choices, the combination of civilian regimes and market-based strategies has proved to be resilient. Economic and political hardships remain, including a debt default in Argentina and an attempted coup in Venezuela; however, the defining themes of open market and liberal politics still dominate in the region.

Agrarian Populism and the Mexican State

Agrarian Populism and the Mexican State
Author: Steven E. Sanderson
Publisher: University of California Press
Total Pages: 312
Release: 2018-04-20
Genre: History
ISBN: 0520301749

As oil-rich Mexico faces the 1980s, conflicts between agrarian populism and capitalist industrialization call for resolution. The internal peace and political stability that made the period between the late 1930s and the early 1970s so productive left many Mexicans—particularly the campesinos—marginal to the benefits of the economy. During this period of economic growth, agrarian reform, the trademark of the Mexican revolution, was relegated to a position of lesser importance in national politics. But with forty percent of the population still remaning in the countryside, it is clear that programs for rural development and land redistribution must again be given prominence. In this study of Sonora—a key agricultural state in northwestern Mexico—Steven E. Sanderson examines in economic and political terms the post-revolutionary rise of agrarian reform and its decline, dividing the sixty years of change (from 1917 to 1976) into three periods. Agrarian populism dominated the first, which he calls a time of post-revolutionary consolidation (1917–1940). Then, during the "miracle years" of 1940–1970, the growing strength of capital and the success of state-led import substitution plans led to a counterreform in agrarian politics. In the final period, that of President Echeverria's populist resurgence (1970–1976), ambitious but flawed agrarian reform plans clashed with the sector that favored the increasing concentration of land, income, and political influence. Sonora provides a particularly interesting view of these developments because of its political and geographical distance from metropolitan Mexico, its rich history of independence, its economic growth since the revolution, and the political sophistication of its residents. The events in this state exemplify the regional imbalances, the ideological biases, and the political manipulations contributing to the crisis in state legitimacy that dominated Mexican politics in the 1970s. Using a combination of agrarian census materials, state archives, newspapers, records from relevant ministries, and selected interviews with participants, Sanderson presents the complex history of conflict between the political base supporting agrarian reform and the economic forces advocating industrialization and economic growth. This title is part of UC Press's Voices Revived program, which commemorates University of California Press’s mission to seek out and cultivate the brightest minds and give them voice, reach, and impact. Drawing on a backlist dating to 1893, Voices Revived makes high-quality, peer-reviewed scholarship accessible once again using print-on-demand technology. This title was originally published in 1981.