Kevin J. Middlebrook

The politics of economic restructuring : state-society relations and regime change in Mexico

Rapid economic restructuring during the 1980s and early 1990s had major consequences for state-society relations in Mexico. The de la Madrid and Salinas administrations broke decisively with post-1940 import-substituting development policies by promoting an economic strategy based on the privatization of state-owned firms, systematic market liberalization, and international economic opening. These changes significantly redefined the states role as an economic actor, and they transformed relations between important social actors and the state. The essays in this volume examine three key questions arising from these economic and political transformations. First, what is the longer-term relationship between economic liberalization and political democratization in Mexico? Second, what impact has economic restructuring had on elections and the party system and on the states relationship with organized labor, the private sector, peasant and rural producer organizations, and urban popular movements? How have these different actors responded to the consequences of economic restructuring? Third, what is the significance of the Mexican case for the comparative analysis of economic and political liberalization? This book is the product of a June 1992 conference jointly organized by the Center for U.S.-Mexican Studies and the Coordinacion de Humanidades, Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico. The revised and updated essays by political scientists, economists, and sociologists offer incisive evaluations of contemporary Mexican politics and state-society relations.

The Political economy of the Latin American motor vehicle industry

The motor vehicle industry has had a dramatic impact on industrialized societies, shaping the structure and productive processes of capitalist economies and defining consumer life styles. The industrys impact on the Third World has been no less significant. The contributions in this book provide a unique view of its emergence and growth in a number of different national settings in an area of the Third World where the industry is most advanced. They explore what occurs when the worlds leading consumer durable is produced and sold in a context of dependency and underdevelopment.Chapters by Kenneth S. Mericle, Rhys Jenkins, and Rich Kronish examine the political economy of the motor vehicle industry as it has evolved in Brazil, Argentina, and Mexico, stressing the importance of the structural problems it has encountered. Chapters by John Humphrey, Judith Evans, Paul Heath Hoeffel and Daniel James, and by Ian Roxborough focus on the role and impact of labor in the same three countries. Chapters by Douglas Bennett and Kenneth Sharpe, and Michael Fleet (on the industry in Colombia) discuss the bargaining process between the transnational vehicle corporations and the Latin American governments. A concluding chapter by the editors summarizes the study and offers a history of the industry in the three principal countries from 1900 to 1980.

Dynamics of world development

Twelve previously unpublished essays discuss particular cases and issues of theory from the world-system perspective. The effect of changes in Europe on l8th century coffee production; how the Mexican revolution helped the country fit a new international role; the agrarian crisis that helped precipitate the fall of the Shah; and the ways in which dependence leads to the creation of strong national regimes are among the topics discussed in order to show the interdependence of the world system.

The Politics of Industrial Restructuring: Transnational Firms’ Search for Flexible Production in the Mexican Automobile Industry

The emergence of a highly competitive world automobile industry and the internationalization of automotive production in the 1970s and 1980s intensified transnational firms’ search for new corporate alliances, innovative production technologies, and more flexible labor relations. The global transformation of automotive manufacturing has produced broad challenges for workers because in many countries the process of industrial restructuring has resulted in lower employment levels, reduced wages and fringe benefits, and other economic disruptions. Moreover, in their drive to achieve higher levels of production efficiency and quality control, many US and West European automobile companies have also re-examined the long dominant Fordist—Taylorist model of workplace organization in which relatively unskilled workers perform repetitive, narrowly defined tasks in a hierarchically organized, fragmented (assembly line) work process dedicated to the mass production of standardized products.1

Dilemmas of Change in Mexican Politics

Despite the past resilience of Mexicos authoritarian regime, the severity of the countrys post-1982 economic crisis raises major questions concerning the future direction of Mexican politics. This review examines recent developments affecting two key members of the governing revolutionary coalition, the political elite and organized labor. The political elites unity is potentially threatened by shifts in education and recruitment patterns, and widespread uncertainty regarding Mexicos economic future has produced the most serious intra-elite division since the early 1950s. Prolonged economic crisis has also placed severe strains on state-labor relations, and the governments implementation of a new development strategy may lead to a substantial redefinition of organized labors overall position in the Mexican regime. These changes pose significant challenges to the political elites ability to preserve a broad-based governing coalition and political openness while managing the economic crisis and conflicting development priorities.

Mexico Since 1980: Mexico Before 1982: The Political Economy of Authoritarian Rule

Mexico experienced major economic and political transformations during the 1980s and 1990s that ushered in an open economy and electoral democracy. These transformations are not understandable if viewed outside of the broader context of Mexicos history. Thus, a balanced assessment of both the importance and the limits of these changes requires an understanding of Mexicos political economy before 1982. Twice in its history, Mexico was governed by authoritarian regimes based on rent-seeking coalitions. The first was the dictatorship of Porfirio Diaz (1876–1911, a period known as the Porfiriato); the second was the party-based authoritarian regime that took shape in the aftermath of Mexicos 1910–1920 revolution and held sway until the election of Vicente Fox Quesada in 2000. These two regimes differed greatly in their social bases, their degree of political institutionalization, and their resilience in the face of pressures for change. Yet these regimes also had some important things in common: They produced long periods of stable government, centralized political power in the presidency, and pursued protectionist economic policies. Both regimes also produced a highly unequal distribution of the benefits of economic growth – a direct result of the fact that they allocated public policies and property rights selectively, so as to benefit primarily the core members of the coalitions that supported them.

Mexico Since 1980: Abbreviations and Acronyms

1. The second Mexican revolution: economic, political, and social change since 1980 2. Mexico before 1982: the political economy of authoritarian rule 3. The causes and consequences of free trade 4. The Mexican banking system: the politics and economics of financial underdevelopment 5. The transformation of Mexican politics 6. Health, education, and welfare in Mexico since 1980 7. Democracy and development in Mexico: future challenges and the legacy of authoritarian rule.

Mexico Since 1980: Acknowledgments

1. The second Mexican revolution: economic, political, and social change since 1980 2. Mexico before 1982: the political economy of authoritarian rule 3. The causes and consequences of free trade 4. The Mexican banking system: the politics and economics of financial underdevelopment 5. The transformation of Mexican politics 6. Health, education, and welfare in Mexico since 1980 7. Democracy and development in Mexico: future challenges and the legacy of authoritarian rule.

Mexico Since 1980: Contents

1. The second Mexican revolution: economic, political, and social change since 1980 2. Mexico before 1982: the political economy of authoritarian rule 3. The causes and consequences of free trade 4. The Mexican banking system: the politics and economics of financial underdevelopment 5. The transformation of Mexican politics 6. Health, education, and welfare in Mexico since 1980 7. Democracy and development in Mexico: future challenges and the legacy of authoritarian rule.

Mexico Since 1980: Frontmatter

1. The second Mexican revolution: economic, political, and social change since 1980 2. Mexico before 1982: the political economy of authoritarian rule 3. The causes and consequences of free trade 4. The Mexican banking system: the politics and economics of financial underdevelopment 5. The transformation of Mexican politics 6. Health, education, and welfare in Mexico since 1980 7. Democracy and development in Mexico: future challenges and the legacy of authoritarian rule.