Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-2brh9 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-30T20:27:41.082Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Explaining Sociopolitical Change in Latin America: The Case of Mexico

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  12 October 2022

Viviane Brachet-Márquez
Viviane Brachet-Márquez*
Affiliation:
El Colegio de México
Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Extract

Core share and HTML view are not available for this content. However, as you have access to this content, a full PDF is available via the ‘Save PDF’ action button.

Since Mexico declared its independence from Spanish rule, the country has experienced two extended periods of political stability that are atypical of Latin American societies. The first, known as the Porfiriato, extended from 1875 to 1910. The second, which was heralded by the Revolution of 1910 and consolidated in the 1920s, still holds sway in the last decade of the twentieth century. The weaknesses of the Porfiriato have been analyzed amply, thanks in great part to the hindsight provided by the revolution that ended the era. Until recently, however, most works on twentieth-century Mexico have focused on the exceptional stability of the postrevolutionary regime. This approach has left largely unresearched (Knight 1989) or merely labeled as “crises” (Needier 1987) the recurrent episodes of union insurgency, popular protest, electoral opposition, and other signs of pressure for political change that have punctuated Mexican history since the Revolution. Consequently, analysts who have recently undertaken the arduous task of diagnosing at what points this imposing edifice might “give” have been unable to benefit from insights of work carried out in previous decades.

Type
Research Article
Information
Latin American Research Review , Volume 27 , Issue 3 , 1992 , pp. 91 - 122
Copyright
Copyright © 1992 by the University of Texas Press

Footnotes

∗

I would like to thank Diane Davis, José Antonio Aldrete, Barbara Helfferich, Robert Kaufman, LARR Editor Gilbert Merkx, and the anonymous LARR readers for their comments on earlier versions of this article.

References

Alford, R. A., and Friedland, R. 1985 Powers of Theory: Capitalism, the State, and Democracy. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Almond, Gabriel A., and Coleman, James S., EDS. 1960 The Politics of Developing Areas. Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University Press.Google Scholar
Almond, Gabriel A., and Powell, G. Bingham 1966 Comparative Politics: A Developmental Approach. Boston, Mass.: Little, Brown.Google Scholar
Almond, Gabriel A., and Verba, Sidney 1963 The Civic Culture: Political Attitudes and Democracy in Five Nations. Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Alvarez, Alejandro 1987 La crisis global del capitalismo en Mexico (1968–1985). Mexico City: Era.Google Scholar
Aziz Nassif, Alberto 1989 “Regional Dimensions of Democratization.” In CORNELIUS, GENTLEMAN, AND SMITH, EDS., 1989, 87–108.Google Scholar
Baez Rodriguez, Francisco 1988 “Desmaquillaje electoral: un ejercicio.” Cuaderno de Nexos, no. 128 (September).Google Scholar
Bailey, John 1987 “Can the PRI Be Reformed? Decentralizing Candidate Selection.” In GENTLEMAN, ED., 1987, 63–92.Google Scholar
Bailey, John, and Gomez, Leopoldo 1990 “The PRI and Political Liberalization.” Journal of International Affairs 43, no. 2 (Winter):291–312.Google Scholar
Barros, Robert 1986 “The Left and Democracy: Recent Debates in Latin America.” Telos, no. 68 (Summer):49–70.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bartra, Roger 1989 “Changes in Political Culture: The Crisis of Nationalism.” In CORNELIUS, GENTLEMAN, AND SMITH, EDS., 1989, 55–86.Google Scholar
Bizberg, Ian 1990 “El corporativismo mexicano: la difícil transición.” Cuaderno de Nexos, no. 29 (Nov.):xii–xiv.Google Scholar
Brachet-Marquez, Viviane, and Kovacs, Karen 1990 “Obstáculos y perspectivas para la explicación del cambio socio-político.” In Mexico en el umbral del siglo, edited by Orlandina de Oliveira. Mexico City: Colegio de México.Google Scholar
Brandenburg, Frank 1964 The Making of Modern Mexico. Englewood Cliffs, N.J.: Prentice Hall.Google Scholar
Brown, Douglas 1988 “Sandinismo and the Problem of Democratic Hegemony.” Latin American Perspectives 17, no. 2:39–61.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cardoso, Fernando Henrique, and Faletto, Enzo 1968 Dependencia y desarrollo en América Latina. Mexico City: Siglo Veintiuno.Google Scholar
Carr, Barry 1986 “Introduction.” In The Mexican Left, the Popular Movements, and the Politics of Austerity 1982–85, edited by Carr, Barry, 11–18. La Jolla: Center for U.S.-Mexican Studies, University of California, San Diego.Google Scholar
Carr, Barry 1989 “The Left and Its Potential Role in Political Change.” In CORNELIUS, GENTLEMAN, AND SMITH, EDS., 1989, 367–90.Google Scholar
Carrillo, Teresa 1990 “Women and Independent Unionism in the Garment Industry.” In FOWERAKER AND CRAIG 1990, 213–33.Google Scholar
Chalmers, Douglas A. 1977 “The Politicized State in Latin America.” In MALLOY 1977, 23–46.Google Scholar
Chilcote, Ronald H. 1988 “Postmarxism: The Retreat from Class in Latin America.” Latin American Perspectives 17, no. 2:3–27.Google Scholar
Cline, Howard 1962 Mexico: Revolution to Evolution, 1940–1960. New York: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Cockroft, James 1972 “Coercion and Ideology in Mexican Politics.” In Dependence and Underdevelopment: Latin America's Political Economy, edited by James Cockroft, André Gunder Frank, and Johnson, Dale L. New York: Anchor.Google Scholar
Cockroft, James 1983 Mexico: Class Formation, Capital Accumulation, and the State. New York: Monthly Review.Google Scholar
Coleman, James S. 1960 “Conclusion.” In ALMOND AND COLEMAN 1960.Google Scholar
Cook, Maria Elena 1990 “Organizing Opposition in the Teachers' Movement in Oaxaca.” In FOWERAKER AND CRAIG 1990, 199–212.Google Scholar
Cordera, Rolando, and Tello, C. 1981 México: la disputa por la nación, perspectivas y opciones del desarrollo. Mexico City: Siglo Veintiuno.Google Scholar
Cordera Campos, Rolando, Delarbre, Raul Trejo, and Vega, Juan Enrique, EDS. 1988 México: el reclamo democrático. Mexico City: Fondo de Cultura Económica.Google Scholar
Cordova, Arnaldo 1985 La ideología de la revolución mexicana. Mexico City: ISUNAM and Era. First published in 1973.Google Scholar
Cordova, Arnaldo 1986 La política de masas del cardenismo. Mexico City: Era. First published in 1974.Google Scholar
Cornelius, Wayne 1987 “Political Liberalization in an Authoritarian Regime: Mexico, 1976–1985.” In GENTLEMAN, ED., 1987, 15–40.Google Scholar
Cornelius, Wayne, Gentleman, Judith, and Smith, Peter H. 1989 “The Dynamics of Political Change in Mexico.” In CORNELIUS, GENTLEMAN, AND SMITH, EDS., 1989, 1–55.Google Scholar
Cornelius, Wayne, Gentleman, Judith, and Smith, Peter H., EDS. 1989 Mexico's Alternative Political Futures. Research Monograph no. 30. La Jolla: Center for U.S.-Mexican Studies, University of California, San Diego.Google Scholar
Cosio Villegas, Daniel 1973 El sistema político mexicano. Mexico City: Joaquín Mortiz.Google Scholar
Cutright, Phillips 1963 “National Political Development: Measurement and Analysis.” American Sociological Review 28, no. 2:253–64.Google Scholar
Dahl, Robert 1970 Modern Political Analysis. Englewood Cliffs, N.J.: Prentice Hall.Google Scholar
Davies, Diana 1990 “Social Movements and Mexico's Crisis.” Journal of International Affairs 43, no. 2 (Winter): 343–67.Google Scholar
De La Garza, Enrique Toledo 1988 Ascenso y crisis del estado social autoritario. Mexico City: Colegio de México.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Fagen, Richard, and Tuohy, William S. 1974 Politics and Privilege in a Mexican City. Stanford, Calif.: Stanford University Press.Google Scholar
Fitzgerald, E. V. K. 1978 “The State and Capital Accumulation in Mexico.” Journal of Latin American Studies 10, pt. 2 (Nov.):263–82.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Foster, George 1967a Tzintzuntzan: Mexican Peasants in a Changing World. Boston: Little, Brown.Google Scholar
Foster, George 1967b “The Dyadic Contract: A Model for the Social Structure of a Mexican Peasant Village.” In Peasant Society: A Reader, edited by Jack Potter, May Díaz, and Foster, George. Boston, Mass.: Little, Brown.Google Scholar
Foweraker, Joe 1989 “Popular Movements and the Transformation of the System.” In CORNELIUS, GENTLEMAN, AND SMITH, EDS., 1989, 109–30.Google Scholar
Foweraker, Joe, and Craig, A. L., EDS. 1990 Popular Movements and Political Change in Mexico. Boulder, Colo.: Lynne Rienner.Google Scholar
Fox, Jonathan, and Gordillo, Gustavo 1989 “Between State and Market: The Campesinos' Quest for Autonomy.” In CORNELIUS, GENTLEMAN, AND SMITH, EDS., 1989, 131–72.Google Scholar
Garrido, Luis Javier 1987 “Un partido sin militantes.” In LOAEZA AND SEGOVIA 1987, 61–100.Google Scholar
Garrido, Luis Javier 1989 “The Crisis of presidencialismo.” In CORNELIUS, GENTLEMAN, AND SMITH, EDS., 1989, 417–34.Google Scholar
Gentleman, Judith 1987 “Political Change in Authoritarian Systems.” In GENTLEMAN, ED., 1987, 3–14.Google Scholar
Gentleman, Judith, ED. 1987 Mexican Politics in Transition. Boulder, Colo.: Westview.Google Scholar
Gilly, Adolfo 1971 La revolución interrumpida. Mexico City: El Caballito.Google Scholar
Gilly, Adolfo 1990 “The Mexican Regime and Its Dilemma.” Journal of International Affairs 43, no. 2 (Winter):273–90.Google Scholar
Gomez-Tagle, Silvia 1988 “Conflictos y contradicciones en el sistema electoral mexicano.” In Elecciones en México, edited by Silvia Gómez-Tagle, Estudios Sociológicos 6, no. 16 (Jan.–Apr.): 3–38.Google Scholar
Gomez-Tagle, Silvia 1990 Las estadísticas electorales de la reforma política. Cuadernos del CES, no. 34. Mexico City: Colegio de México.Google Scholar
Gonzalez Casanova, Pablo 1970 Democracy in Mexico. New York: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Greenberg, Martin 1970 Bureaucracy and Development: A Mexican Case Study. Lexington, Mass.: Heath Lexington Books.Google Scholar
Grindle, Merilee S. 1977a Bureaucrats, Politicians, and Peasants in Mexico. Berkeley and Los Angeles: University of California Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Grindle, Merilee S. 1977b “Policy Change in an Authoritarian Regime.” Journal of Interamerican Studies and World Affairs 19, no. 4 (Nov.):523–55.Google Scholar
Hagen, Everett E. 1963 “A Framework for Analyzing Economic and Political Change.” In Development of the Emerging Countries: An Agenda for Research, edited by Asher, R. et al. Washington D.C.: Brookings Institution.Google Scholar
Hamilton, Nora 1985 “State-Class Alliance and Conflicts: Issues and Actors in the Mexican Economic Crisis.” In Modern Mexico: State, Economy, and Social Conflict, edited by Hamilton, Nora and Harding, Timothy F. Beverly Hills, Calif.: Sage.Google Scholar
Harding, Timothy F., and Petras, J. 1988 “Introduction: Democratization and Class Struggles.” Latin American Perspectives, no. 15 (Summer).CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hamilton, Nora, and Harding, Timothy F., EDS. 1985 Modern Mexico: State, Economy, and Social Conflict. Beverly Hills, Calif.: Sage.Google Scholar
Harvey, Neil 1990 “Peasant Strategies and Corporatism in Chiapas.” In FOWERAKER AND CRAIG 1990, 183–98.Google Scholar
Hernandez, Luis 1986 “The SNTE and Teachers' Movement, 1982–1984.” In CARR 1986, 59–76.Google Scholar
Hodges, Donald, and Gandy, Ross 1979 Mexico, 1910–1976: Reform or Revolution? London: Zed.Google Scholar
Huntington, Samuel P. 1968 Political Order in Changing Societies. New Haven, Conn.: Yale University Press.Google Scholar
Kaufman, Robert 1977 “Mexico and Latin American Authoritarianism.” In REYNA AND WEINERT, 173–92.Google Scholar
Kaufman, Susan 1973 “Decision Making in an Authoritarian Regime: Theoretical Implications from a Case Study.” World Politics 25, no. 3 (Apr.):28–53.Google Scholar
Kaufman, Susan 1975 The Mexican Profit-Sharing Decision: Politics in an Authoritarian Regime. Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Knight, Alan 1989 “Comment.” In CORNELIUS, GENTLEMAN, AND SMITH, EDS., 1989, 453–64.Google Scholar
Krause, Enrique 1987 Por una democracia sin adjetivos. Mexico City: Joaquín Mortiz and Planeta.Google Scholar
Leal, Juan Felipe 1974 La burguesía y el estado mexicano. Second edition. Mexico City: El Caballito.Google Scholar
Leal, Juan Felipe 1986 “The Mexican State, 1915–1973: A Historical Interpretation.” In HAMILTON AND HARDING 1986, 21–42.Google Scholar
Lechner, Norbert 1986 “De la revolución a la democracia.” La Ciudad Futura 2 (October).Google Scholar
Lerner De Scheinbaum, Berta 1989 “El estado mexicano y el 6 de julio de 1988.” Revista Mexicana de Sociología 51, no. 4 (Oct.–Dec.):199–238.Google Scholar
Linz, Juan 1975 “Totalitarian and Authoritarian Regimes.” In Handbook of Political Science, edited by Fred Greenstein and Nelson Polsby. Reading, Mass.: Addison-Wesley.Google Scholar
Lipset, Seymour Martin 1960 Political Man: The Social Bases of Politics. Garden City, N.Y.: Doubleday.Google Scholar
Loaeza, Soledad 1989a “Mexico 1968: los orígenes de la transición.” Foro Internacional 30, no. 1 (July–Sept.):66–92.Google Scholar
Loaeza, Soledad 1989b “The Emergence and Legitimation of the Modern Right, 1970–1988.” In CORNELIUS, GENTLEMAN, AND SMITH, EDS., 1989, 351–66.Google Scholar
Loaeza, Soledad, and Gay, Rafael Perez 1989 “Los partidos.” Cuaderno de Nexos, no. 7 (Feb.):i–ii.Google Scholar
Loaeza, Soledad, and Segovia, Rafael, EDS. 1987 La vida política mexicana en la crisis. Mexico City: Colegio de México.Google Scholar
Malloy, James M., ED. 1977 Authoritarianism and Corporatism in Latin America. Pittsburgh, Pa.: Pittsburgh University Press.Google Scholar
Marx, Karl 1972 The Class Struggles in France, 1848–1850. New York: International.Google Scholar
Maxfield, Sylvia 1990 Governing Capital: International Finance and Mexican Politic. Ithaca, N.Y.: Cornell University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Meyer, Lorenzo 1977 “Historical Roots of the Authoritarian State in Mexico.” In REYNA AND WEINERT 1977, 3–22.Google Scholar
Meyer, Lorenzo 1989 “Democratization of the PRI: Mission Impossible?” In CORNELIUS, GENTLEMAN, AND SMITH, EDS., 1989, 325–50.Google Scholar
Middlebrook, Kevin J. 1986 “Political Liberalization in an Authoritarian Regime.” In Elections and Democratization in Latin America, 1980–85, edited by Drake, Paul W. and Silva, E., 73–104. La Jolla: Center for Iberian and Latin American Studies, Center for U.S.-Mexican Studies, and Institute of the Americas, University of California, San Diego.Google Scholar
Molinar Horcasitas, Juan 1987 “The 1985 Federal Elections in Mexico: The Product of a System.” In Electoral Patterns and Perspectives in Mexico, edited by A. Alvarado. Research Monograph no. 22. Center for U.S.-Mexican Studies, University of California, San Diego.Google Scholar
Monsivais, Carlos 1990 “Las mayorías ‘no modernizables.‘” Cuaderno de Nexos, no. 19 (Jan.):ix.Google Scholar
Munck, Ronaldo L. 1988 “Farewell to Socialism? A Comment on Recent Debates.” Latin American Perspectives 17, no. 2:113–21.Google Scholar
Munck, Ronaldo L. 1990 “Identity and Ambiguity in Democratic Struggles.” In FOWERAKER AND CRAIG 1990, 23–42.Google Scholar
Needler, Martin 1987 “The Significance of Recent Events for the Mexican Political System.” In GENTLEMAN, ED., 1987, 201–16.Google Scholar
Otero, Gerardo 1989 “The New Agrarian Movement: Self-Managed Democratic Production.” Latin American Perspectives, no. 16 (Fall):28–59.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Packenham, Robert A. 1973 Liberal America and the Third World. Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University Press.Google Scholar
Pereyra, Carlos 1987 “La reforma democrática.” Nexos, no. 117 (Sept.):28.Google Scholar
Petras, James 1981 “Dependency and World Systems Theory: A Critique and New Directions.” Latin American Perspectives 8, nos. 3–4 (Summer–Fall): 148–55.Google Scholar
Poitras, Guy E. 1973 “Welfare Bureaucracy and Clientele Politics in Mexico.” Administrative Science Quarterly 18, no. 1 (Mar.):18–26.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Pye, Lucian W. 1966 Aspects of Political Development. Boston, Mass.: Little, Brown.Google Scholar
Ramirez Saiz, Juan Manuel 1990 “Urban Struggles and Their Political Consequences.” In FOWERAKER AND CRAIG 1990, 234–46.Google Scholar
Reyna, Jose Luis 1974 Control político, estabilidad y desarrollo en México. Cuadernos del CES, no. 3. Mexico City: Colegio de México.Google Scholar
Reyna, Jose Luis 1977 “Redefining the Authoritarian Regime.” In REYNA AND WEINERT 1977, 155–72.Google Scholar
Reyna, Jose Luis, and Weinert, Richard S., EDS. 1977 Authoritarianism in Mexico. Philadelphia, Pa.: Institute for the Study of Human Issues.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Rivera Rios, Miguel Angel 1989 Crisis y reorientación del capitalismo mexicano, 1960–1985. Mexico City: Era.Google Scholar
Rustow, Dankwart A. 1967 A World of Nations: Problems of Political Modernization. Washington, D.C.: Brookings Institution.Google Scholar
Salazar, Luis C. 1989 “Aplausos y chiflidos.” Cuaderno de Nexos, no. 8 (Mar.):iii–iv.Google Scholar
Saldivar, Americo 1985 Ideología y política del estado mexicano (1970–1976). Mexico City: Siglo Veintiuno (first published in 1980).Google Scholar
Salinas, Samuel, and Imaz, Carlos 1989 Maestros y estado: estudios de las luchas magisteriales, 1979–1982. 2 vols. Mexico City: Editorial Línea, Universidad Autónoma de Guerrero, and Universidad Autónoma de Zacatecas.Google Scholar
Schmitter, Philippe C. 1974 “Still the Century of Corporatism?” The Review of Politics 36, no. 1:85–131.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Scott, Robert E. 1964 Mexican Government in Transition, Urbana: University of Illinois Press.Google Scholar
Segovia, Rafael 1990 “El PRI: las nuevas circunstancias.” Cuaderno de Nexos, no. 27 (September).Google Scholar
Semo, Enrique 1985 Historia mexicana: economía y lucha de clases. Mexico City: Era. First published in 1978.Google Scholar
Stavenhagen, Rodolfo 1976 “Reflexiones sobre el proceso político.” Nueva Política 1, no. 2 (Apr.–June):15–22.Google Scholar
Stepan, Alfred 1978 The State and Society: Peru in Comparative Perspective. Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University PressGoogle Scholar
Stepan, Alfred 1985 “State Power and the Strength of Civil Society in the Southern Cone of Latin America.” In Bringing the State Back In, edited by Peter B. Evans, Dietrich Rueschemeyer, and Skocpol, Theda. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Stevens, Evelyn 1974 Protest and Response in Mexico. Cambridge, Mass: MIT Press.Google Scholar
Stevens, Evelyn 1977 “Mexico's PRI: The Institutionalization of Corporatism?” In MALLOY 1977, 227–58.Google Scholar
Story, Dale 1986 Industry, the State, and Public Policy in Mexico. Austin: University of Texas Press.Google Scholar
Street, Susan 1986 “Public Policy and Mass Struggle in Mexican Education: Reproductive and Subversive Tendencies in Transforming State Bureaucracy.” Paper presented to the Latin American Studies Association, 23–25 Oct., Boston, Massachusetts.Google Scholar
Street, Susan n.d. “El papel de los movimientos sociales en el análisis del cambio social en México.” Revista Mexicana de Sociología, forthcoming.Google Scholar
Tarres, Maria Luisa 1986 “Del abstencionismo electoral a la oposición política: las clases medias en Ciudad Satélite.” Estudios Sociológicos 4, no. 12 (Sept.–Dec.):361–90.Google Scholar
Tarres, Maria Luisa 1987 “Crisis and Political Opposition among the Mexican Middle Classes.” International Sociology 2, no. 2:131–50.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Tarres, Maria Luisa 1990 “Middle-Class Associations and Electoral Opposition.” In FOWERAKER AND CRAIG, 137–49.Google Scholar
Torres Ramirez, Blanca 1971 The Mexican PAN: A Case Study of the Party in Yucatán. Oxford: University of Oxford, St. Andrew's College.Google Scholar
Torres Ramirez, Blanca 1986 Decentralización y democracia en México. Mexico City: Colegio de México.Google Scholar
Vasconi, Tomas A. 1988 “Democracy and Socialism in South America.” Latin American Perspectives 17, no. 2:25–38.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Verba, Sidney 1967 “Some Dilemmas in Comparative Research.” World Politics 20, no. 1:111–27.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wallerstein, Immanuel 1974 The Modern World System: Capitalist Agriculture and the Origins of the European World-Economy in the Sixteenth Century. New York: Academic Press.Google Scholar
Zaid, Gabriel 1987 La economía presidencial. Mexico City: Vuelta.Google Scholar
Zermeño, Sergio 1990 “Crisis, Neoliberalism, and Disorder.” In FOWERAKER AND CRAIG 1990, 160–82.Google Scholar