Economic, political, and social change in Mexico were surveyed and analyzed. Largely, the period covered in this survey and analysis covered the past two decades with some projection for the country's future. Economic, political, and social changes were considered within the contexts of the past (Mexico prior to 1990), the present (Mexico subsequent to 1989 and prior to 1999), and the future (Mexico subsequent to 1998.
The central issues that defined Mexico over the decade or so prior to 1990 were the emergence of the country's huge external debt problem and the government's initiatives to reverse prior constitutionally mandated agrarian land reform. These two issues remained salient in the 1990s, as the peso crashed, the economy floundered, and the Chiapas peasants revolted against the central government, largely over political representation and land issues. Unfortunately for the Mexican government these issues have not been resolved through 1998, and, as a consequence, they will loom as large issues which must be dealt with in Mexico's future.
Land reform will be a central issue in Mexico's future development. A failure to implement effective agrarian land reform is a major barrier to economic development. Prior land reform efforts in Mexico have been high profile governmental efforts, but they have been both incomplete and high in rhetoric. Past land reform efforts in Mexico were aimed at helping the peasants; however, the changes to the Mexican constitution in the early-1990s appear to have the intent of reversing these earlier land reform efforts in Mexico. Further, the contemporary globalization of the economies of all countries is not an encouraging sign for effective land reform in Mexico because of the domination of the United States in international economic affairs in the contemporary period. Under the guise of free trade and fair competition, the United States government pressures countries such as Mexico to...