Mexico Faces the 21st Century

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As Mexico approaches the 21st century, its problems seem to be rapidly overwhelming its prospects. Only a short time ago, with the passage of NAFTA, it appeared ready to catapult out of underdevelopment into the ranks of the industrialized countries. Then came 1994, the "year of living dangerously", and suddenly Mexico appeared dangerously close to the brink of wholesale disintegration. What went wrong And what are the prospects for the future In this book, a group of veteran Mexico-watchers analyse the roots of the crisis and the outlook for political stability, democratisation, socioeconomic development and US-Mexican relations. Among the subjects discussed are: the crisis of the Salinas years; the changing nature of the political system; the relations between the PRI and the opposition; the internal conflicts within the PRI; labour and the military; the Chiapas uprising; NAFTA; the current economic crisis; illegal migration; the US-Mexican borderlands; and US-Mexican national security issues. Though the prognosis is for a troubled future, the outlook is be no means hopeless: political violence and socioeconomic turmoil will continue, and relations with the United states will be more conflictual than anticipated. But Mexico will probably be able to avoid a full-scale revolutionary upheaval and will continue what is likely to be a long and difficult transition to democracy.

Author Bio

DONALD E. SCHULZ is an Associate Professor of National Security Affairs at the Strategic Studies Institute, U.S. Army War College. He has coauthored and coedited several books: The United States, Honduras, and the Crisis in Central America ba and the Future (Greenwood, 1993) Revolution and Counterrevolution in Central America and the Carribean and Political Participation in Communist Systems. EDWARD J. WILLIAMS is a Professor of Political Science at the University of Arizona. Among his best known works are Mexico's Central American Policy e Rebirth of the Mexican Petroleum Industry tin American Political Thought and Latin American Politics: A Developmental Approach.