Title
Mexico [electronic resource] : what everyone needs to know / Roderic Ai Camp.
ISBN
9780199782277 (electronic bk.)
9780199773886
9780199773879
Publication Details
Oxford ; New York : Oxford University Press, c2011.
Language
English
Description
1 online resource (xx, 196 p.) : map.
Call Number
JL1281 .C339 2011eb
Dewey Decimal Classification
972
Summary
Today all would agree that Mexico and the United States have never been closer, that the fates of the two republics are inextricably intertwined. It has become an intimate part of life in almost every community in the United States, through immigration, imported produce, business ties, or illegal drugs. It is less a neighbor than a sibling; no matter what our differences, it is intricately a part of our existence. In this contribution to Oxford's acclaimed series, What Everyone Needs to Know, the author gives readers the most essential information about our sister republic to the south. He organizes chapters around major themes such as security and violence, economic development, foreign relations, the colonial heritage, and more. He asks questions that take us beyond the headlines: Why does Mexico have so much drug violence? What was the impact of the North American Free Trade Agreement? How democratic is Mexico? Who were Benito Juarez and Pancho Villa? What is the PRI (the Institutional Revolutionary Party)? The answers are sometimes surprising. Despite ratification of NAFTA, for example, Mexico has fallen behind Brazil and Chile in economic growth and rates of poverty. He explains that lack of labor flexibility, along with low levels of transparency and high levels of corruption, make Mexico less competitive than some other Latin American countries. The drug trade, of course, enhances corruption and feeds on poverty; approximately 450,000 Mexicans now work in this sector. But he also reveals that President Calderon's recent assault on narcotics smugglers, and the violence resulting from it, may have actually lessened the government's control of parts of the country and national institutions.
Bibliography, etc. Note
Includes bibliographical references and index.
Access Note
Access limited to authorized users.
Source of Description
Description based on print version record.
Major issues facing Mexico today. Security and violence in Mexico ; Mexico's economic development ; Mexico's political development ; Foreign relations with the United States ; Mexico's social development
Historical legacies. Mexico's colonial heritage ; The National Period and the rise of liberal-conservative conflicts ; The Mexican Revolution and a new political model for Mexico. The Mexican Revolution ; The evolution of modern political structures after 1920 ; The decline of the PRI and the Mexican model ; Mexico's democratic transition
Mexico's present and future. Mexico's democratic consolidation ; Further consolidation ; Cultural, economic, and social developments ; What lies ahead
Chronology of Mexican presidents, 1964-2012.
