Synopses & Reviews
In mid-nineteenth-century Mexico, garrisons, town councils, state legislatures, and an array of political actors, groups, and communities began aggressively petitioning the government at both local and national levels to address their grievances. Often viewed as a revolt or a coup dandrsquo;andeacute;tat, these
pronunciamientos were actually a complex form of insurrectionary action that relied first on the proclamation and circulation of a plan that listed the petitionersandrsquo; demands and then on endorsement by copycat pronunciamientos that forced the authorities, be they national or regional, to the negotiating table.and#160;In
Independent Mexico, Will Fowler provides a comprehensive overview of the pronunciamiento practice following the Plan of Iguala. This fourth and final installment in, and culmination of, a larger exploration of the pronunciamiento highlights the extent to which this model of political contestation evolved. The result of more than three decades of pronunciamiento politics was the bloody Civil War of the Reforma (1858andndash;60) and the ensuing French Intervention (1862andndash;67). Given the frequency and importance of the pronunciamiento, this book is also a concise political history of independent Mexico.
and#160;
Review
andldquo;Independent Mexico is one of the best college history texts I have read in a long time. The book is imaginative, well conceived, and well researched. . . . Will Fowler has put together a fascinating book on one of the most contested topics in the current debate about Latin America: the role of force in history.andrdquo;andmdash;Abdiel Oandntilde;ate, professor of Latin American studies at San Francisco State Universityand#160;
Synopsis
Thoroughly grounded in Mexican history and based on extensive field research, this acclaimed introduction examines the roots of Mexico's contemporary political culture and its democratic transformation. Now in its sixth edition,
Politics in Mexico: Democratic Consolidation or Decline? has been revised and updated in order to address three major changes that have occurred since 2006: the broad effort of Mexico to consolidate its democracy, President Calderon's aggressive, proactive strategy against drug cartels, and the effects of the 2008 global recession.
Author Roderic Ai Camp provides an analysis of numerous aspects of Mexican political and economic development, highlighting controversial issues related to electoral democracy, drug-related violence, poverty, human rights, and the country's economic and political relationship with the U.S. Engagingly written by one of the top scholars in the field, Politics in Mexico, Sixth Edition, is essential reading for students of Mexican or Latin American politics, comparative politics, and Mexican history.
About the Author
Will Fowler is a professor of Latin American studies at the University of St. Andrews in Scotland. He is the author or editor of several books, including Forceful Negotiations: The Origins of the andldquo;Pronunciamientoandrdquo; in Nineteenth-Century Mexico; Malcontents, Rebels, and andldquo;Pronunciadosandrdquo;: The Politics of Insurrection in Nineteenth-Century Mexico; and Celebrating Insurrection: The Commemoration and Representation of the Nineteenth-Century Mexican andldquo;Pronunciamientoandrdquo;, all published by the University of Nebraska Press.
Table of Contents
Chapters 1-9 end with a Conclusion.
Preface
Acknowledgments
1. Mexico in Comparative Context
Why Compare Political Systems?
Some Interpretations of the Mexican System
Mexico's Significance in a Comparative Context
2. Political-Historical Roots: The Impact of Time and Place
The Spanish Heritage
Nineteenth-Century Political Heritage
The Revolutionary Heritage: Social Violence and Reform
The Politics of Place: Interface with the United States
3. Contemporary Political Culture: What Mexicans Believe and Their Consequences for Democracy
Legitimacy: Support for the Political System
Participation: Activating the Electorate
Democracy: What Does It Mean for Mexicans?
4. Political Attitudes and Their Origins: Interest, Knowledge, and Partisanship
Income and Politics
Education and Politics
Religion and Politics
Gender and Politics
Region and Politics
Age and Politics
5. Rising to the Top: The Recruitment of Political Leadership in a Democratic Mexico
The Formal Rules
Informal Credentials: What Is Necessary to Rise to the Top in Mexican Politics
The Rise of Women
The Camarilla: Political Networking in Mexico
The Rise and Decline of the Technocrat
6. Groups and the State: An Altered Relationship in a Democratic Polity?
The Residue of Corporatism
Institutional Voices
The Military
The Church
Business
Organized Labor
Intellectuals and the Media
Voices of Dissent
Nongovernmental Organizations
Social Movements
Drug Trafficking Organizations
7. Mexico's Political Institutions, The Structure of Decision-Making
The Executive Branch
The Legislative Branch
The Judicial Branch
Federalism
8. Expanding Participation: The Electoral Process
Electoral Reforms
The Democratic Transition and the 1988 and 1994 Presidential Elections
The Establishment of Electoral Democracy, A Stepping Stone to Democratic Consolidation
Democratic Consolidation and the Role of Elections
Parties: Their Origins and Their Future in a Democratic Context
National Action Party
Democratic Revolutionary Party
Institutional Revolutionary Party
9. External Politics: Relations with the United States
National Security Issues
Cultural Interface
Economic Linkages
10. Political and Economic Modernization: A Revolution?
Bases for Economic Modernization
The Rise of Economic Liberalization
Democratization
Mexico's Democratic Consolidation and the Future
Bibliographic Essay
Index