Politics, Poverty, and Corruption in 20thCentury Mexico

1
Politics, Poverty, and Corruption in 20th-Century
Mexico

• Post-Revolutionary Mexico Mexicos 1910
  revolution produced a new constitution in 1917
  that attempted to address the varied demands of
  the many sectors of the countrys population. In
  the following years, politics stabilized
  gradually as revolutionary heroes took
  leadership positions in the new government.
  Between 1920 and 1946, all of Mexicos presidents
  and most provincial leaders were veterans of the
  revolution. Quickly a system of political
  cronyism began to emerge.
• President Lazaro Cardenas (1934-40) Cardenas
  came to power under the influence of strongman
  (and former president) Plutarco Elias Calles.
  Nevertheless, in a short time Cardenas was able
  to break free from Calless interference and
  promote a reform program that targeted large
  portions of Mexicos population. Cardenas is
  credited with implementing the true reforms of
  the revolution. These included land reform,
  labor concessions, nationalization of resources,
  education and welfare programs, etc.
• President Miguel Aleman (1946-52) Aleman was the
  first non-veteran to become president in the
  decades following the revolution. He defined his
  administration as one of bringing modernization
  and economic growth to the country. He pursued
  these goals through massive industrialization
  projects although many of those projects were
  marred by corruption. Most scholars consider his
  presidency to mark the onset of the insidious
  system of favoritism, bribery, and general
  corruption that plagued Mexicos political and
  economic development throughout the 20th century.
  The films Los Olvidados and La Ley de Herodes
  are both set during the presidency of Miguel
  Aleman.
• Mexican Miracle Refers to a period of
  unprecedented and dynamic economic growth in
  Mexico between (roughly) 1945 and 1973. During
  that time, Mexico virtually reversed the economic
  problems that had resulted from the decades of
  revolution and recovery. GDP rates increased at
  6/year during this period. Coinciding with
  this economic growth, Mexico saw its economic
  base shift from agriculture to industry and its
  population move from the countryside to cities.
• Industrialization/Urbanization As a consequence
  of new economic policies, Mexicos economic base
  shifted to industry and its population largely
  relocated to cities during the era of the Mexican
  Miracle. Since new industries were primarily
  located in urban areas, and agricultural no
  longer provided families with a reasonable
  standard of living, much of the countrys peasant
  base relocated to urban areas to search for work
  as industrial laborers. Even though investments
  were pouring into urban infrastructure, most
  major cities could not accommodate the rapid
  influx of people. Urban slums developed and grew
  rapidly on the outskirts of many major cities in
  Mexico (and throughout Latin America).
• The income disparity was increasingly evident in
  major cities served in stark contrast to the
  development and modernization that seemed to
  characterize Mexicos economy on the surface. In
  the 1950s, only a few voices questioned the
  status quo (Luis Bunuel was one of them) but
  criticism of the system did accelerate in later
  years.

2
Politics, Poverty, and Corruption in 20th-Century
Mexico

• Political Parties Understanding the role of
  political parties is crucial in understanding the
  nature of politics and corruption in 20th-century
  Mexico. Mexicos main political parties include
  the following
• PRI (Institutionalized Revolutionary Party) The
  predecessor to this party (PNR) was established
  in 1929. After a series of name changes it became
  the PRI in 1946 (under Aleman). The PRI was
  essentially formed out of the revolution. As
  such, the party platform did not espouse any
  specific ideology instead its position could
  (and did) shift as the countrys needs changed.
  The PRI retained the office of president from
  1929-2000, often through corruption, bribery,
  and/or coercion. The party was also successful
  in controlling many local offices in the early
  years (again, often by the same means). Today
  the PRI is considered to be in the political
  center relative to the other main political
  parties.
• PAN (National Action Party) Party to the
  political right, formed in 1939 to defend
  conservative (read Catholic) interests against
  the ruling party. The PAN experienced some
  success in municipal and local offices starting
  in the 1940s, but it was not until the 1980s that
  that party began to make a difference at the
  national level. PAN presidential candidate,
  Vicente Fox, defeated the PRI candidate for the
  first time in the 2000 election.
• PRD (Party of the Democratic Revolution) Party
  to the political left (in reality it is a
  coalition of leftist parties and interests)
  founded in 1989 by dissidents who had left the
  PRI in protest over corrupt electoral practices.
  
• El Dedazo Refers to the practice of Mexican PRI
  presidents hand-picking their successors (in
  reality they picked the candidate to run in the
  next election, but it was generally a foregone
  conclusion that the PRI candidate would win.)
  This custom began as early as 1920 and continued
  through the 1994 election. In 1999, PRI
  president Ernesto Zedillo announced that he would
  not personally select his successor instead the
  PRI organized its first-ever primary election to
  select the next presidential candidate. This was
  considered by many observers to be an important
  step toward opening and reforming the democratic
  process.
• Vicente Fox/2000 Election In July 2000 the PRI
  lost the presidency for the first time to PAN
  candidate Vicente Fox. Campaigning for the
  election coincided with the release of La Ley de
  Herodes. In 1999 the PRI did in fact attempt to
  censor the film. Some argue that the public
  outcry at this attempted censorship provided
  enough negative press for the PRI that it may
  have contributed to the PAN victory the following
  year.
• Mexican Film Industry Mexicos film industry
  began in the early 20th century with silent films
  (much like the US film industry). In the late
  1930s, Mexican cinema entered what many called
  the Golden Age and the industry witnessed vast
  improvements in scripts, production quality, etc.
  The industry was nationalized in the late 1950s
  and government control allowed large degrees of
  censorship (generally through bribes, lucrative
  employment positions, etc.) By the 1990s, a new
  height of cinema began, referred to as Nuevo Cine
  Mexicano.