PSL Quarterly Review vol. 72 n. 289 (June 2019) Special Issue: The origins of neoliberalism in Latin America The establishment of neoliberalism in Mexico JUAN PABLO ARROYO ORTIZ Abstract: Universidad Naciónal Autonóma de México, email:
[email protected] Neoliberalism established itself in Mexico a system of How to cite this article: government and economic and social policy in a long process Arroyo Ortiz J.P.: (2019), “The establishment of over 35 years since 1981. It began with the financial crisis of neoliberalism in Mexico”, PSL Quarterly Review, 1982, caused by the fall in oil prices and growth in interest rates 72 (289): 167-184. when Paul Volcker headed the US financial policy. In Mexico the DOI: https://doi.org/10.13133/2037- crisis led to a repayment crisis and a debt renegotiation with the 3643_72.289_7 IMF and the banking system. The government nationalized the retail banks in September, but in December a new government JEL codes: began a transformation of society based on the predominance of B52 private enterprise and the market as an allocation mechanism. Keywords: Neoliberalism, economic policy, Mexico. Journal homepage: http: //www.pslquarterlyreview.info At the end of the 1970s, with the transformation of the banking system,1 the Mexican economic model started to change. The country abandoned an economic project based on the promotion of equality, government intervention in the economy, and the promotion of foreign and domestic investment, with the aim of reaching higher levels of the welfare state and social justice and improving wealth distribution. The change was promoted by the implementation of the policies recommended by the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the World Bank, and the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD).