DOCSLIB.ORG

• University Microfilms, a XEROX Company, Ann Arbor, Michigan [ I !

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
• University Microfilms, a XEROX Company, Ann Arbor, Michigan [ I ! THE ROLE OF THE 'TECNICO' IN POLICY-MAKING IN MEXICO: A COMPARATIVE STUDY OF A DEVELOPING BUREAUCRACY Item Type text; Dissertation-Reproduction (electronic) Authors Camp, Roderic A. Publisher The University of Arizona. Rights Copyright © is held by the author. Digital access to this material is made possible by the University Libraries, University of Arizona. Further transmission, reproduction or presentation (such as public display or performance) of protected items is prohibited except with permission of the author. Download date 23/09/2021 14:16:07 Link to Item http://hdl.handle.net/10150/290248 70-23,664 CAMP, Roderic Ai, 1945^ THE ROLE OF THE TECNICO IN POLICY MAKING IN MEXICO} A COMPARATIVE STUDY OF A DEVELOPING BUREAUCRACY. University of Arizona, Ph.D., 1970 Political Science, general i • University Microfilms, A XEROX Company, Ann Arbor, Michigan [ i ! THIS DISSERTATION HAS BEEN MICROFILMED EXACTLY AS RECEIVED THE ROLE OF THE TECNICO IN POLICY MKING IN MEXICO: A COMPARATIVE STUDY OF A DEVELOPING BUREAUCRACY by Roderic Ai Camp A Dissertation Submitted to the Faculty of the DEPARTMENT OF GOVERNMENT In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements For the Degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY In the Graduate College THE UNIVERSITY OF ARIZONA 1970 THE UNIVERSITY OF ARIZONA GRADUATE COLLEGE I hereby recommend that this dissertation prepared under my direction by Roderic Ai Gamp entitled The Role of the Tecnico in Policy Making in Mexico: A Comparative Study of a Developing Bureaucracy be accepted as fulfilling the dissertation requirement of the degree of Doctor of Philosophy /o 7 J Dissertation Director Date ' After inspection of the final copy of the dissertation, the following members of the Final Examination Committee concur in its approval and recommend its acceptance:" cxh—o THxy '*/ #*> j- /%V ^ /9 70 $4 Ci^ t\i ti 7tt This approval and acceptance is contingent on the candidate's adequate performance and defense of this dissertation at the final oral examination. The inclusion of this sheet bound into the library copy of the dissertation is evidence of satisfactory performance at the final examination. I STATEMENT BY AUTHOR This dissertation has been submitted in partial fulfillment of requirements for an advanced degree at The University of Arizona and is deposited in the University Library to be made available to borrowers under rules of the Library. r* Brief quotations from this dissertation are allowable without special permission, provided that accurate acknowledgment of source is made. Requests for permission for extended quotation from or reproduction of this manuscript in whole or in part may be granted by the head of the major department or the Dean of the Graduate College when in his judgement the proposed use of the material is in the interests of scholarship. In all other instances, however, permission must be obtained from the author. SIGNEDBP: CsftvyO ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Parts of the following study were begun at various stages during the past three years. During that time, staffs of several libraries have helped to make the re­ search a shorter process. I would like to thank the staffs of the Bancroft Library, the Hispanic Law section of the Library of Congress, the Inter-American Development Bank Library, the Pan American Union Columbus Memorial Library, the Joint World Bank Library, the University of Illinois Library and the staff of the Social Science and Government Documents section of the University of Arizona Library. Several individuals were particularly helpful in assisting the author in obtaining additional information. I would like to thank Hugo B. Margain, Harold Graves, Felipe Pazos, Antonio Ruiz Galindo, Francisco Borja, and Leonard Silk for help in this area. For continued inter­ est and assistance, without which this study would not have been possible, I am indebted to Jose' Juan de Olloqui, Alfredo Phillips 0., and Luis Szekely. Last and most im­ portant, I am especially grateful to my major professor, Paul Kelso, for steering me into this field of research, and for valuable suggestions and critical comments along the way. iii TABLE OF CONTENTS Page LIST OF TABLES vi LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS ix ABSTRACT x INTRODUCTION 1 Approaches to the Study of Bureaucracy 6 Terminology 11 Public Administration and Policy 11 Policy Decisions and Policy 12 Methods of Policy Making by the Bureaucracy ... 13 Rule-making 13 Communication . 17 Advice 17 Formulation 19 Cooperation . ..... 19 Publicity and Propaganda 20 MEXICO'S BUREAUCRACY 22 Operating Characteristics of Bureaucracy: Mexico. 27 Organizational Characteristics of Mexico's Bureaucracy 47 HISTORICAL ROLE OF TECNICOS IN POLICY MAKING 54 First Six-Year Plan 57 Second Six-Year Plan 63 Fiscal Policy 64 TECNICO DECISION MAKING AND PLANNING IN MEXICO .... 75 The Special Position of the Bank of Mexico .... 79 Coordinated Financial Policy Making in Mexico . 85 Cooperation and Competition in Decision Making . 93 Centro Nacional de Productivad 95 THE CABINET AND THE TECNICO IN MEXICO AND THE UNITED STATES 98 iv V TABLE OF CONTENTS (Continued) Page TWO CASE STUDIES IN POLICY MAKING 132 Backgrovmd Characteristics of Both Systems . 133 Problem to Government Stage 149 Perception and Definition of Problem .... 149 Placing the Definition on the Problem Agenda 155 Methods 156 Policy Formulation Stage 157 Perception and Definition in Policy Formulation . ....... 159 Problem Consideration 159- Strategic Consideration 162 Procedural Consideration 166 Substantive Consideration 167 The Discussion Agenda in Policy Formulation 170 Problem Consideration 170 Strategic Consideration 177 Procedural Consideration 180 Substantive Consideration 189 Methods 192 The Bargaining Agenda in Policy Formulation 192 Problem Consideration 193 Strategic Consideration 196 Procedural Consideration 204 Substantive Consideration ........ 208 Methods 209 The Course of Action Agenda in Policy Formulation 212 Problem Consideration 212 Strategic Consideration 214 Procedural and Substantive Consideration. 220 Methods 223 CONCLUSION 226 APPENDIX A: SOURCE MATERIAL FOR TABLES ........ 239.. ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY 242 LIST OF TABLES Table Page 1. Bureaucrats in Mexico: First and Last Positions of Employment 35 2. Cabinet-level Positions in Mexico: Ranked in Order by Number and Per­ centage of Times Held by a Tecnico .... 101 3. Cabinet Departments in the United States Ranked in Order of Number and Per­ centage of Times Held by a Bureau­ crat 102 4. Bureaucratic and Technically-Trained Cabinet-level Ministers in Mexico 104 5. Bureaucratic and Technically-Trained Cabinet-level Ministers in the United States 106 6. Orientation of Ministries and Educational Attainments of Higher Bureaucrats in Mexico 108 7. Levels of Education by Cabinet Department in the United States 109 8. Cabinet-level Ministers in Mexico: Number of Repeating Ministers by Position .... 112 9. Cabinet-level Ministers in Mexico: Number and Percentage of Positions Filled by a Repeating Minister in Each Adminis­ tration 113 10. Heads of Cabinet-level Ministries and Departments in Mexico . 115 11. Heads of Cabinet Departments in the United States Since 1933 119 12. Cabinet-level Ministers in Mexico: Number and Percentage by Educational Institu­ tion Who Taught as a Profession 121 vi vii LIST OP TABLES (Continued) Table Page 13. Bureaucrats in Mexico: Number and Percentage by Educational Institu­ tion Who Taught as a Profession 122 14. Cabinet-level Ministers in Mexico: Number and Percentage by Administration Who Taught at UNAM 122 15. Cabinet Ministers in the United States: Number and Percentage by Administration V/ho Taught as a Profession 123 16. Cabinet-level Ministers in Mexico: Number and Percentage Who Have a Bachelor's Degree in any field 125 17. Cabinet-level Ministers in Mexico: Number and Percentage V/ho Have a College Degree in a Field Other Than Law or a Graduate Degree . 125 18. Cabinet-level Ministers in Mexico: Number and Percentage by Administration Who Graduated from the National Universi­ ty 125 19. Bureaucrats in Mexico: Number and Per­ centage by Educational Institution Having a College Degree 126 20. Bureaucrats in Mexico: Number and Per­ centage by Field Who Have College Degrees 126 21. Cabinet Secretaries in the United States: Number and Percentage by Administration Who Received a College Degree in a Field Other than Law or Liberal Arts or a Graduate Degree 126 22. Cabinet-level Ministers in Mexico: Number and Percentage of Bureaucrats and Bureaucratic-Technicians by Administra­ tion 127 viii LIST OF TABLES (Continued) Table page 23. Cabinet Secretaries in the United States: Number and Percentage by Administra­ tion of Bureaucrats and Bureaucratic Technicians 128 24. Cabinet-level Ministers in Mexico: Average Age by Administration 129 25. Cabinet-level Ministers in Mexico: Number and Percentage by Administration of Geographical Location Before Appointment 130 26. Cabinet Secretaries in the United States: Number and Percentage by Administra­ tion of Geographical Location Before Appointment 130 27. Mexican Bureaucrats: Number and Percentage of Place of Birth by Geographical Location and Urban-Rural Distribu­ tion 131 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS Figure Page 1. Stages of the Policy-making Approach 10 2. General Hierarchy of Cabinet Ministers in Mexico 39 3. The Six Year Plan in the Policy-Making Process 60 4. The Papaloapan Oommission in the Policy­ making Process 73 5. Graphic Account of the Problem Identifi­ cation Stage and the Perception and Definition of the Problem Process in the Policy Formulation Stage of the Policy-making Approach 169 6. Graphic Account of the Discussion Agenda in the Policy Formulation Stage of the Policy-making Approach 191 7. Graphic Account of the Bargaining Agenda in the Policy Formulation Stage of the Policy-making Approach 211 8. Graphic Account of the Course of Action Agenda in the Policy Formulation Stage of the Policy-making Approach 224 ix ABSTRACT The bureaucracy in developing countries and espe­ cially in Latin America is a neglected institution in studies by political scientists. This study attempts to make a contribution in filling that void by analyzing the role of economically-trained bureaucrats in Mexico and by examining the decision-making process within the Mexican bureaucracy.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • 07101944 NZO.Pd
    ... ­ - ~ ~ ..... ADDRESS REPLY TO •• •• -rHIE ATTORNEY GENERAL" AND REFER TO INITIALS AND NUMIlER DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE LAK~'JMM/LN WASHINGTON, D. C. ~ ~Q JUL 1. 0 1944 Yo' '8' j = MEMORANDL1M FOR LAURENCE A. KNAPP CHIEF J FOREIGN AGENTS REGISTRATION SECTION Re: New Zioni~t Organization of America I. Identification The New Zionist Organization of America (55 West 42nd Street, New York City) is the official society in this country of Revisionist Zionists. It is affiliated to a number of similar groups using the name of the New Zionist Organization and working in other countries, and its relationship to the world New Zionist Organization will be discussed in some detail below. Among the officials of the New Zionist Organization of America are: President - Col. Morris J. Mendelsohn Chairman of the Executive Board - B. Netanyahu 'Executive Secretary - Joseph Beder . ., .. -­ Treasurer - L:>uis Germain~-"'·.J ,- ~.," r-~.. ---­ \ L.. t:.. \;-. , 'The members!rl,p of the American organization does nOi,\excfd 'one tho.and persons and is pro~1.Y' not more than 500 •., r::~V ,,( " _.~.~t~~, )'0- 'J7;r. ~~~ II. World Organization A. History ~'\\~ ~TERNAL , SEQ.umn. ,.QJ& C",O If 'flO ENIltAu~. (> , -' •• •• - 2 ­ Zionism. Each of these movements have a cormnon aim - the estab­ lishment of a Jewish political state in Palestine. They differ from each other in the methods which they plan to use for the accomplishment of this aim, and. in the type of membership from which they get support. The first three movements have combined to form the World Zionist Organization. ~~l~ The fourth movement, that of the Revisionist Zionists, although affiliated to the World Zionist Organization for a short period, finally formed an independent structure called the New Zionist Organization in 1935.
    [Show full text]
  • U.S.-Mexico Policy Bulletin
    U.S.-Mexico Policy Bulletin Issue 6 • July 2005 Writing Beyond Boundaries Andrew Selee and Heidy Servin-Baez Journalists play an essential role in interpreting ten million people, who share common environ- the changes taking place both at home and mental, health, and economic challenges. abroad. They are, in very real ways, the “eyes This rapidly evolving relationship requires a and ears” of citizens, a role that is even more new kind of cross-border journalism, one that important in international affairs, since most gives the audience a deeper understanding of people lack direct access to information about the context of current events across the border; events occurring in other countries. Journalists covers nontraditional stories about social, cul- provide a vital bridge to ideas across borders, tural, and political changes taking place within CONTRIBUTORS they interpret events in other countries to the other country; and tells the full story of Prologue home audiences, and, indirectly,they help set an Mexicans living in the United States, not just as Alejandro Junco agenda for what citizens know and think about heroes or victims, but as the subjects of com- plex transformations taking place in both coun- Introduction other countries. Nonetheless, despite the Andrew Selee important role that journalists play, they have tries. Fortunately, journalists in both countries Heidy Servin-Baez been given insufficient attention in most stud- have risen to the challenge. They have found ies of international relations. ways to write more nuanced stories about each Authors If journalists are important actors in interna- other and discovered new stories that need to Rossana Fuentes-Beraín Roderic Ai.
    [Show full text]
  • 177] Decentralization Are Implemented and Enduringneighborhood Organization Structures, Social Conditions, and Pol4ical Groundwo
    DOCUMENT EESU E ED 141 443 UD 017 044 .4 ' AUTHCE Yates, Douglas TITLE Tolitical InnOvation.and Institution-Building: TKe Experience of Decentralization Experiments. INSTITUTION Yale Univ., New Haven, Conn. Inst. fOr Social and Policy Studies. SEPCET NO W3-41 PUB DATE 177] .NCTE , 70p. AVAILABLEFECM Institution for Social and,Policy Studies, Yale tUniversity,-',111 Prospect Street,'New Haven, Conn G6520. FEES PRICE Mt2$0.83 HC-$3.50.Plus Postage. 'DESCEIPTORS .Citizen Participation; City Government; Community Development;,Community Involvement; .*Decentralization; Government Role; *Innovation;. Local. Government; .**Neighborflood; *Organizational Change; Politics; *Power Structure; Public Policy; *Urban Areas ABSTRACT The purpose of this paper is to resolve what determines the success or failure of innovations in Participatory government; and,-more precisely what are the dynamics of institution-building by which the 'ideas of,participation arid decentralization are implemented and enduringneighborhood institutions aTe established. To answer these questiOns, a number of decentralization experiments were examined to determine which organization structures, Social conditions, and pol4ical arrangements are mcst conducive io.sucCessful innov,ation and institution -building. ThiS inquiry has several theoretical implications:(1) it.examines the nature and utility of pOlitical resources available-to ordinary citizens seeking to influence.their government; 12L it comments on the process of innovation (3) the inquiry addresses ihe yroblem 6f political development, at least as It exists in urban neighborhoods; and (4)it teeks to lay the groundwork fca theory of neighborhood problem-solving and a strategy of reighborhood development. (Author)JM) ****************44**************************************************** -Documents acquired by EEIC,include many Informal unpublished * materials nct available frOm-other sources. ERIC makes every effort * to obtain.the test copy available.
    [Show full text]
  • The Mexican-American Press and the Spanish Civil War”
    Abraham Lincoln Brigades Archives (ALBA) Submission for George Watt Prize, Graduate Essay Contest, 2020. Name: Carlos Nava, Southern Methodist University, Graduate Studies. Chapter title: Chapter 3. “The Mexican-American Press and The Spanish Civil War” Word Count: 8,052 Thesis title: “Internationalism In The Barrios: Hispanic-Americans and The Spanish Civil War, 1936-1939.” Thesis abstract: The ripples of the Spanish Civil War (1936-1939) had a far-reaching effect that touched Spanish speaking people outside of Spain. In the United States, Hispanic communities –which encompassed Puerto Ricans, Cubans, Mexicans, Spaniards, and others— were directly involved in anti-isolationist activities during the Spanish Civil War. Hispanics mobilized efforts to aid the Spanish Loyalists, they held demonstrations against the German and Italian intervention, they lobbied the United States government to lift the arms embargo on Spain, and some traveled to Spain to fight in the International Brigades. This thesis examines how the Spanish Civil War affected the diverse Hispanic communities of Tampa, New York, Los Angeles, and San Francisco. Against the backdrop of the war, this paper deals with issues regarding ethnicity, class, gender, and identity. It discusses racism towards Hispanics during the early days of labor activism. It examines ways in which labor unions used the conflict in Spain to rally support from their members to raise funds for relief aid. It looks at how Hispanics fought against American isolationism in the face of the growing threat of fascism abroad. CHAPTER 3. THE MEXICAN-AMERICAN PRESS AND THE SPANISH CIVIL WAR During the Spanish Civil War, the Mexican-American press in the Southwest stood apart from their Spanish language counterparts on the East Coast.
    [Show full text]
  • JABOTINSKY on CANADA and the Unlted STATES*
    A CASE OFLIMITED VISION: JABOTINSKY ON CANADA AND THE UNlTED STATES* From its inception in 1897, and even earlier in its period of gestation, Zionism has been extremely popular in Canada. Adherence to the movement seemed all but universal among Canada's Jews by the World War I era. Even in the interwar period, as the flush of first achievement wore off and as the Canadian Jewish community became more acclimated, the movement in Canada functioned at a near-fever pitch. During the twenties and thirties funds were raised, acculturatedJews adhered toZionism with some settling in Palestine, and prominent gentile politicians publicly supported the movement. The contrast with the United States was striking. There, Zionism got a very slow start. At the outbreak of World War I only one American Jew in three hundred belonged to the Zionist movement; and, unlike Canada, a very strong undercurrent of anti-Zionism emerged in the Jewish community and among gentiles. The conversion to Zionism of Louis D. Brandeis-prominent lawyer and the first Jew to sit on the United States Supreme Court-the proclamation of the Balfour Declaration, and the conquest of Palestine by the British gave Zionism in the United States a significant boost during the war. Afterwards, however, American Zionism, like the country itself, returned to "normalcy." Membership in the movement plummeted; fundraising languished; potential settlers for Palestine were not to be found. One of the chief impediments to Zionism in America had to do with the nature of the relationship of American Jews to their country. Zionism was predicated on the proposition that Jews were doomed to .( 2 Michuel Brown be aliens in every country but their own.
    [Show full text]
  • Download the Transcript
    U.S. MEXICO-2017/05/25 1 THE BROOKINGS INSTITUTION FALK AUDITORIUM TRADE, SECURITY, AND THE U.S.-MEXICO RELATIONSHIP Washington, D.C. Thursday, May 25, 2017 PARTICIPANTS: Welcome: MARTIN INDYK Executive Vice President The Brookings Institution Introductory remarks: AMBASSADOR GERÓNIMO GUTIÉRREZ Ambassador of Mexico to the United States Panel 1: U.S.-Mexico relations - Ambassadors’ perspectives Moderator: MARTIN INDYK Executive Vice President The Brookings Institution Panelists: AMBASSADOR ARTURO SARUKHAN Former Ambassador of Mexico to the United States Nonresident Senior Fellow, Latin America Initiative The Brookings Institution AMBASSADOR EARL ANTHONY “TONY” WAYNE Former Ambassador of the United States to Mexico ANDERSON COURT REPORTING 706 Duke Street, Suite 100 Alexandria, VA 22314 Phone (703) 519-7180 Fax (703) 519-7190 U.S. MEXICO-2017/05/25 2 PARTICIPANTS (CONT’D) Panel 2: U.S.-Mexico trade and economics Moderator: MIREYA SOLIS Philip Knight Chair in Japan Studies Senior Fellow, Center for East Asia Policy Studies The Brookings Institution Panelists: DANY BAHAR Fellow, Global Economy and Development The Brookings Institution GARY HUFBAUER Reginald Jones Senior Fellow Peterson Institute for International Economics ANTONIO ORTIZ MENA Senior Advisor Albright Stonebridge Group Panel 3: U.S.-Mexico Security and Border Issues VANDA FELBAB-BROWN Senior Fellow, Center for 21st Century Security and Intelligence The Brookings Institution DORIS MEISSNER Senior Fellow and Director, U.S. Immigration Policy Program Migration Policy Institute AUDREY SINGER Senior Fellow Urban Institute * * * * * ANDERSON COURT REPORTING 706 Duke Street, Suite 100 Alexandria, VA 22314 Phone (703) 519-7180 Fax (703) 519-7190 U.S. MEXICO-2017/05/25 3 P R O C E E D I N G S MR.
    [Show full text]
  • Don Antonio Ortiz Mena, Hijo Predilecto De Parral
    Fragua de los Tiempos Diciembre 7 de 2008 # 796 Don Antonio Ortiz Mena, hijo predilecto de Parral Ahora que se habla tanto de la recesión en Estados Unidos y que nos encontramos ante un impredecible desorden económico en casi todo el mundo; ahora que se descubre la vulnerabilidad de nuestro país y se advierten los males que le esperan a corto plazo (por más que lo nieguen Calderón y Carstens), es menester recordar que en México se han conocido condiciones diferentes, donde la economía andaba dando tumbos pero se podían sortear las dificultades externas gracias a que su sistema hacendario y las finanzas se dirigían con responsabilidad; pero sobre todo porque en la dirección de Hacienda participaron profesionistas capaces que desempeñaron su cometido con honestidad y lealtad a México. Concretamente nos referimos a la situación del país en la medianía del siglo pasado, durante los sexenios de Ruiz Cortines y López Mateos, cuando la dirección del sistema hacendario estuvo bajo la responsabilidad del licenciado Antonio Ortiz Mena, quien brilló en la administración pública por su gran capacidad profesional y por su honestidad como administrador. No obstante, aunque en otros países se reconoce y se recuerda el genio del licenciado Ortiz Mena, el gobierno mexicano se ha olvidado de su legado y durante los últimos sexenios se ha hecho cada vez más evidente la descomposición del sistema tributario por la irresponsabilidad con que se ha manejado. Por los méritos que acumuló el licenciado Ortiz Mena en su vida, y porque estamos convencidos de que una sociedad se enriquece cuando reconoce, identifica y respeta a sus personajes más sobresalientes, hace tiempo que tenemos el propósito de escribir una semblanza de su biografía, y hasta ahora no hemos cumplido con ello debido a que nos reclaman otras tareas que vienen desde mucho tiempo atrás; sin embargo, en esta ocasión vamos a recurrir a algunas de nuestras fuentes con el fin de compartir con nuestros lectores algunos avances de lo que puede ser en el futuro la semblanza de este ilustre y ejemplar chihuahuense.
    [Show full text]
  • Political Development Theory in the Sociological and Political Analyses of the New States
    POLITICAL DEVELOPMENT THEORY IN THE SOCIOLOGICAL AND POLITICAL ANALYSES OF THE NEW STATES by ROBERT HARRY JACKSON B.A., University of British Columbia, 1964 A THESIS SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF ARTS in the Department of Political Science We accept this thesis as conforming to the required standard THE UNIVERSITY OF BRITISH COLUMBIA September, I966 In presenting this thesis in partial fulfilment of the requirements for an advanced degree at the University of British Columbia, I agree that the Library shall make it freely available for reference and study. I further agree that permission.for extensive copying of this thesis for scholarly purposes may be granted by the Head of my Department or by his representatives. It is understood that copying or publication of this thesis for financial gain shall not be allowed without my written permission. Department of Polit_i_g^j;_s_gience The University of British Columbia Vancouver 8, Canada Date September, 2, 1966 ii ABSTRACT The emergence since World War II of many new states in Asia and Africa has stimulated a renewed interest of sociology and political science in the non-western social and political process and an enhanced concern with the problem of political development in these areas. The source of contemporary concepts of political development can be located in the ideas of the social philosophers of the nineteenth century. Maine, Toennies, Durkheim, and Weber were the first social observers to deal with the phenomena of social and political development in a rigorously analytical manner and their analyses provided contemporary political development theorists with seminal ideas that led to the identification of the major properties of the developed political condition.
    [Show full text]
  • The Mexican Political Fracture and the 1954 Coup in Guatemala (The Beginnings of the Cold War in Latin America)
    Culture & History Digital Journal 4(1) June 2015, e006 eISSN 2253-797X doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.3989/chdj.2015.006 The Mexican political fracture and the 1954 coup in Guatemala (The beginnings of the cold war in Latin America) Soledad Loaeza El Colegio de México [email protected] Submitted: 2 September 2014. Accepted: 16 February 2015 ABSTRACT: This article challenges two general assumptions that have guided the study of Mexican foreign policy in the last four decades. First, that from this policy emerges national consensus; and, secondly that between Mexico and the US there is a “special relation” thanks to which Mexico has been able to develop an autonomous foreign policy. The two assumptions are discussed in light of the impact on Mexican domestic politics of the 1954 US- sponsored military coup against the government of government of Guatemala. In Mexico, the US intervention re- opened a political fracture that had first appeared in the 1930’s, as a result of President Cárdenas’radical policies that divided Mexican society. These divisions were barely dissimulated by the nationalist doctrine adopted by the gov- ernment. The Guatemalan Crisis brought some of them into the open. The Mexican President, Adolfo Ruiz Cortines’ priority was the preservation of political stability. He feared the US government might feel the need to intervene in Mexico to prevent a serious disruption of the status quo. Thus, Ruiz Cortines found himself in a delicate position in which he had to solve the conflicts derived from a divided elite and a fractured society, all this under the pressure of US’ expectations regarding a secure southern border.
    [Show full text]
  • International Bodies, Governability and Mexico's Multilateral Policy
    GLOBAL ISSUES International Bodies, Governability And Mexico’s Multilateral Policy Antonio Ortiz Mena López Negrete* t s a E p i h C / s r e t u e R here has been a lot of talk about the ing on the topic of international bodies’ govern - challenges of governability in countries ability for several years now, but academia’s Twhere the creation of a democracy has steps forward have not been strongly reflected sparked expectations and hopes but where this in these bodies’ functioning. 1 change in political regime did not translate into In this article, I deal with the tension be - a notable improvement in security and well- tween representativeness and efficiency inside being. Given this, some non-governmental and international bodies and propose some guide - po litical organizations see in international bod - lines for action that Mexico could consider when ies a possible incentive for achieving a better it decides on possible actions in the United performing democracy. Nations ( UN ) and the Organization of Amer - While international bodies may foster dem - ican States ( OAS ). ocratic governability, they themselves face serious challenges in their own governability. Robert O. Keohane, one of the world’s most REPRESENTATIVENESS AND EFFICIENCY outstanding internationalists, has been insist - The challenge for international bodies is very sim - * Director of the Center for Eco nomic Research and ilar to those that domestic political institu tions Teaching Division of International Studies. face: how to achieve a fair balance between rep - 18 GLOBAL ISSUES have not been made, and therefore, the fu nctioning of many international bod - Recent OAS efforts have focused more ies leaves much to be desired.
    [Show full text]
  • Shirt Movements in Interwar Europe: a Totalitarian Fashion
    Ler História | 72 | 2018 | pp. 151-173 SHIRT MOVEMENTS IN INTERWAR EUROPE: A TOTALITARIAN FASHION Juan Francisco Fuentes 151 Universidad Complutense de Madrid, Spain [email protected] The article deals with a typical phenomenon of the interwar period: the proliferation of socio-political movements expressing their “mood” and identity via a paramilitary uniform mainly composed of a coloured shirt. The analysis of 34 European shirt movements reveals some common features in terms of colour, ideology and chronology. Most of them were consistent with the logic and imagery of interwar totalitarianisms, which emerged as an alleged alternative to the decaying bourgeois society and its main political creation: the Parliamentary system. Unlike liBeral pluralism and its institutional expression, shirt move- ments embody the idea of a homogeneous community, based on a racial, social or cultural identity, and defend the streets, not the Ballot Boxes, as a new source of legitimacy. They perfectly mirror the overwhelming presence of the “brutalization of politics” (Mosse) and “senso-propaganda” (Chakhotin) in interwar Europe. Keywords: fascism, Nazism, totalitarianism, shirt movements, interwar period. Resumo (PT) no final do artigo. Résumé (FR) en fin d’article. “Of all items of clothing, shirts are the most important from a politi- cal point of view”, Eugenio Xammar, Berlin correspondent of the Spanish newspaper Ahora, wrote in 1932 (2005b, 74). The ability of the body and clothing to sublimate, to conceal or to express the intentions of a political actor was by no means a discovery of interwar totalitarianisms. Antoine de Baecque studied the political dimension of the body as metaphor in eighteenth-century France, paying special attention to the three specific func- tions that it played in the transition from the Ancien Régime to revolutionary France: embodying the state, narrating history and peopling ceremonies.
    [Show full text]
  • Gender in Televised Sports: News and Highlight Shows, 1989-2009
    GENDER IN TELEVISED SPORTS NEWS AND HIGHLIGHTS SHOWS, 1989‐2009 CO‐INVESTIGATORS Michael A. Messner, Ph.D. University of Southern California Cheryl Cooky, Ph.D. Purdue University RESEARCH ASSISTANT Robin Hextrum University of Southern California With an Introduction by Diana Nyad Center for Feminist Research, University of Southern California June, 2010 1 TABLE OF CONTENTS I. INTRODUCTION by Diana Nyad…………………………………………………………………….………..3 II. SUMMARY OF FINDINGS…………………………………………………………………………………………4 III. DESCRIPTION OF STUDY…………………………………………………………………………………………6 IV. DESCRIPTION OF FINDINGS……………………………………………………………………………………8 1. Sports news: Coverage of women’s sports plummets 2. ESPN SportsCenter: A decline in coverage of women’s sports 3. Ticker Time: Women’s sports on the margins 4. Men’s “Big Three” sports are the central focus 5. Unequal coverage of women’s and men’s pro and college basketball 6. Shifting portrayals of women 7. Commentators: Racially diverse; Sex‐segregated V. ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION OF FINDINGS…………………………………………………….22 VI. REFERENCES……………………………………………………………………………………..…………………28 VII. APPENDIX: SELECTED WOMEN’S SPORTING EVENTS DURING THE STUDY…………..30 VIII. BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE OF THE STUDY………………………………….…………….….33 IX. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS……………………………………………………………………………………….34 X. ABOUT THE CO‐INVESTIGATORS………………………………………………………………..….…….35 2 I. INTRODUCTION By Diana Nyad For two decades, the GENDER IN TELEVISED SPORTS report has tracked the progress— as well as the lack of progress—in the coverage of women’s sports on television news and highlights shows. One of the positive outcomes derived from past editions of this valuable study has been a notable improvement in the often‐derogatory ways that sports commentators used to routinely speak of women athletes. The good news in this report is that there is far less insulting and overtly sexist treatment of women athletes than there was twenty or even ten years ago.
    [Show full text]