Union College Union | Digital Works Honors Theses Student Work 4-2019 Mexico: Neoliberalism, Popular Grievances, and the Rise of Andrés Manuel López Obrador Irving Cortes-Martinez Union College - Schenectady, NY Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalworks.union.edu/theses Part of the Anthropology Commons, Comparative Politics Commons, Economic History Commons, Indigenous Studies Commons, Latin American History Commons, and the Political History Commons Recommended Citation Cortes-Martinez, Irving, "Mexico: Neoliberalism, Popular Grievances, and the Rise of Andrés Manuel López Obrador" (2019). Honors Theses. 2279. https://digitalworks.union.edu/theses/2279 This Open Access is brought to you for free and open access by the Student Work at Union | Digital Works. It has been accepted for inclusion in Honors Theses by an authorized administrator of Union | Digital Works. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Mexico: Neoliberalism, Popular Grievances, and the Rise of Andrés Manuel López Obrador By Irving Cortes-Martinez ************ Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for Honors in the Department of Political Science and Latin American & Caribbean Studies (LACS) Union College June, 2019 1 Abstract: Cortes-Martinez, Irving. Mexico: Neoliberalism, Popular Grievances and the Rise of Andrés Manuel López Obrador Advisors: Robert Samet and Guillermina Seri Andrés Manuel López Obrador, commonly referred to as AMLO, has become Mexico’s first leftist president in over seven decades. He has promised to get rid of Mexico’s problems through a peaceful but radical transformation, while placing the needs of the people first. For the past three decades, the nation’s political and economic systems have failed to create positive results. Mexico currently faces mass inequality and poverty, corruption and impunity, and insecurity and organized crime. Through his political activism and most importantly, his political narrative, AMLO has become a popular actor and is seen as the president who will implement lasting changes. This thesis interrogates the significance of the rise of AMLO by examining the conditions leading to his election as the new President of Mexico. The analysis proceeds, on the one hand, by analyzing the terms of AMLO’s political discourse, including his call to return to the roots of the Mexican Revolution, as his rejection of the old political system, and his rejection of the neoliberal economic model. On the other hand, the assessment of AMLO’s political significance requires revisiting modern Mexican history, from the Porfiriato to the present day, and contrasting them to the way in which they are portrayed in AMLO’s narrative. For example, the damaging consequences of neoliberalism on the fabric of the Mexican society and their grievances will be examined as societal conditions for political victory. By looking into Mexican history and contemporary news, this thesis will also analyze the individual and societal conditions that allowed AMLO to win the presidential election. 2 Acknowledgements Este trabajo se lo dedico a mi Mamá y a mi Papá que al migrar a este país, y debido al gran esfuerzo y sacrificio, poseo las oportunidades que ahora tengo. Por ellos puedo decir que estoy orgulloso de ser Inmigrante. ****** I dedicate this work to my Mom and my Dad that when migrating to this country, and due to their great effort and sacrifice, I have the opportunities I now have. Because of them I can say that I am proud to be an Immigrant. Special Thanks to Thesis Advisors: Robert Samet and Guillermina Seri 3 Table of Contents Abstract…………………………………………………………………..…………………….. 2 Acknowledgements ………………………………………………………..………….……….. 3 Table of Contents ………………………………………………………..…………….………. 4 Abbreviations and Acronyms……………………………………………..…………………... 5 Chapter One: Intro to Mexico’s Current Situation: Frustration and the rise of AMLO..... 6 Literature Review……………………………………………..…………………......... 12 Outline of Thesis……………………………………………..…………………............19 Chapter Two: La Revolución Congelada: From the ideals of the Mexican Revolution to One Party Rule …………………………...………………………… 23 The Porfiriato ………………………………………...………….……………………..23 The Mexican Revolution………………………………………...……………………. 30 Legacy of the Mexican Revolution: 1917 Constitution………………………………32 Era of Transition………………………………………...……………………………. 35 Lazaro Cardenas: The Resurgence of Revolutionary Ideals …………………….… 37 The Perfect Dictatorship ………………………………………...…………………….43 Import Substitution Industrialization ………………………………………...……... 49 Conclusion………………………………………...…………………………………….53 Chapter Three: Neoliberalism, the Washington Consensus, and Mexico…………………. 55 The Rise of Neoliberal Theory and the Neoliberal State…………………………… 56 The IMF, World Bank, and the Washington Consensus…………………………… 59 Mexico’s Entrance into the Neoliberal Order…………………..…………………… 65 Carlos Salinas de Gortari, Ernesto Zedillo, and the Neoliberal Perpetuation……..72 Conclusion…………………..…………………..…………………..…………………. 77 Chapter Four: The Rise of Resistance and Neoliberal Discontent ……………………….. 81 Mexico: An Unequal Society……………………….. ……………………….. ………81 Neoliberalism and The Strengthening of The Narco-State………….……………….82 Cheap Labor, Maquiladoras, and Femicides…………………………..……………. 90 On Health and Healthcare………………………..……………………………..……. 97 The Persistence of Neoliberalism…………………………………………………..…. 99 Neoliberal Resistance………………………………..……………………..………… 111 Conclusion………………..………………………..………………………..………... 122 Chapter 5:AMLO and the 2018 Mexican Elections…………………..……………………. 125 Who is Andrés Manuel López Obrador? …………………..……………………… 126 The Birth of MORENA…………………..………………………………………….. 128 Pathway To The Election…………………..……………………. …………………. 131 AMLO’s Platform…………………..………………………………………………... 142 The 2018 Election…………………………. …………………..……………………. 146 Conclusion: Neoliberal Grievances and the Rise of AMLO………………………. 148 Epilogue…..………………………………………...………………………………………….152 Bibliography…………………..…………………….…………………..……………………..155 4 Abbreviations and Acronyms AMLO Andrés Manuel López Obrador FDI Foreign Direct Investment IFI International Financial Institutions IMF International Monetary Fund SAP Structural Adjustment Programs SAL Structural Adjustment Loans PRI Partido Revolucionario Institucional PAN Partido Accion Nacional MORENA Movimiento Regeneración Nacional 5 Chapter One: Introduction to Mexico’s Current Situation: Frustration and The Rise of AMLO On September 2014, 100 students from the Ayotzinapa Rural Teachers College were stopped by the municipal police in Iguala, Guerrero. Local police officers stopped the bus, removed 43 students, then forced them to enter police vehicles. The details of the occurrence continue to be a mystery to this day as Mexicans remain skeptical about government issued reports. An important fact that the Mexican government cannot hide is the complicity of government officials at all levels of Mexico’s security forces. The disappearance of the 43 students provoked mass protests all across the country, as people demanded the federal government to act in investigating the details of the crime. Four years have passed since this incident occurred, but the case remains unsolved. Disappearances, murders, and the government’s involvement in the rise of homicide rates and in organized crime is nothing new. Since the War on Drugs began in 2006, more than 200,000 people have been killed and more than 30,000 people have disappeared. In 2017, Mexico’s death toll reached an all-time high, with 29,168 recorded murders. The disappearance of the 43 students is just the tip of Mexico’s deeper problem of corruption, impunity, organized crime and drug- related violence, wealth inequality, and lack of opportunities for the common Mexican citizen. What is more remarkable is the fact that these embedded issues can be traced back to neoliberal economic policies which, have disproportionately hurt the poor and marginalized communities. Andrés Manuel López Obrador (AMLO) won the 2018 presidential election promising a transformation of Mexican society. He promised to end the ongoing violence, corruption, and economic policies that have only benefited the elite at the expense of the poor. The victory of AMLO represents three key aspirations: a return to the roots of the Mexican Revolution, a rejection of the old political system, and a rejection of neoliberalism. 6 For the first time in seventy-eight years, a left-wing politician will hold power in Mexico with unprecedented political power over both executive and legislative branches. As a populist leader, AMLO has been able to obtain political support by promising a drastic transformation to the current status quo. Two main conditions, both interconnected to one another, led to the victory of AMLO in the 2018 presidential elections. First, neoliberal policies implemented after the 1982 economic crisis have had drastic consequences on the fabric of Mexican society. These consequences include an increase in income inequality, lack of education, government services, honest jobs for those marginalized (the youth, the poor, indigenous communities), augmentation of organized crime and homicides, and overall no improvement in the quality of life. Because of neoliberal reform, the ruling political parties have failed to provide political and social stability within the past three decades. Mexican society has been infested with corruption from all political levels while the government has failed to provide a sense of security in a society devastated by violence related to organized