Mexico Faces the 21st Century

As Mexico approaches the 21st century, its problems seem to be rapidly overwhelming its prospects. Only a short time ago, with the passage of NAFTA, it appeared ready to catapult out of underdevelopment into the ranks of the industrialized countries. Then came 1994, the year of living dangerously, and suddenly Mexico appeared dangerously close to the brink of wholesale disintegration. What went wrong? And what are the prospects for the future? In Mexico Faces the 21st Century, a distinguished group of veteran Mexico watchers analyze the roots of the crisis and the outlook for political stability democratization, socioeconomic development, and U.S.-Mexican relations. Among the subjects addressed are: the crisis of the Salinas years, the changing nature of the political system, the relations between the PRI and the opposition, the internal conflicts within the PRI, the emerging power of the narcotraffickers, the role of civil society, labor and the military, the Chiapas uprising, NAFTA, the current economic crisis, illegal migration, the U.S.-Mexican borderlands, and U.S.-Mexican national security issues. Though the prognosis is for a troubled future, the outlook is by no means hopeless: political violence and socioeconomic turmoil will continue, and relations with the United States will be more conflictual than anticipated. But Mexico will probably be able to avoid a full-scale revolutionary upheaval and will continue what is likely to be a long and difficult transition to democracy.