'Hope of the world'

MEXICO'S HOPE - An Encounter with Politics and History: James D. Cockcroft; Monthly Review Press, New York, Distributed by K. P. Bagchi and Co., 286, B.B. Ganguli Street, Calcutta- 700012. Price not mentioned.

IN THE author's own words, this book is a ``comprehensive analysis of the Mexican political economy,'' with its current crisis. He has traced it back to its historical roots in the class struggle, capital accumulation and the emergence of the modern, authoritarian-technocratic state.

For better or for worse, the Mexican economy has been closely linked to the American economy. Particularly after the 1995 Mexican crisis, when its economy literally collapsed, the U.S. presence and role in shaping the Mexican economy has become all the more strategic. In a very detailed analysis, he delves into the history and evolution of the domestic elites, the foreign powers, and examines the conflict of interests. It is a shift from Spanish colonialism to American imperialism, with the common Mexicans failing to reap any benefit in the process.

Mexico is the U.S's second largest trading partner after Canada and has entered the new millennium with both political and economic uncertainty.

In two parts, the book traces the process of capital accumulation and state and class formation down the centuries; and examines the development of monopoly capitalism after 1940. In more recent decades, the flow of U.S. investments and its cultural influence have affected Mexico deeply. The role of the middle class, the students and the intellectuals in these changes stands out in the analysis. The forces of early capitalism gained ground and this led to class conflicts, sparking the independence movement. After independence, the Mexican economy went through gradual changes from mercantile capitalism to naked capitalism. The political movements that came out of the transformation established national sovereignty but tore the nation apart. It created a stable nation-state for the purpose of capital accumulation.

Though the structure changed, there was nothing in it for the common people. The bourgeois-democratic state gave way to an oligarchic dictatorial one. During the reign of Perfirio Diaz, communication, energy, transport, industry and commercial agriculture developed through concessions to foreign and domestic business interests. There was forced labour and paltry wages. This resulted in the birth of an industrial proletariat.

An atmosphere of unusual political stability in the 1950s spurred strong growth and the jargon of an ``economic miracle'' came into being in the case of Mexico. It became a semi-industrialised, urbanised economy, closely knit with the U.S. But it remains a highly divided social fabric with a highly uneven distribution of wealth.

There were signs of a political crisis again in 1968, leading to a major economic downturn. After embarking on an oil export based economy, the state started borrowing heavily and by 1982, it could not repay its debt, announcing ``bankruptcy''. Then followed the now familiar ``restructuring of the economy''.

Going through the same cycle, Mexico faced another crisis in 1995, but its leaders now claim that it is ready to face the challenges of the new millennium, thanks to the U.S. connection and the emergence of the North American Free Trade Area (NAFTA). But he says a majority of the Mexicans cannot afford the branded goods stacked up in the attractive department stores in urban Mexico.

In all these developments, he says the diverse Indian people (Mayans, Mixtecs, Purepecha, Zapotecs and others) and women have been in the forefront of the struggle. To emerge from their struggle, the Mexicans will have to face bigger guns from the U.S. and slicker politicians than before. For that reason, he concludes that Mexico's hope is the hope of the world.

V. JAYANTH

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