Modern Mexican Society: Modern Mexican Society

An introduction to social, political, and economic organization of modern Mexico. The course traces the evolution of Mexico’s fundamental societal institutions from their birth during the Mexican Revolution of 1910, though their flowering during the 1950s and 1960s, to changes under the neoliberal projects of Miguel de la Madrid and Carlos Salinas, to the transitional presidency of Ernesto Zedillo and the alternation of the party in government in the year 2000. The course ends with an assessment of Mexico’s ostensible democratic transition in the twenty-first century under the National Action Party. Tracing these processes of Mexico’s development will allow students to gain a clearer understanding of current questions facing the country’s leaders, including how to approach globalization, how to constructively integrate its economy with that of the U.S. through NAFTA, how to assess the impact of migration of undocumented workers, and how to confront drug violence.