University of Connecticut

Department of Political Science

POLS 2998-001
(21815)

Contemporary Politics in Mexico (Special Topics Course)

Spring 2010 Location: Arj 237

Day/time: Tuesday/Thursday 11:00 – 12:15 p.m.
Prof. Carlos Flores
Office Hours: Tuesday 1-3 p.m.
Office: J. Jay Ryan Building
Center for Latin American
and Caribbean Studies
Email: carlos.flores_perez@uconn.edu
Phone: 860-486-4964

Course Rationale. This course’s aim is to provide students with introductory knowledge
on Mexican political institutions, processes and history from the Revolution to present.
We will review some basic literature about the Mexican political system, the origin and
consolidation of the post-revolutionary regime, the process of political liberalization, and
effects of recent elections of opposition parties to the federal government.

Requirements. Overall course grade weighted as follows:

Two exams plus course participation

Mid-term Exam (40%). On March 3rd, 2010, the students will take a exam
consisting in five opened questions (20 points each; total 100 points), based on the
topics and readings reviewed.

Final Exam (40%). On May 3rd, 2010, the students will take a second exam
consisting in five opened questions (20 points each; total 100 points), based on the
topics and readings reviewed after the Spring break.

Course participation (20%). Informed comments on the topics exposed and

active discussion of the readings will be not only welcomed, but encouraged.
Additionally, students willing to expose a short introductory brief for the class
discussion will increase their marks.

Readings. Books chapters and articles are posted online at HuskyCT.

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CLASS SCHEDULE*

*Any changes to the schedule below will be announced in class and confirmed in writing.

Jan 18
INTRODUCTION
General comments and questions.

January 20
FROM PRE-HISPANIC PERIOD TO PORFIRISM. A BACKGROUND OF
MEXICAN CONTEMPORARY POLITICS
Camp, Roderic Ai (1999). Politics in Mexico. The Decline of Authoritarianism.
New York, Oxford. Oxford University Press. Pp. 21-52 (Chapter 2. “Political Historical
Roots: The Impact of Time and Place”).

January 25
BARBAROUS MEXICO. A PICTURE OF THE DIAZ’S DICTATORSHIP
Turner, John Kenneth (1910). Barbarous Mexico. 120-159
http://ia341027.us.archive.org/0/items/barbarousmexico00turnuoft/barbarousmexico00tur
nuoft.pdf

January 27
Suspended due to bad weather

February 1
Suspended due to bad weather

February 3
THE MEXICAN REVOLUTION I
Tannenbaum, Frank (1971). Mexico, the struggle for peace and bread. New York,
Alfred A. Knopf, Pp. 49-80 (Chapter 4 “The Revolution: 1910-46”).

February 8
THE MEXICAN REVOLUTION II
Brandenburg, Frank (1967). The making of modern Mexico. Englewood Cliffs,
N.J. Columbia University, 1993. Pp. 47-78 (Chapter 3 “Fifty Years of Revolution”).

February 10
THE CARDENISMO AND THE OIL NATIONALIZATION
Hamilton, Nora (1975). “Mexico: The limits of state autonomy.” Latin American
Perspectives, Vol. 2, No. 2, (Summer), pp. 81-108. http://www.jstor.org/stable/2633191

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February 15
THE OIL NATIONALIZATION II
Koppes, Clayton R. (1982). “The Good Neighbor Policy and the Nationalization
of Mexican Oil: A Reinterpretation.” The Journal of American History, Vol. 69, No. 1
(Jun., 1982), pp. 62-81. http://www.jstor.org/stable/1887752

February 17
TURNING THE REVOLUTION TO THE RIGHT
Niblo, Stephen R. (1999). Mexico in the 1940s. Modernity, Politics and
Corruption. Wilmington, Delaware. A Scholarly Resources Inc. Imprint. Pp. 75-114 (Part
of Chapter 2 “Avila Camacho’s moderation”).

February 22
THE END OF THE MILITARY HEGEMONY AND “THE REVOLUTION’S
CUB”
Niblo, Stephen R. (1999). Mexico in the 1940s… Pp. 183-216 (Part of Chapter 4
“Alemán’s Counterrevolution”).

February 24
ECONOMIC GROWTH AND GROWING INEQUALITY
Hansen, Roger D. (1971). The politics of Mexican Development. Baltimore and
London. The Johns Hopkins University Press. Pp. 71-95 (Chapter 4 “Fruition: for
whom?”).

March 1
CONSOLIDATION OF POST-REVOLUTIONARY POLITICAL SYSTEM
Hansen, Roger D. (1971). The politics of Mexican Development. Pp. 97-131
(Chapter 5 “The PRI and Mexican Politics: La Cosa Nuestra”).

March 3
Exam

March 8 and 10 – SPRING BREAK

March 15
THE MEXICAN POLITICAL SYSTEM
González Casanova, Pablo. (1970). The Democracy in Mexico. New York, Oxford
University Press. Translated by Danielle Salty. Sub-Chapters “The structure of
government” and “The factors of power”, pp. 11-55.

March 17

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THE END OF THE MIRACLE. THE 1968 MOVEMENT
Soldatenko, Michael (2005). “Mexico 68: Power to the imagination!”
Latin American Perspectives, Vol. 32, No. 4, Mexico: Popular Mobilization
versusNeoliberal "Democracy" (Jul.), pp. 111-132. http://www.jstor.org/stable/30040256

March 22
THE ECHEVERRIA REFORM AND THE ENTREPRENEURIAL CLASH
Shapira, Yoram (1977). “The Impact of the 1968 Student Protest on Echeverria's
Reformism.” Journal of Interamerican Studies and World Affairs, Vol. 19, No. 4 (Nov.),
pp. 557-580. http://www.jstor.org/stable/165488

March 24
THE SUBVERSION
Blacker, O’Neill (2009). “Cold War in the Countryside: Conflict in Guerrero,
Mexico” The Americas, Volume 66, Number 2, October, pp. 181-210
http://muse.jhu.edu/journals/tam/summary/v066/66.2.blacker.html

March 29
THE ARMY
Camp, Roderic Ai (1992). Generals in the Palacio. The Military in Modern
Mexico. New York, Oxford, Oxford University Press. Pp. 15-38 (Chapter 2. “The
Historical Context”).

Optional reading. Serrano, Mónica (1995) “The Armed Branch of the State: Civil-
Military Relations in Mexico” Journal of Latin American Studies, Vol. 27, No. 2 (May.).
Pp. 423-448 http://www.jstor.org/stable/158121

March 31
FROM THE DREAM OF OIL BOOM TO THE NIGHTMARISH ECONOMIC
CRISIS
Schmidt, Henry C. (1985) “The Mexican Foreign Debt and the Sexennial
Transition from López Portillo to De la Madrid.” Mexican Studies / Estudios Mexicanos,
Vol. 1, No. 2 (Summer), pp. 227-254 http://www.jstor.org/stable/1052037

April 5
THE NEOLIBERALIST SHIFT AND THE TECHNOCRATS

Centeno, Miguel Angel (1992). “The Marriage of Finance and Order: Changes in
the Mexican Political Elite.” Journal of Latin American Studies, Vol. 24, No. 1 (Feb.), pp.
57-85. http://www.jstor.org/stable/156672

April 7
“SE CAYÓ EL SISTEMA”. PERESTROIKA WITHOUT GLASNOST
Morris, Stephan D. (1992) “Political reformism in Mexico: Salinas at the brink.”
Journal of Interamerican Studies and World Affairs, Vol. 34, No. 1 (Spring), pp.27-57.

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http://www.jstor.org/stable/166149

Optional Reading: Reading, Andrew (1989). “Mexico under Salinas: A Façade of

Reform.” World Policy Journal, Vol. 6, No. 4 (Fall), pp. 685-729
http://www.jstor.org/stable/40209130

April 12
FROM NAFTA TO EZLN
Teichman, Judith (1997). “Neoliberalism and the Transformation of Mexican
Authoritarianism.” Mexican Studies / Estudios Mexicanos, Vol. 13, No. 1 (Winter), pp.
121-147 http://www.jstor.org/stable/1051868

Optional reading: Hodges, Donald and Ross Gandy (2002). Mexico under siege.
Pp. 188-207 (Chapter 14 “Galvanizing the Indigenous People of Chiapas”).

April 14
FROM LIBERALIZATION TO DEMOCRATIZATION
Schedler, Andreas (2000). “Common Sense without Common Ground: The
Concept of Democratic Transition in Mexican Politics” Mexican Studies / Estudios
Mexicanos, Vol. 16, No. 2 (Summer), pp. 325-345 http://www.jstor.org/stable/1052200

April 19
CHALLENGES FOR DEMOCRATIZATION
Lawson, Chappell (2000). “Mexico's Unfinished Transition: Democratization and
Authoritarian Enclaves in Mexico.” Mexican Studies / Estudios Mexicanos, Vol. 16, No.
2, pp. 267-287. http://www.jstor.org/stable/1052198

April 21
THE FOX’S STYLE OF GOVERMENT
Loaeza, Soledad (2006). “Vicente Fox's Presidential Style and the New Mexican
Presidency” Mexican Studies / Estudios Mexicanos, Vol. 22, No. 1 (Winter), pp. 3-32.
http://www.jstor.org/stable/4490708

April 26
THE LEFTIST STAKE (AND WOUNDED MEMORIES)

Gugelberger, Georg (2005). “Waiting for AMLO” Latin American Perspectives,

Vol. 32, No. 4, Mexico: Popular Mobilization versus Neoliberal "Democracy" (July), pp.
106-110. http://www.jstor.org/stable/30040255

Aguayo Quezada, Sergio, Javier Treviño Rangel and Maria Pallais (2006).
“Neither Truth nor Justice: Mexico's De Facto Amnesty” Latin American Perspectives,

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Vol. 33, No. 2, The Mexican Presidency, 2006-2012: Neoliberalism, Social Movements,
and Electoral Politics (Mar.). Pp. 56-68. http://www.jstor.org/stable/27647917

April 28
THE RIGHTIST PERSPECTIVE (AND FEARS)

Krauze, Enrique (2006). “Furthering Democracy in Mexico” Foreign Affairs, Vol.

85, No. 1 (Jan. - Feb.). Pp. 54-65. http://www.jstor.org/stable/20031842

Hernández Navarro, Luis and Mariana Ortega Breña (2006). “Images of the Dirty
TV-War: The Hour of Mediacracy.” Latin American Perspectives, Vol. 33, No. 2, The
Mexican Presidency, 2006-2012:Neoliberalism, Social Movements, and Electoral Politics
(Mar.). Pp. 70-77. http://www.jstor.org/stable/27647919

May 3
Final exam

Readings available at HuskyCT or on reserve at UConn’s Babbidge library.