Mexico! las reformas in the Cardenas era 1934-1940

1. Three major points to be considered with respect to the reforms:

i. Social & economic reforms: the specifics

Agrarian reform:

Land redistribution

reading Bazant

Massive government infrastructure investment:

1940-1980: 90% of agricultural investment in north, 10% in south
images: irrigation districts

Parastatals:

e.g., Diconsa, CONASUPO: state-run food manufacturing industries

INMECAFE: national coffee parastatal

Resource reform: Expropriacion petrolero:
National ownership of resources, e.g. oil, subsurface deposits, shorelines
images: oil deposits, refining zones

Industrial reform:

Nationalized infrastructure:

Electric grid

Railways/roads

image: railway development

Summary 1980: nationalized & quasi-state industries:

Tourism: Private-Public ventures

Petroleum industry

Banking/finance

Nuclear power

Agricultural products and markets
food distribution and manufacturing

Mining (lead, gold, silver)

electric power grid

irrigation districts

Television: nationally owned TV

ii. Political reforms: The making of a party

L·zaro C·rdenas & the political consolidation: 1932-1940

the sexenio: political struggle and caudismo replaced by 6-year rotations

presidentialism: tremendous power placed in presidency (or is it?)

four cornerstones of the Mexican state:

i. workers: CTM (ConfederaciÛn de Trabajadores Mexicanos)

ii. peasants: CNC (ConfederaciÛn Nacional de Campesinos)

iii. women: jefes de manzana, urban neighborhood associations

iv. industrial bourgeoisie:

Evolution: Caudismo to presidentialism: blow by blow

ObregÛn

∑ reforms off to a slow start

∑ ObregÛn wants to profit

∑ afraid of U.S. imperialism

∑ most reforms in southern Mexico

∑ picks Calles not Vasconcelos, educational reformer (socialist education)

Calles

Puts ObregÛn back, but ObregÛn is assassinated

C·rdenas

reforms party

revitalizes social reforms

reconstitutes military

Corporatism: The Mexican state governs through the åfour cornerstonesπ NOT through elections

Patron-Client ties (also called patronage or clientalism): pyramidal structures where economic benefits are distributed in return for political support

Mexican State

Peasants Workers Block committees Industrialists

National Leaders

regional leaders regional leaders regional leaders

local members local members local members

Bureaucratic authoritarianism: a phenomena throughout Latin America and elsewhereãState bureaucracies exercise tremendous influence over economy and society through distribution of assets, loan monies, permits, and expertise

3. Contradictions of the Porfiriado are resolved, yet new contradictions result

i. Problem of effective demand (underconsumption): Under the Porfiriado most people were too poor to consume,

state becomes major consumer (of investments, capital) for industrial and infrastructure production

ålabor eliteπ of petroleum, industrial and state bureaucratic producers with relatively high salaries stimulates consumption

ii. Problem of low agricultural productivity:
resolved through land distribution, irrigation and agro-industrialization

iii. Problem of lack of investment: the Mexican state underpins investment in infrastructure and industrial production

iv. Political problem: revolution created by disenfranchised persons, the extensive corporatist and economic enfranchisement ends political opposition in the short-term

New contradictions:

i. consumption: a growing number of Mexicans are left out of economic growth

ii. Peasants get marginal lands + low investment in Southern Mexico leads to national inequities

iii. Investments are politicized, currency is overvalued, investments do not yield sufficient returns, oil-dependence backfires

iv. The Mexican state turns away from corporate structures as these same structures become less robust, new Mexican politics takes place outside traditional corporatist structures