A collaborative enterprise by seven faculty members at the University of Arizona, Six Faces of Mexico is indicative of how fruitful a carefully conceived and well-executed interdisciplinary venture can be. Historian Russell C. Ewing opens the study with a sixty-three page introduction to Mexican history from the time of the European discovery through the López Mateos administration. Concentrating only on major historical trends, Ewing presents a very readable and reasonable summary analysis. While obviously handicapped by the need for brevity, the author carefully avoids the type of oversimplification which so often characterizes short survey narratives.
In a section entitled “Ways of Life,” anthropologist Edward H. Spicer skillfully examines the outstanding cultural traits of the Indian and mestizo populations. Basing his study on a thorough knowledge of Mexican prehistory and history, Spicer catalogs and interprets elements of diversity and unity inherent in the population amalgam. Of special interest is his conclusion that the statistical data examined do not point categorically to the imminent demise of Indian languages in the Republic, as other scholars have been predicting for years.
Historians whose exposure to Mexican geography is limited primarily to introductory chapters in the standard survey texts will find David Henderson’s treatment of Mexico’s physical and cultural geography refreshing. With the statistical data relegated properly to accompanying charts and tables, the narrative flows smoothly in an uninterrupted fashion. Each of the country’s six major geographical regions (Central Highlands, Meseta Central, Gulf Slope, Southern Mexico, Northwest Mexico, and Southeast Mexico) is viewed from the perspective of physical characteristics and man-land relationships.
In examining the political dynamics of the Mexican state Paul Kelso focuses attention on organizational structure, the party system, the role which the government has assigned itself in fostering the social revolution, and the continuing desire to make democratic processes truly operative. Conscientiously avoiding the temptation simply to weigh the Mexican experience on a United States scale, Kelso views the developing democracy against a background of historical forces clearly inimical to it. His conclusions, while far from startling, are unquestionably sound: “Progress to date has been remarkable, but much remains to be done before the Republic can enter the democratic family of states” (p. 204).
The study of Mexico’s economic growth has been consigned to George F. Leaming and Walter H. Delaplane. Although the coverage is comprehensive, the authors avoid the technical jargon and pseudo-scientific pedantry that can easily frustrate the nonspecialist. Once having surveyed agricultural and industrial pursuits, foreign and domestic commerce, tariff policy, finance and labor, they venture several policy recommendations. As Sanford Mosk admonished in 1950, they caution against excessive concentration on industrialization at the expense of other sectors of the economy and appeal to the Mexican government to do still more to encourage the participation of private investment in the total developmental scheme.
Renato Rosaldo paints the sixth and final face—“The Legacy of Literature and Art.” The cultural and artistic reconnaissance runs the entire gamut from Popul-Vuh and The Books of Chilam, Balam to Octavio Paz and Carlos Fuentes. While the reader at times may become bogged down in unfamiliar names and titles, the quality of the coverage is uniform and good.
It is quite certain that Mexicanists in any one of the six disciplines represented could find fault with the choice of material and interpretation in the chapter dealing with his field. To criticize a collection of this kind on these grounds, however, seems untenable. The combined effort represents a major contribution toward appreciating the essence of mexicanidad. Finally, the University of Arizona Press should receive special acknowledgment for having manufactured a handsome, beautifully illustrated volume at a price fully commensurate with the finished product.
