Historia de México, etapa nacional: La encrucijada

This work is the latest installment in the Historia de México series pubished jointly by the Secretaría de Educación Pública and the Cámara Nacional de la Industria Editorial and is designed for use as a textbook in secondary schools. The author, Lorenzo Meyer, is well-known to students of Mexican economic history, most notably for his México y los Estados Unidos en el conflicto petrolero, 1917-1942. In La encrucijada, Meyer skilfully traces economic and political developments between 1940 and 1970 with special attention to the origins and institutionalization of Mexico’s mixed economy following World War II and its effect on internal and international politics. While Meyer deals with diplomatic and social developments, he is primarily concerned with the pursuit of economic development and the institutionalization of the political process. He maintains that the Cardenist vision of an agrarian society with a relatively small industrial base has been not only abandoned but completely reversed by government policies since 1940. There is an extended analysis of the components of the Mexican political system, including several obscure opposition parties. Meyer is not reluctant to criticize the government for its democratic pretensions and its growing isolation from the masses. Given the nature of the work, there are no footnotes and only a very brief bibliography. The book contains numerous illustrations, but several are poorly placed and inadequately captioned. Meyer consistently displays a high level of objectivity, a characteristic often missing from many history textbooks, and offers interpretations and insights rather than mere narrative. While the specialist will find little that is new or startling, undergraduates and even graduate students will find in La encrucijada a concise and readable account of the major political an economic trends in Mexico since 1940.