The four-volume anthology El nuevo estado mexicano examines changes that have occurred in Mexico in the last decade, with a focus on the relations between the “new” Mexican state, which arose in large part from the economic crisis, and various entities both external and internal. In general, the contributors spotlight the many economic, political, and social problems that state policies have created or exacerbated. Social scientists with differing political perspectives from a number of Mexican educational and research institutions, including UNAM, UAM, ULA, IPN, Colmex, and CIESAS, contributed to this work, thereby resuming the scrutiny of the Mexican state that many of them first undertook in a volume published in the early 1980s.
In addition to its concise description of the dramatic changes Mexico has undergone, a particularly valuable aspect of this work is its discussion of the Mexican government’s foreign and domestic agenda. The first volume examines recent economic issues, particularly the government’s new economic model and its implications for foreign and domestic relations. The second volume focuses on political aspects of the modern Mexican state, with articles on the major political parties, governmental corruption and electoral reform, regional political unrest, and human rights abuse. Volume 3 examines the changing face of Mexican society and the government’s interaction with such groups as workers, campesinos, indigenous people, women, intellectuals, Catholics, and Protestants. Contributors to the fourth volume continue this exploration of recent social change and state policies with a focus on new social conditions. The final essay in this volume, by UNAM’s Pablo González Casanova, offers recommendations regarding the future government programs necessary to ensure domestic peace.
The anthology is highly critical of neoliberal state policies of the 1980s and 1990s that have brought about increased social and economic disequilibrium, authoritarian rule, the loss of Mexican sovereignty, and an end to the revolutionary state. The state’s economic policies have been accompanied by reduced social programs, which, together with continued political corruption and increased human rights abuses, have contributed to the growth of opposition parties and social unrest. The authors call for political and economic democracy in Mexico and greater integration in Latin America to withstand the threat of North American imperialism.
While these volumes clearly contribute to the ever-growing body of literature on the modern Mexican state, they offer little in the way of new theory. They will perhaps be most valuable to readers seeking insight into current conditions in Mexico, particularly governmental programs and social responses to state actions. Few of the essays provide a historical context for contemporary issues; and while many of the writers demand reform, they offer little in the way of practical alternatives, given the complexity of the problems.
