Mexican Political History: A Comparative Analysis

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Summary This paper will discuss at length three major points in Mexican political history, the regimes of José López Portillo, Carlos Salinas de Gortari, and Vicente Fox Quesada. The paper will discuss the major accomplishments or failures of each regime as well as any major political and economic policy changes that took place during their respective times in office. It will cover topics like Portillo and the end of the Mexican Miracle, Salinas and NAFTA, and Fox’s immigration reform, and will conclude with a comparison between the three regimes. Introduction “Mexico must be given credit for two remarkable achievements: She has sustained, over long periods of time, extremely high rates of economic growth, approaching, and sometimes passing, 10 percent per annum. And for over 50 years she has provided an example of political stability, and of orderly and peaceful transitions of power, unique in Latin America and almost so in the third world.” (Needler 2) However, underneath this apparent success that Mexico has had lies deep rooted corruption in almost every facet of society. Political corruption has led to the domination of the government by the PRI, economic corruption has led to widespread economic inequality where elitist Mexicans control the majority of resources within society while the drug cartels make it unsafe to travel on any street. The political history of Mexico is not the only aspect of society that has had it’s fair share of turmoil. Analysis #1: The Portillo Regime En el mundo de la economía los paises se dividen en dos: los que tienen petróleo y los que no lo tienen. ¡Y nosotros lo tenemos! – "In the world of economy, countries are divided in two: those that have oil and those that don't have it. And we have it!" This very statement can sum up Portillo’s economic policies. He was the last of the nationalist presidents from the ranks of

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