Fractured elites : the politics of economic crisis in Mexico
Name
52715564-MIT.pdf
Description
Full printable version
Size
19.14 MB
Format
Adobe PDF
Checksum (MD5)
1ab472a93b1dfa56b6668cd97a86de19
Author(s)
Schlefer, Jonathan King
Advisor(s)
Suzanne Berger.
Date Issued
2003
Publisher
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Abstract
Economic crises are such powerful socioeconomic disasters that, not surprisingly, they are usually explained by powerful socioeconomic pressures, such as global financial speculation, structural economic failure, or populist demands. This thesis, in contrast, identifies the crucial role of elite politics. From the 1950s through the 1980s politics inside a tiny circle of high Mexican officials made the difference between economic crisis (when the exchange rate crashes) and stability. In the 1950s and 1960s, competing grupos, or cliques, within the ruling party abided by a "cooperative" system. The grupo whose leader won the internal contest for presidential nomination, hence automatically won the election, would do better, but losing grupos retained important posts. Such assurance of political survival allowed elites to defend the political system's long-run interests, not just their narrow self-interests, and avoid economic crises. In the 1970s and 1980s, "struggle" emerged as power conflicts became all-or-nothing, erupting in massive expenditures, other economic gambles, and crises. Public spending soared in pre-election years (27 percent in 1975, 22 percent in 1981), when grupos vied to build support for their leader's presidential nomination. Slashing it in the actual election years (0 growth in 1976, 8 percent decline in 1982, excluding debt payments) was too late to avert economic crisis. Most studies of economic crises in developing nations focus on what went wrong - and find too many possibilities. By scrutinizing Mexico's economic stability in the 1950s and 1960s (when nations such as Brazil and Argentina suffered repeated crises), this thesis is better able to discover the critical characteristics of political success that later eroded.
(cont.) The relationship between state and society did not change; the system of elite politics did. Many interviews with high officials reveal how this system worked, and illuminate important facets of Mexican economic history. The more general lesson is that politics at the heart of the state is not just a small replica of society. While external constituencies endure, elite factions survive or die politically. How they handle mutual conflicts can have momentous effects on a nation.
Description
Thesis (Ph. D.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Political Science, 2003.
Includes bibliographical references (p. 193-203).
Subjects
Political Science.
MIT Department
Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Political Science
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