An authoritative and comprehensive history of post-revolutionary Mexico by two of the country’s leading intellectuals. Héctor Aguilar Camín and Lorenzo Meyer set out to fill a void in the literature on Mexican history: the lack of a single text to cover the history of Mexico during the twentieth century. In the Shadow of the Mexican Revolution, covers the Mexican Revolution itself, the gradual consolidation of institutions, the Cárdenas regime, the “Mexican economic miracle” and its subsequent collapse, and the recent transition toward a new historical period. The authors explore Mexico’s turbulent recent history as it becomes increasingly intertwined with that of the United States. First published in Spanish as A la sombra de la Revolución Mexicana, this English-language edition offers US readers an intelligent and accessible study of their neighbor to the south.

The only substantive study of Plutarco El as Calles and the Mexican Revolution, this book traces the remarkable life story of a complex and little-understood, yet key figure in Mexico's history. J rgen Buchenau draws on a rich array of archival evidence from Mexico, the United States, and Europe to explore Calles's origins and political trajectory. He hailed from Sonora, a border state marked by fundamental social and economic change at the turn of the twentieth century. After dabbling in various careers, Calles found the early years of the revolution (1910-1920) afforded him the chance to rise to local and ultimately national prominence. As president from 1924 to 1928, Calles embarked on an ambitious reform program, modernized the financial system, and defended national sovereignty against an interventionist U.S. government. Yet these reforms failed to eradicate underdevelopment, corruption, and social injustice. Moreover, his unyielding campaigns against the Catholic Church and his political enemies earned him a reputation as a repressive strongman. After his term as president, Calles continued to exert broad influence as his country's foremost political figure while three weaker presidents succeeded each other in an atmosphere of constant political crisis. He played a significant role in founding a ruling party that reined in the destructive ambitions of leading army officers and promised to help campesinos and workers attain better living conditions. This dynastic party and its successors, including the present-day Partido Revolucionario Institucional (PRI, or Party of the Institutional Revolution), remained in power until 2000. Many of the institutions and laws forged during the Calles era survived into the present. Through this comprehensive assessment of a quintessential politician in an era dominated by generals, entrepreneurs, and educated professionals, Buchenau opens an illuminating window into the Mexican Revolution and contemporary Mexico.

An authoritative and comprehensive history of post-revolutionary Mexico by two of the country’s leading intellectuals. Héctor Aguilar Camín and Lorenzo Meyer set out to fill a void in the literature on Mexican history: the lack of a single text to cover the history of Mexico during the twentieth century. In the Shadow of the Mexican Revolution, covers the Mexican Revolution itself, the gradual consolidation of institutions, the Cárdenas regime, the “Mexican economic miracle” and its subsequent collapse, and the recent transition toward a new historical period. The authors explore Mexico’s turbulent recent history as it becomes increasingly intertwined with that of the United States. First published in Spanish as A la sombra de la Revolución Mexicana, this English-language edition offers US readers an intelligent and accessible study of their neighbor to the south.

An authoritative and comprehensive history of post-revolutionary Mexico by two of the country’s leading intellectuals. Héctor Aguilar Camín and Lorenzo Meyer set out to fill a void in the literature on Mexican history: the lack of a single text to cover the history of Mexico during the twentieth century. In the Shadow of the Mexican Revolution, covers the Mexican Revolution itself, the gradual consolidation of institutions, the Cárdenas regime, the “Mexican economic miracle” and its subsequent collapse, and the recent transition toward a new historical period. The authors explore Mexico’s turbulent recent history as it becomes increasingly intertwined with that of the United States. First published in Spanish as A la sombra de la Revolución Mexicana, this English-language edition offers US readers an intelligent and accessible study of their neighbor to the south.

This book analyzes Mexico's initiatives in Central America during the Porfirian and Revolutionary periods and pays particular attention to Mexico's persistent challenge to U.S. influence in Central America.

This study reveals how the social pact, formalized during the armed stage of the Mexican Revolution (1910-20) and implemented during the second stage (1920-40), was upset during the third or arrested stage (1940-70) when the bureaucrat-professionals at the helm opted for intensive economic development by taking the capitalist road. Although momentarily revived during yet a fourth stage of revolution (1970-82), this social pact was subsequently betrayed from within by the official party of the Revolution and undermined from without by the operation of economic forces behind the scenes. In this first book on the complete history of the Mexican Revolution, Hodges and Gandy reveal that, along with the end of its social pact, Mexico passed out of its former nationalist and capitalist orbit to enter the new professional societies and global order fathered by the transnationals. From 1920 to 1970, Mexico's bureaucrat-professionals hung onto political power while native capitalists continued to flourish. In response, Mexico's workers and peasants staged strikes against the nationalized sector and fomented guerrilla wars. Concessions were then made to this group until, beginning in 1982, the social pact was again eroded at the expense, not only of the popular sectors, but also of the capitalists. The economic surplus was redistributed away from owners and into the pockets of professionals. That was the Revolution's last gasp before it was officially put to rest in 2000 with the official party's defeat at the polls. Hodges and Gandy challenge the current belief that Mexico's economic system is still capitalist by presenting statistical evidence that shows how the chief beneficiaries of the economy are no longer the providers of capital, but instead the providers of professional services.

Mexico's wars for independence were not fought to achieve political independence. Unlike their neighbors to the north, Mexico's revolutionaries aimed to overhaul their society. Intending profound social reform, the rebellion's leaders declared from the onset that their struggle would be incomplete, even meaningless, if it were merely a political event. Easily navigating through nineteenth-century Mexico's complex and volatile political environment, Timothy J. Henderson offers a well-rounded treatment of the entire period, but pays particular attention to the early phases of the revolt under the priests Miguel Hidalgo and José María Morelos. Hidalgo promised an immediate end to slavery and tailored his appeals to the poor, but also sanctioned pillage and shocking acts of violence. This savagery would ultimately cost Hidalgo, Morelos, and the entire country dearly, leading to the revolution's failure in pursuit of both meaningful social and political reform. While Mexico eventually gained independence from Spain, severe social injustices remained and would fester for another century. Henderson deftly traces the major leaders and conflicts, forcing us to reconsider what "independence" meant and means for Mexico today.