Esta obra propone que a partir de 1930 el algodón hizo una gran contribución al poblamiento del norte mexicano, favoreció la formación de mercados de trabajo y de tierras, propició la movilidad social, impulsó la urbanización y dio lugar a un optimismo desbordado entre las oligarquías norteñas. También da cuenta de que el episodio algodonero, mayoritariamente norteño, obedeció sobre todo a la conexión con el mercado mundial.

This in-depth study of local government in Mexico raises issues which go far beyond the territory it covers. It will be of absorbing interest to all students of local democracy and participatory methods, not only in Latin America, but in Western and Eastern Europe, the USA, Africa, Asia, and elsewhere, where initiatives and experimentation are driven by socio-economic change. Everywhere citizen participation has become an important part of the democratisation debate, and this is certainly the situation in contemporary Mexico. This book presents a revealing insight of the wide range of participatory mechanisms, including plebiscites, referenda and neighbourhood committees, which have been introduced by different political parties at the local level in Mexico. After presenting the overall picture, the author examines the implementation of the participatory agenda in three localities:

This book examines a sophisticated effort by radical economic reformers to change the ideology of nationalism in Mexico from 1988-94 and so “reinvent” the country in a way that was more friendly to their market policies, and responses to this by opposition parties.