In spite of the most thorough agrarian reform in nonsocialist Latin America, Mexico cannot feed its population. Steven Sanderson attributes the problems of Mexican agriculture to an internationalization of the food system promoted by the Mexican state, the trade system, and agribusiness. Originally published in 1986. The Princeton Legacy Library uses the latest print-on-demand technology to again make available previously out-of-print books from the distinguished backlist of Princeton University Press. These editions preserve the original texts of these important books while presenting them in durable paperback and hardcover editions. The goal of the Princeton Legacy Library is to vastly increase access to the rich scholarly heritage found in the thousands of books published by Princeton University Press since its founding in 1905.

Since the 16th century, Mexico has in many ways been held captive by outsiders. In the modern era, outsiders have most often made their impact through control of the Mexican economy and helping to establish a ruling elite while millions of ordinary citizens face abject poverty. With the advent of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), Mexico's leadership predicted a new wave of economic progress in the country. However, a devaluation of the peso showed that the Mexican economy was as problematical as before. This work first examines the sociopolitical history of the country, and how the events of the past continue to influence the government's policies. Mexico's post-NAFTA future is then explored, with particular emphasis placed on how economic policy could evolve in a period of free trade. A 2013 postscript concludes the work.

This historical monograph examines the decline of the hacienda estates within Jalisco, Mexico, during the early decades of the twentieth century. The book also explores the impact of the land reform program of President Lázaro Cárdenas in transforming the agrarian economic structure of the region. This study contributes to an ongoing lively debate about the hacienda system and the meaning of Cárdenas’s reforms. This is an important work because it explores the evolution of a regional socioeconomic system that promoted urban industrial growth at the expense of the rural poor. The model of regional development described is applicable to other areas of Mexico and underdeveloped Third World nations with extensive peasant populations. The research for this investigation has wider implications regarding issues of global hunger and malnutrition.