ABSTRACT
The purpose of this chapter is to explore the sociopolitical forces contesting neoliberal globalism in Mexico. To what extent are they likely to transcend or significantly modify Mexico's current political economic power structures? In particular, to what extent are these forces capable of, and likely to, challenge the neoliberal model that is now dominant in Mexico? As outlined in the previous chapter, the existing North American Free Trade Agreement with Canada and the USA (NAFTA) may be seen as the culmination of a series of state policies geared to introduce neoliberalism in Mexico. From an economy focused primarily on its internal market, with heavy doses of trade protectionism, state subsidies and state regulation, the reforms introduced in the mid-1980s by pro-neoliberal governments were geared to liberalise the economy, open it to foreign trade and investment, eliminate subsidies, privatise state firms and introduce a range of other neoliberal policies. The socioeconomic impact of the neoliberal reforms has been profound (Dussel Peters 2001; 2004), and has provoked contestation from both civil society and the political left. Both the political and the social left are critical of the increasing influence of neoliberal globalism and of the hegemonic influence of US corporations over the Mexican economy. Similarly, both regard NAFTA as having had a disastrous effect on Mexico's economy. However, in spite of the influence of the USA in promoting neoliberal globalism, it is domestic anti-democratic and pro-neoliberal forces that are seen by Mexico's progressive groups as the main obstacle to any alternative paradigm. In opposing neoliberal globalism, the social left is more radical than the political left. It is sceptical of political parties and the political class at large and focuses primarily on mobilisation within civil society. This chapter will look at the alternative responses of these two strands of the left, the one acting within the political institutions of government, and the other centred in civil society utilising social movement strategies to challenge neoliberal globalism.
