ABSTRACT
In terms of macroeconomic policy, Mexico has experienced the full range from dirigiste import substitution policies to the laissez-faire, privatization-oriented, export-led policies to those that respond to times of overabundant foreign income and to foreign exchange crises. It is difficult to say categorically and unequivocally that one policy was better or worse for the environment than another. At the beginning of World War II, Mexico was predominantly a rural economy, with about 75 percent of its population living off the land. It was beginning to raise living standards through large government investments in irrigation and the industrial production boost provoked by the war. The bias in the economy toward oil not only reduced the attractiveness of investments in other sectors but, with subsidized domestic oil prices, also encouraged excessive and indiscriminate use of petroleum products at home. This state of affairs, combined with exploration and oil production, had several adverse environmental consequences.
