ABSTRACT
Mexico's recent history has been characterized by alternate cheering and booing from the international community, and many Mexicans themselves. The record of high growth and low inflation, and relative social peace and political stability started being questioned in the second half of the 1960s. This chapter shows the typical 'boom and bust' type of economic activity that shortens political and economic actors' capacity to plan activities such as consumption and investment in the short and medium term. The growth of other criminal activities such as kidnapping, extortion, and human- and weapons-trafficking speaks volumes about the fragmentation and ineffectiveness of the state in Mexico. The chapter suggests a political economy that has undergone a dramatic transformation: from a relatively closed, protected, state-led economy, guided by a disciplined, authoritarian political regime under hegemonic party (PRI) rule. It also presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in this book.
