ABSTRACT
Mexico is in crisis. Judith Hellman had the country in crisis in 1978. Numberless commentators, observers, and ordinary Mexican citizens spoke of crisis when they witnessed the terrible massacre at Tlatelolco in 1968, when troops shot down peaceful protesters; or when Lazaro Cardenas came out of retirement in 1961, leading massive street demonstrations in support of the government of Fidel Castro. The Mexican system was subverted in the first instance by plenty rather than scarcity. A principal theme in the speech is Miguel De la Madrid's insistence on the democratic character of the Mexican political system. Change will of course occur in Mexican politics, as in everything. The dynamics of Mexican politics are clearly different, in a curious way, from those in other Latin American countries where short-term economic crisis is the most reliable predictor of the overthrow of the incumbent government.
