ABSTRACT
During the period 1983–1988 the Mexican economy has undergone deep structural changes, including important reforms in the protectionist trade regime which dominated its economic activity. This chapter presents an historical review of Mexico’s trade policy in its macroeconomic context and with special emphasis on the reform program in place since 1983. It discusses respectively the macroeconomic policies from 1958 to 1982 and the import substitution regime established. The chapter provides macroeconomic adjustment and trade reform during 1983–1988. The Echeverria administration changed only the macroeconomic aspects of Stabilizing Development leaving the microeconomics in general and trade policy in particular the same. A major macroeconomic adjustment program was clearly necessary to bring inflation under control and return to rapid output growth. This stabilization program was launched in December of 1987 and came to be known as the “Economic Solidarity Plan”.
