ABSTRACT
In 1968, urban dissatisfactions exploded as the urban poor, including housewives, joined students in protesting government repression, the lack of jobs, and inadequate living conditions. Urban popular movements have occurred in three principal waves, the first in the early 1970s, the second from 1979 through 1983, and the third between 1985 and 1988. This chapter explores in detail the first two waves and provides an overview of the third, suggesting that urban popular movements have had a transformative effect on Mexico's social and political system. Urban popular movements are a direct response to the inability of Mexico's development model to provide a decent standard of living for the majority of the population. The first wave of urban popular movements (UPMs) in Mexico occurred in the early 1970s in response to the general inadequacy of urban life: lack of jobs, lack of mobility, inadequate urban services, and housing shortages.
