This thesis sets out to explain the development of Mexican tourism from a political point of view. The work commences by looking at the antecedents of this phenomenon on an international scale and by examining the contributions made by different disciplines to the study of tourism. The study next moves on to illustrate the main effects and consequences of the promotion of this enterprise as a developmental activity in the Third World. The core of the thesis focuses on the political analysis of the historical evolution of tourism in Mexico. It is shown, for instance, that since the late 1920s to the present the progress of this venture has been shaped by an array of distinct economic, political, ideological, and social factors. In doing so, this study aims not only to enrich our understanding of the political phenomena in general, but also to expand our comprehension of Mexican politics in particular. In the end, this thesis uses tourism in Mexico as a terrain in which notions of politics and development are re-examined, and the continuities and changes of the country's polity are reflected.

Mexico: Class Formation, Capital Accumulation, and the State

The politics of tourism development in Mexico

In this article, recent changes in the Mexican research system are examined. The restructuring of the global political economy and a severe crisis of legitimacy in the Mexican political system have generated a turn toward neoliberalism by the ruling party in a bid to attract foreign investment. A key component of neoliberal science policy is the Sistema Nacional de Investigadores (SNI), a system of salary increments for selected researchers instituted during the 1980s. Examination of SNI's decisions reveals numerous discriminatory and self-serving practices that are inconsistent with widely accepted norms in the scientific community. During the same period, repressive actions against researchers, such as the peremptory closure of research institutions, firings of research ers, and direct intimidation, have increased. The victims of discrimination and repression documented here are disproportionately foreign-born Mexicans, leftists, critics of the ruling party, and researchers in environmental and energy s...

Globalization of Science and Repression of Scientists in Mexico

During the past decade, Howard J. Wiarda has established himself as a prolific analyst of corporatism, democracy, authoritarianism, and development in Latin America. His views have been influential in shaping and legitimating U.S. policies toward Latin America both before and during the Reagan "revolution." While others may have produced theories of democracy and a transition from authoritarianism that unconsciously complement the Reagan administration's practical policies and imperialist interests, Wiarda's contribution has been directly and self-consciously motivated by policy concerns. From his position at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst, as director of Latin American programs at the American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research (AEI), and in close personal contacts with contemporary U.S. policymakers (especially in the State Department), Wiarda has become a key intellectual figure in the early and ongoing effort to clothe a decidedly militaristic and hegemonistic policy in the garb of peace and democracy. It is my contention that Wiarda's theories of corporatism, national development, and democracy are inextricably interrelated and together form the intellectual foundation upon which defenders of corporation capitalism attempt to erect their support of bourgeois power and imperialist intervention. Corporatism and National Development (1981) qualifies as Wiarda's theoretical magnum opus: it is a grand synthesis of essays written during the 1970s and provides a theoretical basis for the various articles collected in anthologies dealing with the issues of human rights and democracy (Wiarda, 1980, 1982). Building upon his corporatism model, the essays contained in The Continuing Strugglefor Democracy (1980)

Authoritarianism, Democracy, and Development The Corporative Theory of Howard J. Wiarda

How should one analyze the economic relations between advanced capitalist systems and other economic systems? So far the economists have mainly concentrated their efforts on studying the relations between developed capitalist countries (henceforth DCs) and the less developed countries (henceforth LDCs) of the world. There has not, however, been a significant effort in devising a systematic theory of economic relations between DCs and the socialist countries. I intend for my dissertation to be a contribution in that direction. It is concerned with investigating the role of international trade and investment in the countries of Eastern Europe. In the process of observing the economic relations of the DCs and LDCs, two major schools of thought have emerged: the dependency school and the diffusionist (mainstream neo-classical) school. The latter, in general, sees the positive aspects of the links between DCs and the poor countries. The dependency perspective, on the other hand, argues that the problems of the poor (peripheral) countries are, in fact, their economic relations with the DCs (center). The exploitation by the center draws off most of the surplus that otherwise might have been used in the process of industrialization of the poor countries. My dissertation begins by examining how these two schools of thought have been theoretically successful in incorporating yet another dimension of the economic relations between different economic systems--the relations between the DCs and the socialist countries. In addition, my dissertation will also focus on another approach which I will refer to as the "Eastern European" approach. In the final chapter I will try to empirically verify the validity of the theoretical investigations of these schools. My conclusion is that although all the approaches discussed in my dissertation make some contribution to understanding East-West economic relations, none are entirely successful in presenting an accurate picture of such economic relations.

International trade and investment in Eastern Europe and the Soviet Union

We apply a typology of exile to factions involved in the Mexican and Russian Revolutions of the early 20th century. Our typology is based on Grubacic and O’Hearn’s theory of exile, which seeks to e...

Mexico: Class Formation, Capital Accumulation, and the State

Citations

The politics of tourism development in Mexico

Globalization of Science and Repression of Scientists in Mexico

Authoritarianism, Democracy, and Development The Corporative Theory of Howard J. Wiarda

International trade and investment in Eastern Europe and the Soviet Union

Lessons from exits foreclosed: An exilic interpretation of the Mexican and Russian Revolutions, 1910–1924:

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