1. City and Nation 2. East and West 3. Peasants and Provincials 4. Death and Disorder 5. Appearance and Reality Notes Bibliography Index

This thesis is about economic transformation in Mexico City between 1980 and 2000. It explores the extent to which Mexico City’s economic restructuring process has been caused by trade liberalisation. The thesis assesses the extent to which industries located in Mexico City reacted to a reorientation in production focus, characterised by the shift from national to international markets. It analyses in detail the pace and geography of neo-liberal economic change, and its effects upon a specific location. It also evaluates the role played by global economic agents in gauging the forces influencing economic restructuring in Mexico, and particularly in Mexico City. At the core of this restructuring process is the change in regional industrial location patterns in Mexico, as well as the decline of manufacturing – with regard to production and employment – in Mexico City and its rise as a service centre.
The thesis therefore engages with current debates on new economic geography on the one hand and globalisation on the other, focusing attention on the possible emergence of a group of “global” urban centres embedded in a broader network of cities in developed and developing countries alike, which connect global production circuits and coordinate global/regional markets. More concretely, the thesis focuses on the automotive and consumer electronics industries with the aim of understanding the causes and effects of economic events in terms of location decisions, particularly those made by transnational corporations. By placing the empirical processes of economic restructuring within the theoretical context of trade liberalisation and globalisation, I seek to make an original contribution to social science debates about the way industry reacts to economic signals and how global processes, despite taking place in specific locations, have wide-reaching effects upon social welfare, mainly though the transformation of local labour markets.

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The city of Mexico in the age of Díaz

Global change and local economic restructuring: the case of Mexico City

The cadaverous city: the everyday life of the dead in mexico city, 1875-1930

In the spring of 1925, Santa Anita's Festival of Flowers seemed to follow its tranquil trend of previous years. The large displays of flowers, the selection of indias bonitas (as the contestants of beauty pageants organized in an attempt to stimulate indigenism were known) and the boat-rides on the Viga Canal, all communicated what residents of neighboring Mexico City had come to expect of the small pueblo in the Federal District since the Porfiriato: the respite of a peaceful pastoral, the link to a colorful past, and the promise that mexicanidad was alive and well in the campo. Unfortunately, wrote Manuel Ramirez Cardenas of El Globo, “the modern newspaper,” the next day, this idyllic tradition was rudely interrupted by a group of audacious, scantily clad women. The culprits were actresses of Mexico City's Lirico theater, who walked around Santa Anita's streets in “picaresque clothing”—stage outfits that left little to the imagination, particularly in broad daylight—and upset visitors and campesinos alike. According to Cardenas, abuelitas and mamas were shocked by the display, averting their eyes from the female spectacle in fear of “elpecado mortal.” Thankfully, for the mothers and grandmothers in the audience, the festival continued in predictable fashion after the initial uproar. Organizers continued with the traditional dances, and judges selected an india bonita from a pool of young, decente mestizo girls to represent the pueblo and the festival.

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BATACLANISMO! Or, How Female Deco Bodies Transformed Postrevolutionary Mexico City

On October 8, 1930, on her way to the Plaza Hidalgo in Mexico City to purchase alfalfa for her employer's poultry, Elvira C. was forced into a police truck. Despite her protests, she was taken to a detention center known as El Carmen. The 28 year old widow from Puebla was arrested for begging and placed in the custody of Mexico City's Public Welfare Agency. After four-and-a-half months in welfare institutions, a social worker recorded Elvira's work history, inquired into her living situation and drinking habits, and visited her place of residence and her place of work. The social worker finally concluded that Elvira was not a beggar and should be released. On March 18, 1931, over five months after being detained, Elvira was ordered released.

Coercion, Reform, and the Welfare State: The Campaign against "Begging" in Mexico City during the 1930s

Why did Jose de Leon Toral kill Alvaro Obregon, leader of the Mexican Revolution? So far, historians have characterized the motivations of the young Catholic militant as the fruit of fanaticism. This book offers new insights on how diverse sectors experienced the aftermath of the Revolution by exploring the religious, political, and cultural contentions of the 1920s. Far from an isolated fanatic, Leon Toral represented a generation of Mexicans who believed that the revolution had unleashed ancient barbarism, sinful consumerism, and anticlerical tyranny. Facing attacks against the Catholic essence of Mexican nationalism, they emphasized asceticism, sacrifice, and the redemptive potential of violence. Their reckless enthusiasm to launch assaults was a sign of their devotion. Leon Toral insisted that 'only God' was his accomplice; in fact, he was cheered by thousands who dreamed of bringing the Kingdom of Christ to beleaguered Mexico.

The city of Mexico in the age of Díaz

Citations

Global change and local economic restructuring: the case of Mexico City

The cadaverous city: the everyday life of the dead in mexico city, 1875-1930

BATACLANISMO! Or, How Female Deco Bodies Transformed Postrevolutionary Mexico City

Coercion, Reform, and the Welfare State: The Campaign against "Begging" in Mexico City during the 1930s

For Christ and Country : Militant Catholic Youth in Post-Revolutionary Mexico

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