Revolution Ends, Change Begins Summary
Part 1: “THEN”
Revolution Ends, Change Begins – October 26th 2000
Mexico is a country that has been populated for more than two millennia. Far more current is their recent history as it has become extremely interesting. The Economist article, “Revolution Ends, Change Begins,” is about the Mexicans finally voting out the Institutional Revolutionary Party. But the issue they now face is making the transition out of the one-party dictatorship, into a democratic future.
On July 2, 2000 the PRI, or Institutional Revolutionary Party, the Mexican people voted not for the PRI, but instead for conservative National Action Party (PAN) after seventy one years of power. Now why is that interesting? “It will be the first time in the country 's long history of ancient kingdoms, colonialism, civil war, dictatorship and revolution that one regime has given way to another peacefully.” (Revolution Ends, 2000)
A lot more has changed in their long history. In 1929 the population was two-thirds rural and in the year 2000 the population is nearly three-quarters urban and has increased six fold. As we learn in the Article, from 1945-2000 “the [Mexican] economy has gone from being state-dominated and …show more content…
protectionist to being one of the most open in Latin America. Mexico is the world’s eighth largest exporter (counting the European Union as one) and the United States’ second biggest trading partner after Canada.” (Revolution Ends, 2000) At this point in Mexico’s history they are looked at in a higher light from the other Latin American countries. They have stabilized their economic crises and look to achieve growth of seven percent, their inflation will be less than expected and their deficit will only be 3% of GDP. The article goes on to say, Moody’s gave Mexico an investment-grade rating for the first time in their history. At this point Mexico is looking like they are going to really turn things around.
Beyond all the positive signs are some really concrete changes that are putting Mexico in the right place for a strong economic future. For instance, Mexico now has institutions it did not have a decade ago, “such as a competition agency and a human-rights commission. Others, such as the courts, the central bank and the electoral authorities, have become more independent. The press no longer has to take its cue from the government, and can be vocal, if variable in quality.” (Revolution Ends, 2000)
The reason why the change in political party is so ground breaking and important has a lot to do with the history of the PRI. The PRI was traced back to Plutarco Elias Calles when he formed the party as a means to coordinate and organize the smaller political parties. The PRI slowly grew as Mexico grew and worked its way into trade unions, peasant groups, youth movements and almost everything else. They used their deep pockets to influence people and decisions in their own best interest. They “bought the peasants ' eternal gratitude by breaking up huge plantations and handing out millions of small tracts of land. Instead of censoring the press, it kept newspapers afloat with cheap newsprint, floods of government advertising, and generous gifts to journalists. It was the greatest patron of the arts. Sometimes it even funded opposition political parties, both to give its critics a little space to vent their feelings, and to make sure they stayed divided. Its rule was based on collaboration, not coercion. Only when all else failed did it resorts to electoral fraud.” (Revolution Ends, 2000) Because of all of this, Mexico was essentially a dictatorship which looked like a democracy.
Now that the PRI is leaving office what does it mean for the future of Mexico? Unfortunately it is going to be a slow recovery. The shell of an economy is still riddled with corruption and growth isn’t evenly spread across the country. Those that prospered under the PRI now find themselves owing extreme sums of money in back taxes and responsible for finding legal means to achieve the same ends. The plantations that were split for the peasants are now an agricultural disaster because the Mexican farmers need to compete with foreign economies of scale. With that being said, the writer of this article is still very optimistic for Mexico’s future.
Point 1: Change in People The first point that I saw the writing making is the one that the Mexican voters see a need for a change in their government.
They recognized that the PRI and the practices they were using were unfit. More importantly, the Mexican men and women took off their blinders and saw the dictator that was controlling their country. “A record turnout of younger and female voters delivered a surprisingly large margin of victory for Fox. The ruling party 's candidate, Francisco Labastida, swiftly conceded defeat. He stated, ‘the citizens have made a decision that we should respect, and I 'll set the example myself.’” (Online News Hour, 2000) At this point in Mexico’s history it is very clear that the Mexican people want change and the younger generation rocked the vote to achieve
that.
Point 2: Population Growth The second important point I saw in this article was a mention of the population growth of the Mexican people. Ever since the United States government took much of what is now western US from Mexico, they Mexican government has seen reproduction as an important part of their culture. After doing more research I found that the idea of having a large family has been ingrained in the Mexican people as far back as 1929. (Mexico Population, 2013) The increased number of adolescences and the declining elderly population was a huge influence on the change in leadership. The youth of Mexico didn’t have the patience or respect for the way things used to be.
Point 3: Economic Growth According to the Economist, the Mexican Economy will have some struggles but eventually prosper. The author of this article clearly hedged his bets when he/she gave the economic futures of Mexico. On one hand they cited an increased economic growth of 7%, but on the other hand they explained all of the short coming they would have to overcome in order to succeed. It was important that they mentioned the growth rate because that gives us something to measure up to. All in all the economy, at this point in time, looks like it will continue to grow with its new leader.
Point 4: Failure of the PRI Easily the most documented point of this article is the failure and removal of the PRI. Due to the seventy one year dictatorship, the country finally saw the errors of its ways and voted the PRI out. They realized the flaws in the decisions of its government and finally took action. It’s also worth mentioning that because the government was trying to appear as a democracy they were slowly chipping away at their own dictatorship. Each time they allowed their competition to vent their views and shed some light on the corruption they empowered the people to rise against them.
Point 5: Fraud and Corruption The final point I chose to focus on was that of fraud and corruption. Since it was such a rampant issue for the majority of Mexico’s past and present, I wanted to document it so that we can compare later. In 2000, during this election and prior to it, nearly every transaction had some sort of corruption associated with it. Seats in their government could be bought, trade could be restricted and people could disappear without much attention. Clearly at this point corruption played a huge part in how and why the PRI maintained and later lost their place in the government. (Hill, 2011)
Part 2: “NOW”
From Darkness, Dawn – November 24th 2012 The second article that I decided to focus on was From Darkness, Dawn which was printed in the November 2012 issue of the Economist. This article started by documenting some of the hardship Mexico has endured over the past decade including, “the steepest recession on the American mainland, a plague of H1N1 swine flu and a deepening war against organized crime.” To add to Mexico’s drama, in 2009 the Pentagon had given warning that Mexico could become a “failed state”. Not to mention the predicted end of days from the Mayan calendar. (From Darkness, 2012) But again our author is optimistic, mentioning that all these hardships, if managed correctly can become extremely prosperous, because Mexico remains the second largest economy in Latin America. On a positive note, birth rates have been in decline, creating lower infant mortality rates and increase household savings. At the same time rising wages in China are starting to send jobs and opportunities in Mexico’s favor. After ten years the leaders are starting to tackle some of the home-grown problems that have always been around. The author goes on to cite some of the success that the Mexico has experienced over the past decade including:
• “A serially underachieving economy, repeatedly trumped by dynamic Brazil? Mexico outpaced Brazil last year and will grow twice as fast this year.
• Out-of-control population growth and an endless exodus to the north? Net emigration is down to zero, if not negative, and the fertility rate will soon be lower than that of the United States.
• Grinding poverty? Yes, but alleviated by services such as universal free health care.
• A raging drug war? The failure of rich countries’ anti-drugs policies means that organized crime will not go away. But Mexico’s murder rate is now falling, albeit slowly, for the first time in five years.”
(From Darkness, 2012) Since 2000 the conservative National Action Party (PAN) was in power for two consecutive presidential terms, but in 2012 Enrique Peña Nieto won a clear election victory. Like all the presidents before him, he claims to be different from his predecessors. He pledges that he is the opposite of the crooked party men who ran the country in its pre-democratic days. Fortunately at this point in time, Mexico is starting to look more and more like a democracy. No one party is in complete control and Peña’s views are widely accepted. The issue Peña now focuses on is a lack of support from his own party. “Congress was about to pass a labor-law reform, which among other things would make hiring and firing easier. But linked measures to make Mexico’s over-mighty unions more transparent and democratic were voted down by congressmen from Mr. Peña’s own PRI, which has strong ties to unions. If the unions cannot be tamed, Mr. Peña’s other reforms—to open up the monopolized energy sector and overhaul the tax system—may be similarly diluted.” (From Darkness, 2012) In conjunction with this overwhelming issue, is the issue of the current Mexican youth. The very popular, and runner up in past two elections claimed fraud when he lost by a slim margin. Andrés Manuel López Obrador or AMLO is extremely popular with the youth of Mexico, which has led to flash mobs, protests and heckling in combination with the use of social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter. Finally, the author makes the comparison to Mexico’s past and how difficult it will be considering they are presently highly dependent on the United States economy.
Point 1: Change in People Although it was almost ten years later, this author makes a very similar point about the changing views of its people. It’s not surprising that the masses change their views but what is interesting is the similarity to the way it changed. Again the youth of Mexico voted in record numbers and played a very important role in the election. In more interesting is how invested they remain after the election was over. The youth continue to rally against the current president for whom they believe shouldn’t be in power. Although this is very dangerous and could create a hostile environment, it is really exciting to see the people using a collective voice to speak to their government. Ideally that is what we are all striving for in the pursuit of a democracy.
Point 2: Population Growth Important to Mexico in the year 2012 is the fact that their population growth is starting to decline. The rate that they were increasing at in the year 2000 was unsustainable. Since then they have been more conservative which has had positive results: Lower Infant Mortality, Less money spent on larger families, more discretionary spending, better healthcare and less waste. This change has been a positive turn of events for Mexico and an important piece of this article.
Point 3: Economic Growth Another interesting turn of events has been the rising wages for Chinese workers. The workforce in China has experience so much growth and demand for their products that their workforce is now in a position of power. They have been demanding hirer wages which has opened the door of to Mexico to fill the low cost product and service sector. If this transition happens, and it is managed correctly, Mexico can be in a position for exponential growth.
Point 4: Return of the PRI After 71 years under the near dictatorship of the PRI, it only took two presidential terms under the PAN for the Mexican people to return to the PRI. Sociology tells us that the masses fear the unknown and are likely to prefer the known evil to the unknown. Whether this was a situation similar to that or whether it was a situation of the “grass is greener on the other side” we don’t know for sure. Either way we know that the Mexican people voted PRI back into power in the form of Enrique Peña Nieto. He is a very charismatic leader and promises all the right things. We are led to believe he is unlike the dictators of the past but only time will tell. It’s interesting to see how the parties have evolved to represent the people. It only took ten years for the PRI to figure out what the masses wanted to get them back into power. (Mexico 's election, 2012)
Point 5: Fraud and Corruption Unfortunately not much headway has been made in ten years in terms of fraud and corruption. Corruption at the street level is still an ever present reality. On the bright side the murder rate has begun to level off! Mexico no longer has an increasing murder rate, and they are even expecting the rate to decline. Although the truth isn’t pretty, that is a positive sign. (Drugs and Violence, 2012)
Part 3: Hindsight Recommendations
What has changed in the global business environment in the time between the articles? Between 2000 and 2012 A LOT has changed and a lot has gone on in Mexico. To name a few things:
• Vincente Fox is appointed President and appoints a task force to investigate disappearing left-wing activists in the 70s and 80s. Later they uncover information pointing back to the government and Fox pursues prosecution.
• The United States enters a recession and the Mexico feels the proverbial belt tightening which eventually affects their economy as well.
• Natural Disaster, Swine flu, Gas Shortages and Drug Cartels all affect Mexico within the decade between the two stories.
• PRI Returns to power after some claim fraud and corruption (Mexico Profile Timeline, 2012)
All in all, over the past 12 years much has changed, but at the same time a lot has remained the same. There have been strides towards bettering the country and removing the evils, namely the corrupt and drug lords. It is promising to see the newly appointed presidents take such an active role in lowering the corruption; it means the people are demanding it. Eventually they will achieve a lowered level of corruption and they are certainly on the right track.
Does the premise of the original article still hold true? Why or Why Not? Interestingly enough the majority of the original article still holds true. If we return to my five points we can review and compare: Change in People – The Mexican men and women continue to change as the original article mentioned. They saw the need to oust the PRI to better them and now they have changed again to readopt the PRI and their new candidate and structure. We know the people are changing because the politicians are changing. If we assume the system is working correctly then the politicians should reflect the people. Population Growth – This is one aspect of the original article that has absolutely changed. No longer do the Mexicans believe in having an enormous family. They now see the value in a smaller family to increase their wealth and provide a better life for their children and themselves. Economic Growth – As predicted in the original article, the economy continues to prosper. If talks continue of foreign direct investment into Mexico in substitute of China, it could mean drastic growth and potential for future Mexicans. (Hill, 2011) PRI back in Power – Obviously the PRI is back in power since the original article but it’s worth mentioning that the PRI candidates have changed as well. Seemingly they are no longer the power hungry dictators of past but instead a more (Mexico 's election, 2012) understanding and succinct political party. Fraud and Corruption – This seems like a topic that will continue to be a part of Mexico’s past, present and future. They have every intention to rid their government and people of thus burden but it will be a long transition before that is achieved.
If you could advise the authors of the past article, what guidance would you give them to help them be more successful in their original positions or recommendations? In order for the author of the original article to be more accurate they would have had to be less optimistic. They did a good job of hedging their bets by including the possible short comings but they assumed the change in leadership was a solve-all. Secondly, they could have done a better job of highlighting how the economic growth was not sustainable. It was obvious that Mexico could not continue to reproduce at the rate they were going without some drastic changes being necessary. Finally they author should have been less optimistic when it came to the prediction on the changes in fraud in corruption. This has been such a rampant issue in Mexico that it doesn’t seem realistic to believe they could change it that drastically in a single term with a new party leader.
References
Drugs and violence: A glimmer of hope. (2012, November 22). The Economist. Retrieved June 18, 2013, from http://www.economist.com/news/special-report/21566774-after-five-years-soaring-murder-rates-killings-have-last-begun-level
From Darkness, Dawn. (2012, November 24). The Economist. Retrieved June 18, 2013, from http://www.economist.com/news/special-report/21566773-after-years-underachievement-and-rising-violence-mexico-last-beginning
Hill, C. W. (2011). Global Business Today. (7th ed.). New York: McGraw-Hill/Irwin.
Mexico - Population growth rate. (n.d.).Index Mundi - Country Facts. Retrieved June 18, 2013, from http://www.indexmundi.com/g/g.aspx?v=24&c=mx&l=en
Mexico profile - Timeline. (n.d.). BBC. Retrieved June 18, 2013, from http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-19828041
Mexico 's election: The PRI is back. (2012, July 2). The Economist. Retrieved June 18, 2013, from http://www.economist.com/blogs/americasview/2012/07/mexicos-election
Online NewsHour: Vincente Fox Elected President. (2000, July 3). PBS: Public Broadcasting Service. Retrieved June 18, 2013, from http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/latin_america/july-dec00/mexico_election_7-03.html
Revolution ends, change begins. (2000, October 26). The Economist. Retrieved June 18, 2013, from http://www.economist.com/node/403102
Revolution Ends, Change Begins – October 26th 2000
Mexico is a country that has been populated for more than two millennia. Far more current is their recent history as it has become extremely interesting. The Economist article, “Revolution Ends, Change Begins,” is about the Mexicans finally voting out the Institutional Revolutionary Party. But the issue they now face is making the transition out of the one-party dictatorship, into a democratic future.
On July 2, 2000 the PRI, or Institutional Revolutionary Party, the Mexican people voted not for the PRI, but instead for conservative National Action Party (PAN) after seventy one years of power. Now why is that interesting? “It will be the first time in the country 's long history of ancient kingdoms, colonialism, civil war, dictatorship and revolution that one regime has given way to another peacefully.” (Revolution Ends, 2000)
A lot more has changed in their long history. In 1929 the population was two-thirds rural and in the year 2000 the population is nearly three-quarters urban and has increased six fold. As we learn in the Article, from 1945-2000 “the [Mexican] economy has gone from being state-dominated and …show more content…
protectionist to being one of the most open in Latin America. Mexico is the world’s eighth largest exporter (counting the European Union as one) and the United States’ second biggest trading partner after Canada.” (Revolution Ends, 2000) At this point in Mexico’s history they are looked at in a higher light from the other Latin American countries. They have stabilized their economic crises and look to achieve growth of seven percent, their inflation will be less than expected and their deficit will only be 3% of GDP. The article goes on to say, Moody’s gave Mexico an investment-grade rating for the first time in their history. At this point Mexico is looking like they are going to really turn things around.
Beyond all the positive signs are some really concrete changes that are putting Mexico in the right place for a strong economic future. For instance, Mexico now has institutions it did not have a decade ago, “such as a competition agency and a human-rights commission. Others, such as the courts, the central bank and the electoral authorities, have become more independent. The press no longer has to take its cue from the government, and can be vocal, if variable in quality.” (Revolution Ends, 2000)
The reason why the change in political party is so ground breaking and important has a lot to do with the history of the PRI. The PRI was traced back to Plutarco Elias Calles when he formed the party as a means to coordinate and organize the smaller political parties. The PRI slowly grew as Mexico grew and worked its way into trade unions, peasant groups, youth movements and almost everything else. They used their deep pockets to influence people and decisions in their own best interest. They “bought the peasants ' eternal gratitude by breaking up huge plantations and handing out millions of small tracts of land. Instead of censoring the press, it kept newspapers afloat with cheap newsprint, floods of government advertising, and generous gifts to journalists. It was the greatest patron of the arts. Sometimes it even funded opposition political parties, both to give its critics a little space to vent their feelings, and to make sure they stayed divided. Its rule was based on collaboration, not coercion. Only when all else failed did it resorts to electoral fraud.” (Revolution Ends, 2000) Because of all of this, Mexico was essentially a dictatorship which looked like a democracy.
Now that the PRI is leaving office what does it mean for the future of Mexico? Unfortunately it is going to be a slow recovery. The shell of an economy is still riddled with corruption and growth isn’t evenly spread across the country. Those that prospered under the PRI now find themselves owing extreme sums of money in back taxes and responsible for finding legal means to achieve the same ends. The plantations that were split for the peasants are now an agricultural disaster because the Mexican farmers need to compete with foreign economies of scale. With that being said, the writer of this article is still very optimistic for Mexico’s future.
Point 1: Change in People The first point that I saw the writing making is the one that the Mexican voters see a need for a change in their government.
They recognized that the PRI and the practices they were using were unfit. More importantly, the Mexican men and women took off their blinders and saw the dictator that was controlling their country. “A record turnout of younger and female voters delivered a surprisingly large margin of victory for Fox. The ruling party 's candidate, Francisco Labastida, swiftly conceded defeat. He stated, ‘the citizens have made a decision that we should respect, and I 'll set the example myself.’” (Online News Hour, 2000) At this point in Mexico’s history it is very clear that the Mexican people want change and the younger generation rocked the vote to achieve
that.
Point 2: Population Growth The second important point I saw in this article was a mention of the population growth of the Mexican people. Ever since the United States government took much of what is now western US from Mexico, they Mexican government has seen reproduction as an important part of their culture. After doing more research I found that the idea of having a large family has been ingrained in the Mexican people as far back as 1929. (Mexico Population, 2013) The increased number of adolescences and the declining elderly population was a huge influence on the change in leadership. The youth of Mexico didn’t have the patience or respect for the way things used to be.
Point 3: Economic Growth According to the Economist, the Mexican Economy will have some struggles but eventually prosper. The author of this article clearly hedged his bets when he/she gave the economic futures of Mexico. On one hand they cited an increased economic growth of 7%, but on the other hand they explained all of the short coming they would have to overcome in order to succeed. It was important that they mentioned the growth rate because that gives us something to measure up to. All in all the economy, at this point in time, looks like it will continue to grow with its new leader.
Point 4: Failure of the PRI Easily the most documented point of this article is the failure and removal of the PRI. Due to the seventy one year dictatorship, the country finally saw the errors of its ways and voted the PRI out. They realized the flaws in the decisions of its government and finally took action. It’s also worth mentioning that because the government was trying to appear as a democracy they were slowly chipping away at their own dictatorship. Each time they allowed their competition to vent their views and shed some light on the corruption they empowered the people to rise against them.
Point 5: Fraud and Corruption The final point I chose to focus on was that of fraud and corruption. Since it was such a rampant issue for the majority of Mexico’s past and present, I wanted to document it so that we can compare later. In 2000, during this election and prior to it, nearly every transaction had some sort of corruption associated with it. Seats in their government could be bought, trade could be restricted and people could disappear without much attention. Clearly at this point corruption played a huge part in how and why the PRI maintained and later lost their place in the government. (Hill, 2011)
Part 2: “NOW”
From Darkness, Dawn – November 24th 2012 The second article that I decided to focus on was From Darkness, Dawn which was printed in the November 2012 issue of the Economist. This article started by documenting some of the hardship Mexico has endured over the past decade including, “the steepest recession on the American mainland, a plague of H1N1 swine flu and a deepening war against organized crime.” To add to Mexico’s drama, in 2009 the Pentagon had given warning that Mexico could become a “failed state”. Not to mention the predicted end of days from the Mayan calendar. (From Darkness, 2012) But again our author is optimistic, mentioning that all these hardships, if managed correctly can become extremely prosperous, because Mexico remains the second largest economy in Latin America. On a positive note, birth rates have been in decline, creating lower infant mortality rates and increase household savings. At the same time rising wages in China are starting to send jobs and opportunities in Mexico’s favor. After ten years the leaders are starting to tackle some of the home-grown problems that have always been around. The author goes on to cite some of the success that the Mexico has experienced over the past decade including:
• “A serially underachieving economy, repeatedly trumped by dynamic Brazil? Mexico outpaced Brazil last year and will grow twice as fast this year.
• Out-of-control population growth and an endless exodus to the north? Net emigration is down to zero, if not negative, and the fertility rate will soon be lower than that of the United States.
• Grinding poverty? Yes, but alleviated by services such as universal free health care.
• A raging drug war? The failure of rich countries’ anti-drugs policies means that organized crime will not go away. But Mexico’s murder rate is now falling, albeit slowly, for the first time in five years.”
(From Darkness, 2012) Since 2000 the conservative National Action Party (PAN) was in power for two consecutive presidential terms, but in 2012 Enrique Peña Nieto won a clear election victory. Like all the presidents before him, he claims to be different from his predecessors. He pledges that he is the opposite of the crooked party men who ran the country in its pre-democratic days. Fortunately at this point in time, Mexico is starting to look more and more like a democracy. No one party is in complete control and Peña’s views are widely accepted. The issue Peña now focuses on is a lack of support from his own party. “Congress was about to pass a labor-law reform, which among other things would make hiring and firing easier. But linked measures to make Mexico’s over-mighty unions more transparent and democratic were voted down by congressmen from Mr. Peña’s own PRI, which has strong ties to unions. If the unions cannot be tamed, Mr. Peña’s other reforms—to open up the monopolized energy sector and overhaul the tax system—may be similarly diluted.” (From Darkness, 2012) In conjunction with this overwhelming issue, is the issue of the current Mexican youth. The very popular, and runner up in past two elections claimed fraud when he lost by a slim margin. Andrés Manuel López Obrador or AMLO is extremely popular with the youth of Mexico, which has led to flash mobs, protests and heckling in combination with the use of social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter. Finally, the author makes the comparison to Mexico’s past and how difficult it will be considering they are presently highly dependent on the United States economy.
Point 1: Change in People Although it was almost ten years later, this author makes a very similar point about the changing views of its people. It’s not surprising that the masses change their views but what is interesting is the similarity to the way it changed. Again the youth of Mexico voted in record numbers and played a very important role in the election. In more interesting is how invested they remain after the election was over. The youth continue to rally against the current president for whom they believe shouldn’t be in power. Although this is very dangerous and could create a hostile environment, it is really exciting to see the people using a collective voice to speak to their government. Ideally that is what we are all striving for in the pursuit of a democracy.
Point 2: Population Growth Important to Mexico in the year 2012 is the fact that their population growth is starting to decline. The rate that they were increasing at in the year 2000 was unsustainable. Since then they have been more conservative which has had positive results: Lower Infant Mortality, Less money spent on larger families, more discretionary spending, better healthcare and less waste. This change has been a positive turn of events for Mexico and an important piece of this article.
Point 3: Economic Growth Another interesting turn of events has been the rising wages for Chinese workers. The workforce in China has experience so much growth and demand for their products that their workforce is now in a position of power. They have been demanding hirer wages which has opened the door of to Mexico to fill the low cost product and service sector. If this transition happens, and it is managed correctly, Mexico can be in a position for exponential growth.
Point 4: Return of the PRI After 71 years under the near dictatorship of the PRI, it only took two presidential terms under the PAN for the Mexican people to return to the PRI. Sociology tells us that the masses fear the unknown and are likely to prefer the known evil to the unknown. Whether this was a situation similar to that or whether it was a situation of the “grass is greener on the other side” we don’t know for sure. Either way we know that the Mexican people voted PRI back into power in the form of Enrique Peña Nieto. He is a very charismatic leader and promises all the right things. We are led to believe he is unlike the dictators of the past but only time will tell. It’s interesting to see how the parties have evolved to represent the people. It only took ten years for the PRI to figure out what the masses wanted to get them back into power. (Mexico 's election, 2012)
Point 5: Fraud and Corruption Unfortunately not much headway has been made in ten years in terms of fraud and corruption. Corruption at the street level is still an ever present reality. On the bright side the murder rate has begun to level off! Mexico no longer has an increasing murder rate, and they are even expecting the rate to decline. Although the truth isn’t pretty, that is a positive sign. (Drugs and Violence, 2012)
Part 3: Hindsight Recommendations
What has changed in the global business environment in the time between the articles? Between 2000 and 2012 A LOT has changed and a lot has gone on in Mexico. To name a few things:
• Vincente Fox is appointed President and appoints a task force to investigate disappearing left-wing activists in the 70s and 80s. Later they uncover information pointing back to the government and Fox pursues prosecution.
• The United States enters a recession and the Mexico feels the proverbial belt tightening which eventually affects their economy as well.
• Natural Disaster, Swine flu, Gas Shortages and Drug Cartels all affect Mexico within the decade between the two stories.
• PRI Returns to power after some claim fraud and corruption (Mexico Profile Timeline, 2012)
All in all, over the past 12 years much has changed, but at the same time a lot has remained the same. There have been strides towards bettering the country and removing the evils, namely the corrupt and drug lords. It is promising to see the newly appointed presidents take such an active role in lowering the corruption; it means the people are demanding it. Eventually they will achieve a lowered level of corruption and they are certainly on the right track.
Does the premise of the original article still hold true? Why or Why Not? Interestingly enough the majority of the original article still holds true. If we return to my five points we can review and compare: Change in People – The Mexican men and women continue to change as the original article mentioned. They saw the need to oust the PRI to better them and now they have changed again to readopt the PRI and their new candidate and structure. We know the people are changing because the politicians are changing. If we assume the system is working correctly then the politicians should reflect the people. Population Growth – This is one aspect of the original article that has absolutely changed. No longer do the Mexicans believe in having an enormous family. They now see the value in a smaller family to increase their wealth and provide a better life for their children and themselves. Economic Growth – As predicted in the original article, the economy continues to prosper. If talks continue of foreign direct investment into Mexico in substitute of China, it could mean drastic growth and potential for future Mexicans. (Hill, 2011) PRI back in Power – Obviously the PRI is back in power since the original article but it’s worth mentioning that the PRI candidates have changed as well. Seemingly they are no longer the power hungry dictators of past but instead a more (Mexico 's election, 2012) understanding and succinct political party. Fraud and Corruption – This seems like a topic that will continue to be a part of Mexico’s past, present and future. They have every intention to rid their government and people of thus burden but it will be a long transition before that is achieved.
If you could advise the authors of the past article, what guidance would you give them to help them be more successful in their original positions or recommendations? In order for the author of the original article to be more accurate they would have had to be less optimistic. They did a good job of hedging their bets by including the possible short comings but they assumed the change in leadership was a solve-all. Secondly, they could have done a better job of highlighting how the economic growth was not sustainable. It was obvious that Mexico could not continue to reproduce at the rate they were going without some drastic changes being necessary. Finally they author should have been less optimistic when it came to the prediction on the changes in fraud in corruption. This has been such a rampant issue in Mexico that it doesn’t seem realistic to believe they could change it that drastically in a single term with a new party leader.
References
Drugs and violence: A glimmer of hope. (2012, November 22). The Economist. Retrieved June 18, 2013, from http://www.economist.com/news/special-report/21566774-after-five-years-soaring-murder-rates-killings-have-last-begun-level
From Darkness, Dawn. (2012, November 24). The Economist. Retrieved June 18, 2013, from http://www.economist.com/news/special-report/21566773-after-years-underachievement-and-rising-violence-mexico-last-beginning
Hill, C. W. (2011). Global Business Today. (7th ed.). New York: McGraw-Hill/Irwin.
Mexico - Population growth rate. (n.d.).Index Mundi - Country Facts. Retrieved June 18, 2013, from http://www.indexmundi.com/g/g.aspx?v=24&c=mx&l=en
Mexico profile - Timeline. (n.d.). BBC. Retrieved June 18, 2013, from http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-19828041
Mexico 's election: The PRI is back. (2012, July 2). The Economist. Retrieved June 18, 2013, from http://www.economist.com/blogs/americasview/2012/07/mexicos-election
Online NewsHour: Vincente Fox Elected President. (2000, July 3). PBS: Public Broadcasting Service. Retrieved June 18, 2013, from http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/latin_america/july-dec00/mexico_election_7-03.html
Revolution ends, change begins. (2000, October 26). The Economist. Retrieved June 18, 2013, from http://www.economist.com/node/403102