Re: Mexico. At the brink of civil war?
erik darren leaver (nickdog@unm.edu)
Fri, 10 Feb 1995 11:13:38 -0600
Jose,
While I do agree that Mexico is in crisis-economically, socially and
policically I'm not sure that a "bloody civil war" will be the result.
Many of the problems of the crisis have been exasperated by the
centralist PRI party. I believe that the uprising in Chiapas is
indicitative of the changes we will be seeing in Mexico in the future.
The Zapitistas are the FIRST guerrilla group which doesent seek to take
over the state (in the Marxist tradition)- they simply want a new
democratic institution. In fact they have begun their own representative
government, one of the most hopeful signs yet!
Mexican and U.S. NGO's are fearful that the bailout will simply continue
the reign of the PRI and further the failed neo-liberal economic policy
of Salinas and Zedillo. Instead of continuing this path which will lead
to further inequities in the countryside (and the possiblity of a civil
war as you point out) Mexico needs to realize that it can't pay its
current debts (which it first realized in the early 80s) and look towards
alternative methods of development.
Erik