Transcript Mexico and the Cold War: The International Context of the “Perfect

Mexico and the Cold War:
The International Context of the
“Perfect Dictatorship”
Halbert Jones, Ph.D.
Office of the Historian
U.S. Department of State
[email protected]
The views expressed and interpretations presented in
this session are those of the presenter and not
necessarily those of the U.S. Department of State or
the U.S. Government.
Foreign Relations of the United States
• Official documentary record of U.S. foreign
policy and diplomatic activity
• Published since 1861
• “Documentary history”: Documents from
the archives, selected and annotated
• Congressional mandate: “a thorough,
accurate, and reliable documentary record
of major United States foreign policy
decisions and significant United States
diplomatic activity”
The Office of the Historian Online
http://history.state.gov
• Newly
redesigned
• Provides
access to
FRUS and
other
resources
Other Online Resources
• http://digicoll.library.wisc.edu/FRUS/
For access to scanned images of pre-1960 FRUS volumes,
fully searchable.
• http://www.archives.gov or www.nara.gov
For information on the National Archives and for direct
online access, through AAD link, to post-1973 diplomatic
records (cables).
• Contact the Office of the Historian via e-mail at
[email protected].
“Mexico is the perfect dictatorship. The perfect
dictatorship is not communism. It is not
the USSR. It is not Fidel Castro. The perfect
dictatorship is Mexico….”
- Mario Vargas Llosa, 1990
Mexico and the Cold War
Cold War’s impact on Mexico less obvious than its
effects on many other countries in the region:
• Unlike Chile, Argentina, and Brazil,
no coups or anti-communist
military dictatorships
• Unlike Cuba, no Marxist revolution
• Unlike Central America, no civil
conflicts that became proxy wars
Mexico as an Exceptional Case
• Political stability,
marked by dominance of a single party, 1929-2000
• No extreme repression,
though Mexico did have its own “dirty war”
• Alliance with US,
but with displays of
independence
Explaining Mexico’s Stability
Historians have pointed to:
•
•
•
•
•
•
Regime’s use of revolutionary rhetoric
“No Re-election” principle
Economic growth, “Mexican Miracle”
Sectoral organizations
Cooptation when possible
Repression when necessary
International Factors Also Important …
Cold War atmosphere made possible:
• A tacit understanding with the United States
that enabled Mexico to enjoy an enhanced
degree of independence in exchange for the
maintenance of stability
• The implementation of anti-subversion laws
justified by alleged threats from abroad
“Social Dissolution”
Federal Penal Code
Article 145
Imprisonment from two to twelve years and a fine from
a thousand to ten thousand pesos will be applied to the
foreigner or Mexican national who in spoken or written
form, or by any other means, carries out political
propaganda among foreigners or among Mexican
nationals, spreading ideas, programs or norms of
action of any foreign government that disturb public
order or affect the sovereignty of the Mexican State.
Article 145
• 1941 Enacted as WWII-era
measure aimed at saboteurs and
propagandists
• 1951 Expanded in light of Korean War;
penalties stiffened, new clauses added
• 1952-59 Law used against striking workers,
opposition figures, students
Article 145
• 1959 Striking railroad workers arrested and
charged; leaders later convicted
• 1960 Communist muralist Siqueiros imprisoned
for “social dissolution,” pardoned in 1964
• 1968 Repeal of Article 145
included among demands of
student movement
Tlatelolco
• Student movement calling for
reforms arose following heavyhanded police response to July
1968 clash between rival
student groups
• Tense stand-off with President
Díaz Ordaz, who suspected
communist involvement
• Movement suppressed by
troops at Plaza de Tres
Culturas, October 2, 1968, just
before opening of Olympics
After Tlatelolco
• 1970 Article 145 repealed (replaced by new
clauses on sabotage and terrorism)
• 1970-76 Echeverría administration sought to
win over an increasingly disillusioned younger
generation (despite continuing, often
extrajudicial, repression of urban and rural
guerrilla groups and others)
Early Cold War Leaders
Miguel Alemán (1946-1952)
• Quietly pledged support to US, while
adopting a more nationalist stance
• Curtailed labor independence
through the charrazo
Adolfo Ruiz Cortines (1952-1958)
• Promised a more honest administration
• Cracked down at various points
on striking workers, students
• Limited objections to 1954 Guatemala coup
The 1960s
Adolfo López Mateos (1958-1964)
• Maintained relations with Cuba after Revolution
• Welcomed JFK to Mexico
• Applied Article 145 against RR workers, Siqueiros;
Jaramillo murdered
Gustavo Díaz Ordaz (1964-1970)
• Remembered as most repressive
figure in Mexico’s Cold War history
• Held responsible for Tlatelolco
International Populism
Luis Echeverría (1970-1976)
• GDO’s interior minister
• Sought Third World leadership roles,
asserting independence from the United States
José López Portillo (1976-1982)
• Bolstered by new oil discoveries, continued
to pursue an independent foreign policy
• Faced extreme economic
problems by end of term
Debt Crisis and Economic Reform
Miguel de la Madrid (1982-1988)
• Faced debt crisis inherited from JLP
• Legitimacy of regime further undermined
by ineffective response to 1985 earthquake
Carlos Salinas (1988-1994)
• Faced charges of electoral fraud
• Carried out neoliberal reforms
• Signed NAFTA (shaped by end of Cold War)
Key Points
• Mexico’s Cold War experience was distinctive
• Cold War created conditions that facilitated
the endurance of stable, single-party rule
• East-West conflict imposed limits but also
created opportunities for Mexico and its
leaders
Nikita Khrushchev, in response to the suggestion that Soviet
aircraft could land in Mexico after bombing the United States:
“What do you think Mexico is – our mother-inlaw? You think we can simply go calling any
time we want?”