Opening Mexico : the making of a democracy / Julia Preston and Samuel Dillon.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Preston, Julia, 1951-

Contributor:

Dillon, Sam.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Mexico--Politics and government--1988-.

Mexico.

Politics and government.

Mexico--Politics and government--1946-1970.

Mexico--Politics and government--1970-1988.

Democracy--Mexico.

Democracy.

Politicians--Mexico--Biography.

Politicians.

Genre:

Biographies.

Physical Description:

xii, 594 pages : illustrations ; 24 cm

Edition:

First edition.

Place of Publication:

New York : Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2004.

Summary:

Opening Mexico tells the story of the citizens' movement that ended seven decades of harsh and kleptocratic one-party rule, bringing to power a lively democracy. Through the stories of Mexicans who helped make the transformation, this gripping book describes the sweep of change in modern Mexico and takes the reader behind the scenes in key episodes of the country's recent history. The regime of the Institutional Revolutionary Party, or PRI, was called "the perfect dictatorship," and its presidents ruled like Mesoamerican monarchs. But a 1968 massacre of student protesters by government snipers ignited the desire for greater freedom in a generation of Mexicans. Opening Mexico recounts the democratic revolution that unfolded over the next three decades. It portrays dissident leaders, clean-vote crusaders, labor organizers, human rights monitors, investigative journalists, and Indian guerrillas. It tells of the rise and fall of President Carlos Salinas, and the unexpected reforms made by President Ernesto Zedillo -- Mexico's Gorbachev. It traces the career of Vicente Fox, the candidate who led voters to oust the authoritarian system in presidential elections on July 2, 2000. Opening Mexico reveals the inner workings of Mexican politics and vividly profiles the country's leaders, in the government and in the opposition. It is an epic saga about the United States southern neighbor, and is rich in implications for the spread of democracy worldwide.

Contents:

1. The Day of the Change 3

2. From Disorder to Despotism 31

3. Tlatelolco, 1968 63

4. Earthquake, 1985 95

5. Chihuahua, 1986 117

6. 1988 149

7. The Carlos Salinas Show 181

8. 1994 229

9. Ernesto Zedillo, the Outsider 257

10. Raul 301

11. The General and the Drug Lord 323

12. Testing Change, 1997 353

13. The Earcutter 385

14. Opening Minds 405

15. Chiapas 441

16. Democracy at Work 461

17. Campaign for Change 477.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages [519]-570) and index.

ISBN:

0374226687

OCLC:

52518818

Online:

Publisher description