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286 SAIS REVIEW Mexico in Transition: Essays from Both Sides of the Border. Edited by Susan Kaufman Purcell. New York: Council on Foreign Relations, 1988. 157 pp. $9.95/paper. U.S.-Mexican Economic Relations: Prospects and Problems. Edited by Koshrow Fatemi. New York: Praeger Publishers, 1988. 223 pp. $24.95/cloth. Reviewed by Elena McCoIUm Medina, M.A. candidate, SAIS. Secretary of State James Baker asserted during his confirmation hearings that the United States' relationship with Mexico will be at the top of the Bush administration 's agenda is a long-overdue recognition of something that has become increasingly apparent over the course of the past decade of the bilateral relationship—the urgency of improving relations between the two "distant neighbors ." These two books, Mexico in Transition: Essaysfrom Both Sides of the Border and U.S.-Mexican Economic Relations: Prospects and Problems render an important service by shedding some light on the reasons for that urgency. The debt crisis put Mexico on the agenda of the United States in 1982 and the subsequent intractability of Mexico's economic problems has kept it there. This, coupled with discord over Central America, the 1985 Mexico City earthquake, the deterioration of cooperation in eradicating the narcotics traffic , the continuing unabated flow of undocumented workers into the United States, as well as the recent political upheaval, has led to a growing sense in the United States that Mexico is falling apart at the seams. The elections of last July, in which the ruling Revolutionary Institutional Party (PRI) faced its strongest challenge ever, are the most recent event underlining the necessity for an increased understanding of the changes currently taking place in Mexico. At the same time they illustrate that the fears of a decay in relations tell only half the story. Indeed, U.S. observers have by and large shown remarkably little insight by failing to recognize the ways in which the current juncture presents possibilities for positive change as well as the dangers of instability. Mexico in Transition contributes a great deal towards promoting an increased understanding of Mexico in the late 1980s, despite the fact that some of its analyses have been dated by the events of last summer. Edited by Susan Kaufman Purcell, former director of the Latin American Project at the Council on Foreign Relations, the volume draws together a collection of essays by authors on both sides of the border. The contributors include academics, former officials of both governments, and leaders of the private sector. As a result, the essays reflect a variety of styles and perspectives. Purcell andJorge G. Castañeda set the stage with overviews of the current situation and its historical roots. Purcell's stress on the necessity for Mexico's economic recovery (both for Mexico's sake and for the sake of the bilateral relationship ) is on target, and her observation that the Mexican political system is not collapsing but rather going through a transition period offers a sensible and refreshing antidote to the apocalypticism that has characterized much of the U.S. reaction to Mexico in recent years. Castañeda outlines in some detail the problems Mexico faces as it attempts to modernize its economic and political BOOK REVIEWS 287 systems. His essay convincingly sets out the reasons that proponents of Mexico's economic liberalization should not expect this program to be a panacea, and provides an intriguing look at "modernizing nationalism," a school of thought that, as the name implies, marries traditional Mexican nationalism widi a realistic commitment to modernize the economy. Unfortunately, this is not explored in as much detail as one might wish. In addition, assertions that there is no pressure from below were effectively contradicted by last July's election results, in which the greatest challenge to the PRI came not from the right but from the left, much of whose backing came from newly emerging groups including the urban poor, women, environmentalists, indigenous peoples, and others. Indeed, the timing of the book is perhaps its greatest drawback. Conceivably it was published so that observers in the United States might be able to look at the July elections from a better-informed vantage point; indeed, any essays written immediately...

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