Mexico: Why a Few Are Rich and the People Poor
Ramon Ruiz
Abstract
Explicitly focusing on the malaise of underdevelopment that has shaped the country since the Spanish conquest, this book offers a panoramic interpretation of Mexican history and culture from the pre-Hispanic and colonial eras through the twentieth century. Drawing on economics, psychology, literature, film, and history, it reveals how development processes have fostered glaring inequalities, uncovers the fundamental role of race and class in perpetuating poverty, and sheds new light on contemporary Mexican reality. Throughout, the book traces a legacy of dependency on outsiders, and considers ... More
Explicitly focusing on the malaise of underdevelopment that has shaped the country since the Spanish conquest, this book offers a panoramic interpretation of Mexican history and culture from the pre-Hispanic and colonial eras through the twentieth century. Drawing on economics, psychology, literature, film, and history, it reveals how development processes have fostered glaring inequalities, uncovers the fundamental role of race and class in perpetuating poverty, and sheds new light on contemporary Mexican reality. Throughout, the book traces a legacy of dependency on outsiders, and considers the weighty role the United States has played, starting with an unjust war that cost Mexico half its territory. Based on decades of research and travel in Mexico, the work helps us better understand where the country has come from, why it is where it is today, and where it might go in the future.
Keywords:
Mexico,
underdevelopment,
Mexican history,
Mexican culture,
economics,
inequality,
race,
class,
poverty,
United States
Bibliographic Information
Print publication date: 2010 |
Print ISBN-13: 9780520262355 |
Published to California Scholarship Online: March 2012 |
DOI:10.1525/california/9780520262355.001.0001 |