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Mexico: Democracy Interrupted
An up-to-date portrait of Mexico since 2000, with new insights into the nation's problematic democracy and violent drug wars
In 2000, Mexico's long invincible Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI) lost the presidential election to Vicente Fox of the National Action Party (PAN). The ensuing changeover—after 71 years of PRI dominance—was hailed as the beginning of a new era of hope for Mexico. Yet the promises of the PAN victory were not consolidated. In this vivid account of Mexico's recent history, a journalist with extensive reporting experience investigates the nation's young democracy, its shortcomings and achievements, and why the PRI is favored to retake the presidency in 2012. Jo Tuckman reports on the murky, terrifying world of Mexico's drug wars, the counterproductive government strategy, and the impact of U.S. policies. She describes the reluctance and inability of politicians to seriously tackle rampant corruption, environmental degradation, pervasive poverty, and acute inequality. To make matters worse, the influence of non-elected interest groups has grown and public trust in almost all institutions—including the Catholic church—is fading. The pressure valve once presented by emigration is also closing. Even so, there are positive the critical media cannot be easily controlled, and small but determined citizen groups notch up significant, if partial, victories for accountability. While Mexico faces complex challenges that can often seem insurmountable, Tuckman concludes, the unflagging vitality and imagination of many in Mexico inspire hope for a better future.
In 2000, Mexico's long invincible Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI) lost the presidential election to Vicente Fox of the National Action Party (PAN). The ensuing changeover—after 71 years of PRI dominance—was hailed as the beginning of a new era of hope for Mexico. Yet the promises of the PAN victory were not consolidated. In this vivid account of Mexico's recent history, a journalist with extensive reporting experience investigates the nation's young democracy, its shortcomings and achievements, and why the PRI is favored to retake the presidency in 2012. Jo Tuckman reports on the murky, terrifying world of Mexico's drug wars, the counterproductive government strategy, and the impact of U.S. policies. She describes the reluctance and inability of politicians to seriously tackle rampant corruption, environmental degradation, pervasive poverty, and acute inequality. To make matters worse, the influence of non-elected interest groups has grown and public trust in almost all institutions—including the Catholic church—is fading. The pressure valve once presented by emigration is also closing. Even so, there are positive the critical media cannot be easily controlled, and small but determined citizen groups notch up significant, if partial, victories for accountability. While Mexico faces complex challenges that can often seem insurmountable, Tuckman concludes, the unflagging vitality and imagination of many in Mexico inspire hope for a better future.
328 pages, Hardcover
First published June 26, 2012
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Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews
August 13, 2012
A good overview of Mexican history from about 2000 onward. Once in a while it sparkles with keen analysis, especially in the chapter on nascent environmentalism. Often, however, Tuckman is very reliant on the opinions of her source material. These sources are fairly unimpeachable, but it would be nice to see more personality and perspective in this book...either that or a narrower focus. Overall, this is about the best recent history of Mexican politics you will find in English, so it is worthwhile, if for no other reason, than it lacks viable competition.
For a good full blown narrative style look at the lead-up to the 2000 elections in Mexico, which are covered to a degree in this book, I liked Opening Mexico by Julia Preston and Samuel Dillon for its depth and attention to detail.
For a good full blown narrative style look at the lead-up to the 2000 elections in Mexico, which are covered to a degree in this book, I liked Opening Mexico by Julia Preston and Samuel Dillon for its depth and attention to detail.
December 15, 2020
This is a good book that describes Mexican history since around the year 2000, but even before then. As a Latin American historian whose main areas of Mexican study are the Mexican Revolution and EZLN, this book was a great help in giving me a good picture of parts of modern Mexican history I've been missing.
The book is organized by topic, rather than chronologically. There are chapters about the parties, about the drug cartels, the environment, the left, and more. Sometimes organizing a history book by topic instead of chronology can get confusing because the timeframe gets messy, but this book manages to pull of everything pretty well.
Stylistically, the book does a good job mixing readability with facts. Everything is well-sourced enough to satisfy a scholar, but still light enough to not feel like a chore to get through. The fact that Jo Tuckman is a journalist instead of a historian probably helps in the readability regard, and the fact she lived in Mexico for roughly a decade leading to the publication of this book means her book shows a knowledge that goes beyond scholarship.
That said, this book is definitely an introduction. If you are already familiar with recent Mexican history, I can't imagine you'd need to give this a read. But if you want a good introduction to the topic, then this book comes highly recommended.
The book is organized by topic, rather than chronologically. There are chapters about the parties, about the drug cartels, the environment, the left, and more. Sometimes organizing a history book by topic instead of chronology can get confusing because the timeframe gets messy, but this book manages to pull of everything pretty well.
Stylistically, the book does a good job mixing readability with facts. Everything is well-sourced enough to satisfy a scholar, but still light enough to not feel like a chore to get through. The fact that Jo Tuckman is a journalist instead of a historian probably helps in the readability regard, and the fact she lived in Mexico for roughly a decade leading to the publication of this book means her book shows a knowledge that goes beyond scholarship.
That said, this book is definitely an introduction. If you are already familiar with recent Mexican history, I can't imagine you'd need to give this a read. But if you want a good introduction to the topic, then this book comes highly recommended.
July 28, 2012
A fabulous overview of contemporary Mexico, and the "novel" of the country's experience with democracy which Tuckman argues "has got rather bogged down by its own sub-plots--interrupted perhaps, lost even, but certainly not exhausted."
Highly recommended.
Highly recommended.
June 8, 2022
Damn this book was good and accessible for someone with little understanding of the history of political parties and figures in Mexican life. I feel like it gave me a reading list of other books to pickup. It’s not a particularly hopeful read but it gives history and context behind the importance of moments like the Fox election. I did not know about just how weak the justice system is in Mexico with only a small % of crimes being prosecuted like less than 4% and what impact that had on people who were accused often without evidence. I had no idea about what judiciary reform even meant- in moving from a paper driven inquisitorial model to oral arguments and the ability for an accused person to actually see a judge and pose questions to their own case.
So basically lots of windows opened to things I would love to learn more about.
So basically lots of windows opened to things I would love to learn more about.
June 24, 2021
This book is a whirlwind tour of Mexicos current social, economic, and political faults in the context of the democratization from 2000-2012. The author is evidently a foreigner, but commands a respectable level of knowledge about Mexico. The organization of of the book could have been a little better, but the book still represents a good intro into Mexico’s current problems, dotted with stories of typical Mexican grit and perseverance as over a hundred million Mexicans progress on amidst the massive societal challenges they face. Good foreshadowing for AMLO and morena too. Not a lighthearted book, but it covers several topics integral to understanding Mexico’s systems. 3.75 stars
August 5, 2017
This is an excellent primer on the current state of Mexican politics. Tuckman's book maintains the focus on Mexico's nascent democracy by examining it through the lens of history, culture and politics - taking time out to focus on the transition to democracy, religion, environment and the role of the left.
It doesn't spare the knife in pointing out the weaknesses of the country but does leave the reader with shard of optimism - noting in particular how Mexico's vibrant civil society has managed to edge the country towards a more democratic and just system.
It doesn't spare the knife in pointing out the weaknesses of the country but does leave the reader with shard of optimism - noting in particular how Mexico's vibrant civil society has managed to edge the country towards a more democratic and just system.
April 4, 2019
A really interesting retrospective on Mexican history as well as a snapshot of the current state of the country. For someone with very little context, this book was very readable. However, the number of people mentioned in the book can be a little overwhelming when you're trying to keep them straight. Still, a good book.
September 26, 2020
A very good book that gives a solid overview of Mexico during the last 100 years or so. I learned a lot and would like to reread in more detail in the future.
February 11, 2022
Really good insight into Mexico policitical landscape between 2000 - 2012. Very well written and interesting points made.
May 27, 2014
Every several years a foreign correspondent takes the pulse of contemporary Mexico, chiefly for the benefit of North American readers. High-profile examples include Andrés Oppenheimer’s Bordering on Chaos (1996) and Julia Preston & Sam Dillon’s Opening Mexico (2004), but none have attained the authority of Alan Riding’s still-in-print Distant Neighbors (1985). Mexico: Democracy Interrupted, by Jo Tuckman of The Guardian, is the best survey since Riding’s.
Tuckman arrived in Mexico in 2000 to see the PRI swept from power after 71 uninterrupted years. Her aim is to gauge how far the right-of-center PAN fulfilled the hope of democracy long-sought by a majority of the Mexican people and long-delayed by the “soft authoritarianism” and electoral fraud of the PRI. As her title implies, twelve years of PAN rule largely failed to deliver. On some fronts, things stagnated: poverty declined under Vicente Fox (2000-06) but rebounded, income-wise, under Felipe Calderón (2006-12); environmental policy, glib of promise, achieved next to nothing; political corruption gained more attention from a freer press but continued to be practiced and tolerated by the PAN, the PRI, and the left-wing PRD.
On other fronts the balance was negative, especially the “war on drugs” begun by Calderón. This naive initiative has not only resulted in tens of thousands dead – a substantial minority innocent bystanders – but also caused untold damage to the social fabric. Another negative is the rise of “de facto powers”: above all, state governors and business elites. These exploited a weakening of the presidency, which no longer commanded a push-button congress, and persistently fragile regulators and judiciaries.
The book is not, however, another exercise in apocalyptic pessimism, of the kind that mars Oppenheimer’s Bordering and saturates El Monstruo by the late John Ross (both of them riveting, all the same). Tuckman shows a remarkable even-handedness, refusing to vilify national leaders, and a healthy suspicion of the conspiracy theories to which Mexico is prone (an understandable trait given its history of propagandistic media). She fluidly interweaves a variety of angles and voices, from high politics and think tanks, to historical antecedents, to grass-roots organizing and the inhabitants of cinderblock homes. In the latter respect she improves on Riding, whose perspective was top-down.
Another pleasure is Tuckman’s lucid language and her ability to cap analysis with a deft turn-of-phrase. Army incompetence in cartel-torn Juárez, witnessed first-hand, is summed up as “riding around with lots of fire power and not much clue about what was going on, let alone how to prevent it happening” (29). Mexico’s hard-working poor find they have to “hold off the stream of structurally-rooted bad luck that haunts them” (192).
A couple of threads could have used more attention. State governors are termed feudal lords, but their power-mongering goes largely unexamined, as does their famed self-enrichment. Democratic immaturity is often attached to insufficient linkage between the parties and the people, but what such links might look like is rarely illustrated; comparative analysis with other nations might help. Historical errors, frequent in journalistic accounts, are relatively few, although the repeated reference to President Cárdenas (1934-40) as the architect of PRI rule ignores the equally important role of his predecessor Calles.
As a response to the common notion that, in 2000, Mexico “became a democracy,” Democracy Interrupted is a reality check. It argues that democracy cannot be defined by a free and fair ballot alone. It raises useful questions about Mexico’s political processes (and implicitly about Enrique Peña Nieto, soon to become president when the book was in completion). It shows sympathy for the have-nots, without elevating them to saintliness the way “subaltern studies” can do in academic texts. It evinces an ear for the telling quote yet suggests where opinions seem self-serving. Modest enough to admit when a trend is too opaque or too early for judgment, probing but not cynical, Tuckman is an authoritative and judicious guide.
Tuckman arrived in Mexico in 2000 to see the PRI swept from power after 71 uninterrupted years. Her aim is to gauge how far the right-of-center PAN fulfilled the hope of democracy long-sought by a majority of the Mexican people and long-delayed by the “soft authoritarianism” and electoral fraud of the PRI. As her title implies, twelve years of PAN rule largely failed to deliver. On some fronts, things stagnated: poverty declined under Vicente Fox (2000-06) but rebounded, income-wise, under Felipe Calderón (2006-12); environmental policy, glib of promise, achieved next to nothing; political corruption gained more attention from a freer press but continued to be practiced and tolerated by the PAN, the PRI, and the left-wing PRD.
On other fronts the balance was negative, especially the “war on drugs” begun by Calderón. This naive initiative has not only resulted in tens of thousands dead – a substantial minority innocent bystanders – but also caused untold damage to the social fabric. Another negative is the rise of “de facto powers”: above all, state governors and business elites. These exploited a weakening of the presidency, which no longer commanded a push-button congress, and persistently fragile regulators and judiciaries.
The book is not, however, another exercise in apocalyptic pessimism, of the kind that mars Oppenheimer’s Bordering and saturates El Monstruo by the late John Ross (both of them riveting, all the same). Tuckman shows a remarkable even-handedness, refusing to vilify national leaders, and a healthy suspicion of the conspiracy theories to which Mexico is prone (an understandable trait given its history of propagandistic media). She fluidly interweaves a variety of angles and voices, from high politics and think tanks, to historical antecedents, to grass-roots organizing and the inhabitants of cinderblock homes. In the latter respect she improves on Riding, whose perspective was top-down.
Another pleasure is Tuckman’s lucid language and her ability to cap analysis with a deft turn-of-phrase. Army incompetence in cartel-torn Juárez, witnessed first-hand, is summed up as “riding around with lots of fire power and not much clue about what was going on, let alone how to prevent it happening” (29). Mexico’s hard-working poor find they have to “hold off the stream of structurally-rooted bad luck that haunts them” (192).
A couple of threads could have used more attention. State governors are termed feudal lords, but their power-mongering goes largely unexamined, as does their famed self-enrichment. Democratic immaturity is often attached to insufficient linkage between the parties and the people, but what such links might look like is rarely illustrated; comparative analysis with other nations might help. Historical errors, frequent in journalistic accounts, are relatively few, although the repeated reference to President Cárdenas (1934-40) as the architect of PRI rule ignores the equally important role of his predecessor Calles.
As a response to the common notion that, in 2000, Mexico “became a democracy,” Democracy Interrupted is a reality check. It argues that democracy cannot be defined by a free and fair ballot alone. It raises useful questions about Mexico’s political processes (and implicitly about Enrique Peña Nieto, soon to become president when the book was in completion). It shows sympathy for the have-nots, without elevating them to saintliness the way “subaltern studies” can do in academic texts. It evinces an ear for the telling quote yet suggests where opinions seem self-serving. Modest enough to admit when a trend is too opaque or too early for judgment, probing but not cynical, Tuckman is an authoritative and judicious guide.
March 16, 2017
Fascinating story of a country so complex spanned from politics to social norms. I appreciated the optimistic tone of the book
Want to read
June 1, 2016The best books on Mexico: start your reading here
Our literary tour of Mexico starts with its bloody revolution and ends with political disappointment and the fight for a better future
A well-informed overview of Mexico today, in which Tuckman argues that the country missed a chance to fully embrace democracy after the oxymoronic Institutional Revolutionary party (PRI) was voted out in 2000 after 70 years in power (it has since returned).
The rightwing National Action party (PAN), in its 12 years of rule, failed to deliver on the hopes it had raised for more transparent and participatory governance, beyond political plurality and generally free and fair elections.
Tuckman investigates the key dimensions of Mexican life and the challenges the country faces: a violent drugs war (and the US role in it); a flawed judicial system and much-abused laws; rampant corruption; poverty and extreme inequality; racism; and environmental concerns. She also examines the infighting that has stymied the ambitions of the left, and the role played by the Catholic church and religion.
History, personal stories and political analysis are interwoven to reveal what makes this fascinating and diverse country tick.
Despite some seemingly intractable problems, she sees reasons to be optimistic, with brave and energetic citizens, along with sections of the media, stepping up to fight for a better future.
Tuckman, the Guardian's Mexico correspondent, has been living in, and reporting on, the country for more than 10 years.
Our literary tour of Mexico starts with its bloody revolution and ends with political disappointment and the fight for a better future
A well-informed overview of Mexico today, in which Tuckman argues that the country missed a chance to fully embrace democracy after the oxymoronic Institutional Revolutionary party (PRI) was voted out in 2000 after 70 years in power (it has since returned).
The rightwing National Action party (PAN), in its 12 years of rule, failed to deliver on the hopes it had raised for more transparent and participatory governance, beyond political plurality and generally free and fair elections.
Tuckman investigates the key dimensions of Mexican life and the challenges the country faces: a violent drugs war (and the US role in it); a flawed judicial system and much-abused laws; rampant corruption; poverty and extreme inequality; racism; and environmental concerns. She also examines the infighting that has stymied the ambitions of the left, and the role played by the Catholic church and religion.
History, personal stories and political analysis are interwoven to reveal what makes this fascinating and diverse country tick.
Despite some seemingly intractable problems, she sees reasons to be optimistic, with brave and energetic citizens, along with sections of the media, stepping up to fight for a better future.
Tuckman, the Guardian's Mexico correspondent, has been living in, and reporting on, the country for more than 10 years.
August 29, 2012
A very good read if you are interested in the last 10/12 years of Mexican policy and a good starting point to try to understand what is really happening in this country that is in many ways similar but very different from his BIG neighbor.
THANKS TO NETGALLEY AND YALE UNIVERSITY PRESS FOR THE PREVIEW
THANKS TO NETGALLEY AND YALE UNIVERSITY PRESS FOR THE PREVIEW
August 12, 2021
A beautifully written, if finally depressing, story of a country betrayed by a toxic combination of avaricious politicians, an interfering Northern neighbour and the most appalling crime. The idealism of so many Mexicans shines through the depressing miasma of events. The book is self contained - you don't have to be an expert on Mexico to gain from reading it (I'm not and I did)
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews