Current Democracy Efforts in Mexico Essay Sample free essay sample

The state which is now Mexico is a history of battle of its people dating back every bit early as the sixteenth century when the Spaniards colonise the Yucatan and Aztec folks ( Mexico: History of Struggle. n. d. ) The paper reported that in 1521. after two old ages of intense combat. Tenochtilan which became Mexico City fell into Herman Cortes and the Mayon people were conquered by Henadez de Cordova. The two Spaniards headed the expedition until 1540 when bulk of Northern Mexico was colonized. Harmonizing to the paper. Aztecs and Mayon people were oppressed by the Spanish colonisers for 300 old ages until they unsuccessfully revolted in 1541. The Spanish colonisers converted the autochthonal folks to Christianity so that they can easy plunder their wealth on the stalking-horse that the wealth will be offered to God. The paper reported that the colonisers confiscated huge piece of lands of land from the folks and created plantations of wheat. sugar and maize for export therefore enriching Spain. It was in the nineteenth century per study of the paper that threats to Spanish colonisers began. In 1810. the first bloody revolution happened followed by two other rebellions until 1823 that Mexico became a democracy after a military rebellion. In 1845. U. S. –Mexico war resulted to appropriation of Texas. Utah. Nevada. California. New Mexico and Colorado to the USA. The paper continued by stating that despite the new fundamental law enacted by President Benito Juarez in 1857 to get rid of colonialism. no land reform was made and the Mexican people continue to populate in poorness up to the monopolistic 30 twelvemonth reign of the Porfio Diaz in 1876 that resulted to a rebellion in 1910. It is an recognized fact that up to this twenty-first century. bulk of the Mexicans are still oppressed people wallowing in pool of poorness and confronting a neer stoping battle for a gustatory sensation of existent democracy as evidenced by outlawed Zapatistas and EZLN ( Brief description of Mexico’s current development position. 2007 ) The U. S. and Mexico portion a common boundary line and whatever uncertainnesss in Mexico will impact USA as Mexico is besides a major trading spouse. It has been the policy of the US to impart a Current Democracy Efforts in Mexico 2 assisting manus to Mexico to the point of supplying fiscal aid to work out its domestic j ob. But despite the aid from US. Mexico remains destitute. Adept analysis revealed that the aid from US did non satisfactorily work out the jobs for the ground that the existent cause is non addressed and the aid is simply for decorative consequence to cover its economic timeserving motivation. This paper aims to analyse the successes and failures of the U. S. activities in Mexico to advance democracy and offer a policy analysis and way to do the US engagement a win-win scenario for both states. The U. S and Mexico are merely next states and as such domestic developments in the latter is of involvement to the former. This is due to the fact that Mexico is the largest trading spouse of U. S. and the state has replaced the Middle East as the chief beginning of oil for America ( Hannon. 1984 ) . The writer reported that about 82 % of Mexico’s import is being supplied by the US. Mexico ranks 3rd in volume of international concern for the U. S. ; Japan and Canada being the other prima states. It is for this ground that economic state of af fairs in Mexico straight affect the US economic system. Although US can non straight mingle with the economic personal businesss of Mexico. the US made it a point that its function is to guarantee a politically stable. economically active and feasible Mexico. The writer revealed that as of 1984. the US has invested about $ 7 billion in Mexico to guarantee healing of the lesions inflicted by the US-Mexico war in In add-on. continuation of extended trade and protection from the effects of political agitation in other Cardinal American states were besides desired. The first of the US activities in Mexico to help the state and advance democracy was documented by Hart in 2002 in his book Empire and Revolution. It was in 1883 during the reign of Porfirio Diaz when Mexico arranged a meeting with outstanding American politicians and Current Democracy Efforts in Mexico 3 industrialists in New York. The understanding was that the U. S. will construct the Mexico’s railroad system and aid in denationalization of the countryside and development of Mexico’s huge natural resources to develop the economic system which during that clip is in fiscal pandemonium due to the $ 70 billion outside debt of Mexico. This debt was incurred by the old disposal due to its protective stance of non allowing any outside investors do concern in Mexico which is more of a socialist attack. The understanding opened the doors of Mexico to liberate trade and foreign investing which the US will be benefited in footings of attractive return on investing. This was done by the US which at that clip is fundamentally protecting Mexico from European investors. The writer reported that the consequence of US aid is quintuple addition in Mexico’s gross national merchandise and American colonisation of the state which left the hapless campesinos or farm workers still hapless and strip of their hereditary lands. The writer farther stated that Mexico became the research lab of American foreign policies which subsequently on was adopted by the US in advancing concern and democracy non merely in Latin America but besides in Europe. Middle East. Asia and the remainder of the universe. The writer farther concluded th at the consequence of American subjugation is the creative activity of the Zapatistas. a peasant organisation runing in Chiapas and other rural countries of Mexico. The Zapatistas is regarded as an belowground guerrilla group contending for land reform and echt democracy for all of Mexicans even up this present century. It can be noted from available paperss that the US aid policy towards Mexico and other economically and militarily weak states is dominated by economic considerations and keeping societal and political stableness. The US claimed that they are making this to advance democracy and sovereignty of the state being assisted. In 1994. the US exports of goods and services to Mexico grew four creases from $ 12. 3 billion in 1986 to excess of $ 50 billion in 1994 ensuing to a trade excess of $ 1. 3 billion ( U. S. Department of State Fact Sheet. 1995 ) . The Fact Current Democracy Efforts in Mexico 4 Sheet besides revealed that the ground for this growing in Mexican economic system is due to its restructuring that involved trade and investing Torahs liberalization therefore cut downing bit by bit its dependance on grosss from exported crud e oil merchandises. Mexico is a undertaking party of General Agreement on Tariff and Trade ( GATT ) in 1986. joined the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation in 1993 and the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development ( OECD ) in 1994. All of this contributed to growing of Mexican economic system. the Fact sheet farther reported. Due to the positive impact of trade liberalisation. in 1993. Mexico signed the North American Free Trade Agreement ( NAFTA ) with the US hoping that farther economic development of the state will result. Under the NAFTA. the worker’s right will be safeguarded together with democratic declaration of employee-employers struggle. Initial consequence of NAFTA as revealed by the Fact Sheet indicated a 23 % trade growing between US and Mexico compared to merely 13. 4 % in 1993 with GATT and OECD. On the benefit side of the workers. Hart ( 2002 ) reported that the Mexicans working in US fabrication companies in Mexico side of the boundary line were offered much lower rate than their opposite numbers in same industry inside the US district. This caused labour agitation and illegal migrators to US increased. At the tallness of this economic recovery. an economic crisis happened in December 1994 which started with the Mexican peso devaluation. This resulted to severe economic destabilization of Mexico and US being the biggest exporter to Mexico will besides be affected. More and more concerns are shuting daily and unemployment flared up once more brought about by unhealthy competition from inexpensive US goods exported to Mexico. The Fact Sheet farther reported that the unemployment rate caused the uncontrolled illegal migration of Mexican workers to the US in hunt of occupations. The crisis caused a planetary dismay among the economic experts of developed states and an international attempt was generated with the leading Current Democracy Efforts in Mexico 5 of the US. In February 1995. the US and Mexico signed an understanding to a $ 20 billion support bundle from US Treasury Department to stabilise exchange rate and keep an orderly economic state of affairs in Mexico. During the sign language. the Fact Sheet reported that the US maintain on repeating that the support bundle will minimise inflow of illegal immigrants fro m Mexico therefore forestalling them from dangers of human rights misdemeanor in boundary line crossing to the US ; in consequence. advancing democracy apart from acquiring the Mexican economic system on piece of land once more. The Fact sheet neer mentioned anything about the consequence of the support bundle to relieve the predicament of the humble Mexican workers. Another foreign policy of the US is its cooperation with Mexico on illegal drugs. The support of the US is in its articulation undertaking forces that target large drug Godheads. money laundering and related precursor chemicals. Both states harmonizing to Fact Sheet are developing modern enterprises to collar runawaies. retrieve stolen vehicles. illegal weaponries sale and corruptness within the authorities system. The Fact Sheet did non advert the sum contributed by the US to counter illegal drugs trade but mentioned that the illegal drug enterprises was entirely financed by Mexico since 1993. Initiatives old to that were all supported from US financess in footings of ground forces preparation and proviso for intelligence and mobility of the forces. The Fact Sheet reported that†Mexican law-enforcement functionaries seized more than 247 me tric dozenss of cocaine. made more than 100. 000 drug-related apprehensions. and eradicated 147. 000 hectares of illicit drug harvests opium poppy and marijuana during 1989-94. In 1994. Mexican. ictuss of diacetylmorphine. marihuana. and precursor chemicals increased. † ( Fact Sheet. Illegal Drugs. 4th par. ) . The fact that is really noticeable here is the absence of activities related to extinguish poorness which root from subjugation of the Mexican multitudes and taking to increased drug trade to gain money and feed the household. Current Democracy Efforts in Mexico 6 Political stableness of Mexico is one of the policies being considered supporting by the US. If the voting population feels. there is abnormality in their ballot casting and numeration. societal agitation will follow and this will impact the economic stableness of the state doing misgiving in the authorities and the functionaries running it. If there is distrust coupled with subjugation. so the exercising of democracy publicity is a failure. The US authorities supports the to the full participatory type of democracy. To this consequence. during the 1994 elections. the US provided non less than $ 1. 5 million to Mexico through USAID for election- related plans. No other information is available as to how the money was alloca ted to activities which are election- related. The election in 1994 resulted to overpowering triumph of the Institutional Revolutionary Party ( PRI ) which left the Mexican multitudes in soundless protest. The Fact Sheet reported. In the Presidential election held on July 2. 2006. the declared victor Felipe Calderon won by merely 0. 56 % over his opposition Andres Abrader ( Brief description of Mexico’s current development position. 2007 ) . This winning border harmonizing to the Brief description dramatis personae uncertainties on protagonists of the losing campaigner and resulted to bespeak of ballot recount. The election tribunal ruled out that the cheating charges being thrown to elected president Calderon were without footing. This left the Mexican population wholly polarized. The elective president was instantly congratulated by US non defying the consequence of the on-going probe to the discouragement of the Mexican multitudes. Once once more. they feel that their rights were trampled upon non by their fellow Mexicans but by an foreign state who supported by funding the election of the new president who is their pick. It is rather seeable here that the support of US is hinged on the doctrine that if they invest in something. there must be a significant return. In this instance. from their financess. they manipulated the ballot numeration. declaring null those ballots for the other campaigner and see the ballots fo r their stake although it world it is null per study of the Brief description article. Current Democracy Attempts in Mexico 7 After thorough treatment of the US activities to advance democracy in Mexico. it is rather clear that the attempt and financess misfired and hit the incorrect mark. In the first US engagement merely after the Civil War in 1883 during the reign of Porfirio Diaz. it is really apparent that the intent of US in developing the Mexican substructure and railway system is to rush up its conquering and colonisation of Mexico in order to enrich themselves at the disbursal of the laden Mexican multitudes. The free trade and legalisation of investings of foreign subjects resulted in depriving off of the rights of the laden multitudes to till their lands and developed their wealth. The US smartly exploited the huge natural resources of Mexico thru partnership with local enterprisers who were the 1s much benefited than the proprietors of the land themselves. The jurisprudence of capitalist society is really apparent here and one time once more proven that tho se who got the money and capital got besides the influence and the power every bit good to do more wealth. It could hold been much better if the land was non sold to Americans and alternatively merely lease it for a certain figure of old ages. Once once more it was proven that truly Mexico is a history of battle. On the $ 20 billion support by the US to look into the unstable economic status in 1994 brought about by the devaluation of the Mexican peso. this US enterprise is geared to moneymans and business communities to stabilise the exchange rate and did non dribble down to the benefit of the multitudes who at that clip is sing unemployment due to closing of concerns that were non able to vie with the inexpensive goods and services being exported by the U. S. It could hold been much better if the support bundle is spent on increasing rewards of workers in companies in Mexico which is really low compared to US standard and increasing wellness benefits as portion of the bundle when Mexico signed the NAFTA. Making these might hold prevented the rise of illegal migration to US. a job that the US besides considered as a pressing one. Increasing the pay of workers will set them in a place to purchase more merchandises from the US therefore promoting Current Democracy Efforts in Mexico 8 economic stableness of both states and cut downing anxiousness of citizens which can take to higher productiveness. In look intoing the proliferation of illegal drugs in both states. it was learned that the support of US is in footings of ground forces preparation and supply of warfare stuffs. The trained Mexican ground forces was so more used for squelching the belowground provincial motion seeking echt political reform and democracy in rural Mexico like Chiapas where human rights misdemeanor studies abound. This resulted to a more dissatisfaction of the multitudes and increase in figure of member and protagonists who themselves were one time a victim of human right maltreatments. These human rights maltreatments could hold been prevented if the drugs trade and usage was made legal. The right to vote and take the right leader harmonizing to one’s belief and scruples is a cardinal human right. Many states were economically destabilized because the people don’t believe that their leader is the right 1. The pattern of US in financially back uping their ain pick of campaigner can non be kept secret from the people as in the instance of the present Mexican president. From the current political state of affairs in Mexico. it appears that President Calderon is non the popular pick. The idea of ballot count use perpetrated by the US lingers in the head of the bulk. Thus the exercising of democratic right to vote was non achieved successfully and this leads to a really delicate polarisation of the people. The US support should be channeled through a non-government organisation proven by the people to be impersonal. The support should be spent on modernisation of the electoral procedure and non on support run disbursals of any campaigner. There should be public accounting of the disbursals to wipe out the uncertainties and intuition of the vote population which is really common in a democratic society. For cheque and balance. perceivers from the support state and informants from other Current Democracy Efforts in Mexico 9 states should be invited to personally look into the advancement of run sallies. voter’s turnout and ballot tallying. The Brief Description of Mexico’s current development position ( 2007 ) revealed that â€Å"Mexico is undergoing several alterations on a societal. cultural. economic. and political country. These alterations have an unequal impact on different societal groups and degrees. parts and sectors in the country† ( 1st par. ) . The paper revealed that harmonizing to 2006 UNDP Annual study. Mexico reached in 2004 a degree of development with Human Development Index ( HDI ) of 0. 821 ranking the state as figure 53 in the universe. The paper farther revealed that this mark doesn’t hold true for the whole Mexico for the ground that the development attempts of the authorities is non every bit distributed and the spread continues widening with clip. The UNDP study farther revealed that Guerrero. Oaxaca and Chiapas have similar HDI as Iran. Kyrgystan and El Salvador while Nuevo Leon has similar index as developed states. This inequality in the development attempt and in the di stribution of public assets broaden the spread of rich and hapless in a national and local degree. The paper added that â€Å"Poverty in rural countries has proliferated tremendously in Mexico because agribusiness has been tossed aside inasmuch as national development. The devastation of the agricultural sector is a effect of several structural accommodation and free trade policies. â€Å" ( 5th par. ) . From this information. it appears that territorial inequality in footings of acquiring support from the authorities is the chief cause of poorness in Mexico. There is more people in utmost poorness in rural countries than in urbanised vicinities. From the above information. it is advisable to guarantee that fiscal supports should make the rural countries through non-government organisations. Making so will forestall corruptness and develop the feeling of true democracy as support is channelled to where it is truly needed. This move will certainly ensue to a desirable win-win state of affairs between US and Mexico. Mentions Brief description of Mexico’s current development position. ( 2007 ) . Democratic Dialogue of UNDP. Retrieved December 5. 2007 from hypertext transfer protocol: //www. democraticdialoguenetwork. org/network/cases/view. pl? cases_id=11 Hannon. E. ( 1984 ) . Mexico’s Turning Problems Challenge U. S. Policies. The Heritage Foundation. Retrieved December 4. 2007 from hypertext transfer protocol: //www. heritage. org/Research/LatinAmerica/bg373. cfm Hart. J. ( 2002 ) . Empire and Revolution. The Americans in Mexico since the Civil War. University of California Press. 688pp. Mexico: History of Struggle. ( n. d. ) The Struggle Site. Retrieved December 4. 2007 from hypertext transfer protocol: //flag. blackened. net/revolt/mexico/ip/hist. html US Department of State 95/05/10 Fact Sheet. ( 1995 ) . Cooperation with Mexico: In our National Interest. Bureau of Public Affairs. US Department of State Geographic Bureaus. Retrieved December 4. 2007 from hypertext transfer protocol: // dosfan. lib. uic. edu/ERC/bureaus/lat/1995/950510MexicoCooperation. hypertext markup language