The Politics of Food in Mexico: State Power and Social Mobilization

Jonathan Fox

Published by Cornell University Press 1993

The Politics of Food in Mexico

State Power and Social Mobilization

Jonathan Fox

https://doi.org/10.7591/9781501734656

Overview
Contents

About this book

Jonathan Fox compares a broad range of food policy reforms in Mexico, long one of Latin America's most autonomous states, in order to shed light on the broader problem of the determinants of state capacity. Moving beyond conventional state- and society-centered theories, Fox proposes an interactive approach to discover why conflicts within the state interact recursively with changes in the balance of power within society.

In a thorough examination of the politics of policy reform from both above and below since Mexico's revolution, the author concentrates on the SAM experiment (Sistema Alimentario Mexicano, Mexican Food System), a brief but massive subsidy program designed to channel oil boom revenues toward national food self-sufficiency. Although most of the SAM's food policy reform efforts failed to reach the poorest people, the extensive village store network proved to be an important exception. For the first time in Mexico, an anti poverty program encouraged its ostensible beneficiaries to hold the bureaucrats accountable. This opening from above encouraged autonomous mobilization from below, changing the contours of peasant politics. The dynamic interaction between state reformists and autonomous social movements weakened Mexico's entrenched authoritarian elites. This "sandwich strategy" provides a framework for understanding future paths for political change in Mexico, and may well account for rural reform processes across a wide range of political systems.

Author / Editor information

Jonathan Fox is Associate Professor of Political Science at Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Topics

Frontmatter Publicly Available Download PDF	i
Contents Publicly Available Download PDF	vii
Tables and Figures Publicly Available Download PDF	viii
Acknowledgments Publicly Available Download PDF	ix
1. Introduction Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	1
2. State-Society Interaction and Distributive Reform in Mexico Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	9
3. The Revolutionary Roots of Reform from Above: State Initiative and the Mexican Food System Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	41
4. Implementing Food Policy: Interests and Inertia Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	83
5. Reform Dynamics in Practice: Public versus Private Intermediaries Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	126
6. The Sandwich Strategy: Opening from Above Meets Mobilization from Below Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	151
7. Lessons for Understanding Political Change in Mexico Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	206
Glossary Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	229
Bibliography Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	232
Index Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	273

(Deutsch)

Language: English
Publisher: Cornell University Press
Audience: General/trade;
Pages
- Main content: 296
Illustrations
- Other: 1 map, 2 charts/graphs
Keywords: Political Science & Political History; Food Studies

eBook

Published: June 30, 2019
ISBN: 9781501734656