HONOR 3520 - Government and Politics of Mexico

This course is designed to provide students with an introduction to Mexican politics, with an emphasis on the country's political and economic transformations and how they affect the lives of ordinary citizens. The study of Mexican politics is interesting and relevant to us for at least two reasons. First, the united states shares a 3000-miles long border with Mexico, and the political, economic and social life of the two countries have been closely intertwined long before the passage of NAFTA (the North American Free Trade Agreement). Studying Mexico is also relevant because it has a lot to teach us about important issues like democratic transitions, how party systems develop and work to represent citizens, about market reforms and their impact on wealth, income inequality and on the poor, and about popular resistance and rebellions. These are issues with which many and developing countries are struggling, and the Mexican case can teach us lessons about politics in those countries as well. Accordingly, in this case we will study specific aspects of Mexico's history and politics, but we will also use political science concepts and approaches to put the Mexican experience in a more general context.