From the Mexican Miracle to Neoliberal Globalization and its Materialization in the City of Merida, Mexico

Abstract

A lot has been written about neoliberalism and globalization in general and, some, about the presence of these phenomena in Yucatan. The novelty of this work is that it constructs a narrative that links important milestones at the international, national and local levels, to explain the concrete form in which they took place in the city of Merida, showing the interactions between these ambits. Three periods are addressed, starting with the ascent and fall of the "Mexican miracle", stimulating the arrival of neoliberal globalization in Mexico. The two next periods (1982-1986 and 1987-1993) give an account of the transition to the neoliberal globalized model in Mexico and its materiali zation in Merida. It was a convulsed time of huge changes: reforms, privatizations, retrenchment of the State in Mexico and, in Merida, the transition of the henequen economy to the maquila, and disorderly urban growth.