Latin American perspectives; Nationalism

Latin American perspectives a program of comment and analysis about current Latin American problems and their historical setting. The commentator for these programs is Dr. C. Harvey Gardner research professor of history at Southern Illinois University. Here now is Dr. Gardner the well-known term Manyata is no present day synonym for Mexico because Mexican economic life is undergoing a process of growth and transformation. This fact can be observed by a simple comparison of the present with the recent past. And that is precisely what the volumen titled Mexico's recent economic growth the Mexican view set out to do. Published by the University of Texas press. Mexico's recent economic growth offers a perspective setting introduction and six essays by as many well-trained and prominent Mexican economists. Given the erratic and often stagnating patterns of economic life in many parts of the world

it may come as a surprise to learn that in the 30 year period between 134 and 164 the productive output of Mexico has increased at an average in excess of 6 percent annually. Over that entire period. It is one elemental truth then to note that Mexican economic expansion has been both rapid and sustained a combination that often holds together for a but short intervals commonly classed among the underdeveloped nations. Mexico in recent decades has known a rate of growth that exceeds that of numerous so-called developed countries. Prior to World War One a period of very rapid economic expansion for the United States our economic strides were at the rate of 56 percent per decade and that of Japan approximated Forty nine

percent per decade. But in the last 30 years Mexico has been expanding at a rate of 70 percent per decade. The Mexican achievement consequently is a great one whether measured against its own past performance or against the performances of other areas of the world. The population jump of approximately 30 percent per decade in Mexico in recent times and is closely related to the problems of production consumption and growth. Many Mexicans and foreigners who have studied recent Mexican history are disturbed because more of the tangible benefits of these three decades of sustained growth have not trickled down to a greater fraction of the total population. On this score the Mexican problem of integrating the Indian is somewhat like those

statistically larger than the problem of integrating the Negro into the more highly productive and remunerative areas of the economic life of the United States. The analogy between the Mexican Indian and the American Negro is however far from a perfect one. Our color prejudice is not a factor in Mexico but the cultural chasms posed by different languages and dissimilar value systems have long limited the Mexican Indians identification with the newer aspects of Mexican economic development. Because the validity of economic studies depends upon the reliability of statistics. A special word is do the authors of these essays because after all their scholarship becomes the best index to that needed reliability. All six of the writers were educated in part in Mexico and in part abroad. Most of them holding advanced degrees from

major institutions of the United States and Europe all have combined what might be termed theoretical activity that is teaching with what might be termed practical experience by which I mean service in business and government in a long term study of the National Product of Mexico and the Paris locus presently a director of commercial policy within the Mexican Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Attacks and explodes the idea that foreign investment is an automatic springboard to progress. As he discusses details of the DIA's period in closing years of the last century and opening years of the present one pedestal Opus documents the fact that foreign capital in Mexico and the United States alone had one billion dollars invested there by 1911 did not end economic stagnation.

It follows that purposes and directions are more important than amounts when capital is introduced into an under developed country. The stagnation that persisted in Mexico despite the gigantic investments in mining railroads and oil resulted from the fact that continued low productivity in the agricultural sector resulted in a mass poverty that excluded millions from the otherwise changing economic order. When the great revolution of 1900 came to Mexico it was not surprising that the region of greatest discontent was northern Mexico. For there the obvious contrast between per capita income and standards of living of Mexicans and citizens of the United States was most readily evident since World War Two years in particular the Mexican government has been a significant investor

in the Mexican economy. Some people those who advocate that no government should ever engage in any activity that private individuals can perform have automatically insisted that public investment stifles private investment. The record shows however that as Mexico wanted to gain Mexican control over the Mexican economy instead of having much of it fixed to the desires and timetables of foreign and advanced economies. But the Mexican government while taking the place of much foreign capital has left ample room for private investment. Consider what the public communication systems and the public production of electrical energy mean in terms of opening opportunities for private investment. You know as much as jobs and products combine to promote economic growth. Consider these statistics. During the last 25 years

Mexicans employed in manufacturing industry have increased sevenfold the capital investment related to manufacturing has increased 11 fold and the amount of capital per worker and index to the amount and complexity of the machinery used has increased four fold. Today Mexican steel production is 16 times what it was 50 years ago and electrical energy kingpin for so much else is 18 times as plentiful as it was a half century ago. Alfredo not a great day a deputy director of Nazionale in NC out of a National Development Agency of the Mexican government insists in his essay that whereas the economic structure of the country during the DIA's regime was oriented toward the exterior

it now is organized. First of all to satisfy internal needs. Furthermore the use of foreign funds once given over to extractive activities in the main is now geared most commonly to developmental roles. In a penetrating assessment entitled fundamental problems of the Mexican economy the Kedy who has held significant posts with both the Mexican national government and the United Nations carefully analyzes both foreign and domestic factors that pose problems. The foreign front embraces the relationship of Mexico to the world economy and the role of tourism among others. However the domestic factors are even more numerous and prominent among

them is the distribution of income. The unequal distribution of income is so great in Mexico that it is considered unfair. Admittedly any such inequality stem from complex and interlocking circumstances. Sometimes a man's love of a given bit of landscape despite the fact that it literally chains him to grinding poverty becomes an insurmountable barrier to his economic advancement. Sometimes the weight of tradition sometimes the shortage of education that borders on functional illiteracy causes individuals families communities to fall by the wayside as far as relating themselves to the changing economic opportunities is concerned. The reasons for the unequal distribution of income are countless. But

one result is easily counted. Gross inequalities of income will obstruct economic development. Too many people cannot summon the purchasing power to promote expansion of productive capacity. And the same individuals who cannot contribute to expanded consumption cannot possibly contribute the funds that add the needed capital for investment on the private sector. Indeed those so impoverished are not paying taxes at a level that permits the government out of current revenues to expand the governmental role in economic growth for many reasons. It follows then that a depressed mass of Mexicans represents a special economic problem. The great majority of the

Mexican population insists has not been incorporated into the purchasing power brackets needed to sustain an extensive and dynamic industry manufacturing consumer goods. Statistics indicate that the rural zones in the center and south of the country where half of the population of Mexico lives show the lowest average family incomes. This brings the economic problem back to agriculture where in varying degree it always has been. I never stated in the writing in this volume is one of the underlying truths that favors Mexico and its economic advancement. And that is the degree of political stability it has known throughout all these years. The best minds of

Mexico are facing her economic problems and some of that latest thinking. Some of that most progress even promising thought is found in a volume from the University of Texas press in titled Mexico's recent economic growth. This was a Latin American perspectives with Dr. C. Harvey Gardner research professor of history at Southern Illinois University. Join us for our next program when Dr. Gardner will examine another aspect of life in Latin America Latin American perspectives is produced and recorded by station WSI you Af-Am at Southern Illinois University and is distributed by the national educational radio network.