The book consists of seven short chapters. The first positions Mexico as a fundamental issue for the United States. The second delves into the origins of the country’s current situation and choices. The third analyzes the conundrum of the nation’s politics. The fourth describes the process of decentralization that overtook the country in recent decades and what that entails for decision making. The fifth explores the economy, where it comes from and how it has performed, as well as its current dilemmas. The sixth examines the issue of security and its complexity. The book ends with a few thoughts on the stakes and opportunities looking toward the future. more

What emerges in this publication is a nuanced portrait of the individuals who have been tasked with serving as the key link of the U.S. government with Mexico. Dolia Estévez's effort to bring their memories and their perspectives to light helps illuminate a little known part of the political relationship between the two countries. It also chronicles a changing relationship between these countries from "distant neighbors" to "intimate strangers," who are deeply dependent on one another and yet are only still getting to know one another well enough to manage the relationship. more

The economies of Mexico, and to a lesser extent, Guatemala, Honduras, and El Salvador, have benefited from aggressive manufacturing-attraction strategies. At the same time, the achievements of the maquiladora development strategy have masked important flaws that threaten to stymie the promise of even greater economic growth. more

In the past three decades, Mexico has aggressively reformed its economy, opening to foreign trade and investment, achieving fiscal discipline, and privatizing state-owned enterprises. Despite these efforts, the country's economic growth has been lackluster, trailing that of many other comparable developing nations. more