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Re: Argentine's elections
Well heck, I must disagree with Ken. I think his point was very clear
the first time, and he refuses to address the issue of the structure of
dependent capitalism in Mexico and the structure of the world market
1890s vs 1990s - The monopolies of the US 100 years ago existed in a
totally different international situation, and in the context of a
totally different national market, than do the monopoly businesses of
Mexico today. By insisting on the myopic focus on the practice of the
specific business and the boss nature of the PRI, neoliberals are
dishonestly avoiding the flagrant structural causes of these
differences. The US in the 1890s was not an appendage of a more
powerful neighbor in the 1890s the way Mexico is today, the US created a
surplus of natural resources by murdering the native peoples and stealing
their lands whereas Mexico has struggled to include the native peoples in
the polity, and we could go on from there.
For Ken to try to limit the analysis to the structure of certain
businesses and the practices of the PRI makes his argument very weak.
Let's address why liberalism has always failed in Mexico. Let's deal
with the effect of privatization on the indigenous peoples. Let's look
at the failure of the capitalist class in Mexico and how that
necessitated the overbearing role of the state in the economy. Let's
compare, for example, Mexico in the 1890s to the US in the 1890s. Let's
deal with what happened to common Mexican people in the 1890s when
Porfirio Diaz opened Mexico's markets and the good it did the Mexican
people. When neoliberals deal with these realities they will have an
audience that listens to them. You want to talk about Rockefeller's
monopolies and the growth of a freer form of capitalism in the US? OK,
let's talk about Standard Oil and Mexico's oil in 1904-1944. The Pemex
situation grew out of the same international structure that led to the
capitalism Ken claims is so lovely in the US. These processes have not
been seperate. The same forces that made the US dominant made Mexico
dependent. Why won't neoliberals face up to this. The fact that they
are too weak to do so is what makes the PRI strong.
Victor
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