home > by publication type > council special reports > Challenges for a Postelection Mexico
Email
| Author: | Pamela K. Starr |
|---|
| Publisher: | Council on Foreign Relations Press |
|---|
Release Date: June/November 2006
44 pages
ISBN 0876093667
$10.00
Council Special Report No. 17
Following months of unrest in which supporters of Manuel López Obrador staged massive protests, accused their opponents of electoral fraud, and threatened to form a parallel government, election authorities have declared PAN candidate Felipe Calderón the legal victor. The stakes for the United States are high. In recent years, Mexico has become an important U.S. ally, promoting freer trade and market economics in a region increasingly characterized by left-leaning, nationalist governments. A prospering Mexico can help Washington advance national security, fight drug trafficking, control migration, and ensure energy security. Managing these issues has become more difficult in light of the hardening immigration debate in the United States, and a divided Mexican electorate that is not as well-disposed to cooperation with its northern neighbor as it was five years ago.
This report details the economic and political obstacles awaiting president-elect Calderón and sketches the institutional environment that will define his room for political maneuver. Because of the controversy surrounding the election, Calderón possesses a limited mandate and will feel compelled to seek compromise with opposition groups. The report identifies the likely consequences of the bitterly fought 2006 campaign for democracy and economic reform in Mexico and for Mexican relations with its hemispheric neighbors and with the United States. It gives particular attention to the election’s impact on U.S. efforts to control its southern border, enhance the competitiveness of the U.S. economy, and fight drug trafficking. Finally, the report offers concrete policy recommendations to the U.S. government on how to help Mexican authorities move past the electoral dispute and confront their country’s many complex challenges.
To submit a letter in response to a Council Special Report for publication on our website, CFR.org, you may send an email to CSReditor@cfr.org. Alternatively, letters may be mailed to us at:
Publications Dept.
Council on Foreign Relations
58 East 68th Street
New York, NY 10065
Letters should include the writer’s name, postal address, and daytime phone number. Letters may be edited for length and clarity, and may be published online. Please do not send attachments. All letters become the property of the Council on Foreign Relations and will not be returned. We regret that, owing to the volume of correspondence, we cannot respond to every letter.
Pamela K. Starr is an analyst with the Eurasia Group and a professor of Latin American studies at Georgetown University. She was previously a professor of political economy at Instituto Tecnológico Autónomo de México (ITAM) in Mexico City for eight years. She is an active speaker, commentator, and author on Mexican politics and political economy, and on the making of economic policy. Dr. Starr has authored a series of articles and coedited a book on Latin American politics and political economy, and has given talks throughout the hemisphere to a wide range of audiences, including the World Economic Forum, the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the Inter-American Development Bank, the U.S. Department of State, the U.S. Embassy in Mexico City, the U.S. State Legislative Leaders Foundation, and the Mexican Senate.
Dr. Starr has held research positions in Argentina , Brazil , and Mexico, and at Georgetown University and the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) in Washington, DC . She has received research grants and fellowships from the Pew Charitable Trusts, the Earhart Foundation, the Organization of American States, and the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars. She also serves on the editorial board of Foreign Affairs en Español and is an associate of the Inter-American Dialogue.
To order Task Force reports, Council Special Reports, and Critical Policy Choices, please call, fax, or order online from our distributor, the Brookings Institution Press: phone +1.800.537.5487, fax +1.410.516.6998.
For information on other reports that are not for sale, or for general publications information, please call +1.212.434.9516 or email publications@cfr.org.
Start-Up Nation addresses the trillion-dollar question: How is it that Israel—a country of 7.1 million, only sixty years old, surrounded by enemies— produces more start-up companies than large, peaceful, and stable nations like Japan, China, India, Korea, Canada, and the UK? With the insights of geopolitical experts and investors, the authors examine this nation’s adversity-driven culture to answer this question and offer prescriptions for a global economy on the rebound.
In Forces of Fortune, Vali Nasr presents a paradigm-changing revelation that will transform the understanding of the Muslim world at large. He reveals that there is a vital but unseen rising force in the Islamic world—a new business-minded middle class—that is building a vibrant new Muslim world economy and that holds the key to winning the cold war against Iran and extremists.
In Cuba: What Everyone Needs to Know, Julia E. Sweig presents a remarkably accessible portrait of Cuba's unique place on the world stage over the past fifty years, including its internal politics, its often fraught relationship with the United States, and its shifting relationship with the global community.
Complete list of CFR Books
The report of this bipartisan Task Force of distinguished leaders and experts represents a strong consensus on the importance of repairing America's immigration policy. It makes the case that maintaining America's political and economic leadership depends on attracting talented and hard-working immigrants, and on securing the country's borders in a smart, effective, and humane way.
This report finds that nuclear weapons will remain a fundamental element of U.S. national security in the near term, and makes recommendations on how to ensure the safety, security, and reliability of the U.S. deterrent nuclear force, prevent nuclear terrorism, and strengthen the nuclear nonproliferation regime.
About Independent Task Forces at CFR
Complete list of Task Force reports
Identifying international threats and acting on them may be the most difficult job for U.S. policymakers. This report
provides an actionable road map for managing international threats before they erupt into crises and makes a strong case that preventive action is not a luxury but a necessity.
For more than a decade, the United States has mostly watched from the sidelines as Asian countries organize themselves into an alphabet soup of new multilateral groups. In this report, the authors review the relationship between pan-Asian and trans-Pacific institutions and suggest policy guidelines for a new U.S. approach to this new Asian landscape.
Complete list of Council Special Reports
To request permission to reprint or reuse CFR material, please fill out this permissions request form (PDF), referring to the instructions on page 1.
Copyright 2009 by the Council on Foreign Relations. All Rights Reserved.