Mexico and the United States : ambivalent vistas
Author(s)
Bibliographic Information
Mexico and the United States : ambivalent vistas
(The United States and the Americas)
University of Georgia Press, c1992
- : pbk
Available at 2 libraries
  Aomori
  Iwate
  Miyagi
  Akita
  Yamagata
  Fukushima
  Ibaraki
  Tochigi
  Gunma
  Saitama
  Chiba
  Tokyo
  Kanagawa
  Niigata
  Toyama
  Ishikawa
  Fukui
  Yamanashi
  Nagano
  Gifu
  Shizuoka
  Aichi
  Mie
  Shiga
  Kyoto
  Osaka
  Hyogo
  Nara
  Wakayama
  Tottori
  Shimane
  Okayama
  Hiroshima
  Yamaguchi
  Tokushima
  Kagawa
  Ehime
  Kochi
  Fukuoka
  Saga
  Nagasaki
  Kumamoto
  Oita
  Miyazaki
  Kagoshima
  Okinawa
  Korea
  China
  Thailand
  United Kingdom
  Germany
  Switzerland
  France
  Belgium
  Netherlands
  Sweden
  Norway
  United States of America
Note
Includes bibliographical references (p. 249-259) and index
Description and Table of Contents
Description
In 1821 Mexico was geographically the largest country in the western hemisphere. By 1853 however, it was but a quarter of its original size. Meanwhile, its neighbour north of the border had expanded its territory enormously - and mostly at Mexico's expense. Similarly in 1800 Mexico's per capita income was half that of the United States; by 1877 it had dropped to one-tenth. Such asymetries have long characterised the relationship between Mexico and the United States. The author pays special attention to the economic factors that have subordinated Mexico, not only to the "Colossus of the North" but to many of the other players in the world economy. Throughout the book - whether treating the respective colonial histories of Mexico and the United States, the causes and effects of the Mexican War, the challenges of modernisation and political revolution, the plight of the Mexican peasant, or the activities of US intelligence organisations in Mexico - Raat frames his discussion within the context of global economic trends. Raat also discusses the complex political, cultural and social factors that have played such an important role in the interactions between the two countries.
He examines the ethno-centrism that has coloured the perceptions Americans and Mexicans have of each other, from the time of the Texas Revolution to contemporary illegal immigration controversies. Raat also gives attention to areas of common borders and common history. Known traditionally as the "Gran Chichimeca", these borderlands are where Mexican-US cultural dynamics have been most visible. Bilingual and bicultural, neither fully American nor Mexican, the region continues to be of primary importance to policymakers on both sides of the Rio Grande. In his epilogue, Raat notes recent American interest in Mexican art and culture and suggests that in an age of declining US influence, Americans would do well to recognise their own country's role in Mexico's fall from colonial splendour, the limits of US and military power, and the proud sense of cultural identity that prevails among their southern neighbours.
by "Nielsen BookData"