Contemporánea
Ethnic Entrepreneurs, Crony Capitalism, and the Making of the Franco-Mexican Elite
A groundbreaking historical narrative of corruption and economic success in Mexico
Ethnic Entrepreneurs, Crony Capitalism, and the Making of the Franco-Mexican Elite provides a new way to understand the scope and impact of crony capitalism on institutional development in Mexico. Beginning with the Porfiriato, the period between 1876 and 1911 named for the rule of President Porfirio Díaz, José Galindo identifies how certain behavioral patterns of the Mexican political and economic elite have repeated over the years, and analyzes aspects of the political economy that have persisted, shaping and at times curtailing Mexico’s economic development.
Strong links between entrepreneurs and politicians have allowed elite businessmen to receive privileged support, such as cheap credit, tax breaks, and tariff protection, from different governments and to run their companies as monopolies. In turn, successive governments have obtained support from businesses to implement public policies, and, on occasion, public officials have received monetary restitution. Galindo notes that Mexico’s early twentieth-century institutional framework was weak and unequal to the task of reining in these systematic abuses. The cost to society was high and resulted in a lack of fair market competition, unequal income distribution, and stunted social mobility.
The most important investors in the banking, commerce, and manufacturing sectors at the beginning of the twentieth century in Mexico were of French origin, and Galindo explains the formation of the Franco-Mexican elite. This Franco-Mexican narrative unfolds largely through the story of one of the richest families in Mexico, the Jeans, and their cotton textile empire. This family has maintained power and wealth through the current day as Emilio Azcárraga Jean, a great-grandson of one of the members of the first generation of the Jean family to arrive in Mexico, owns Televisa, a major mass media company with one of the largest audiences for Spanish-language content in the world.
Fiestas de la patria y ceremonias cívicas en la región central de Veracruz durante la primera mitad del siglo XIX
I. REGIÓN, POBLACIÓN, GRUPOS DE PODER Y RITUALIDAD PÚBLICA 27
Cuatro ciudades, una región 27
La población que festeja 32
Los ceremoniales de los actos públicos
47
II. FIESTAS PATRIÓTICAS VERACRUZANAS E IDENTIDADES LOCALES 60
La fiesta del 21 de mayo de Córdoba 63
El 23 de noviembre de 1825 del puerto de Veracruz 72
La festividad del 4 de diciembre de 1829 por un pronunciamiento xalapeño 87
El festejo del 2 de enero de 1832 por un pronunciamiento porteño 88
El 20 de abril de 1834: Orizaba y la fiesta del anti-reformismo liberal
93
III. FIESTAS PATRIÓTICAS NACIONALES EN EL ESPACIO LOCAL. DISCURSO,
ORGANIZACIÓN Y CONSTRUCCIÓN DE LA IDENTIDAD NACIONAL 96
El discurso cívico de la fiesta 97
Las juntas patrióticas 113
Finanzas, administración y gastos
122
IV. CEREMONIAS CÍVICAS. FORMACIÓN DE CLIENTELAS Y LEALTADES
ENTRE LAS ÉLITES REGIONALES Y LOS CAUDILLOS 134
Legado colonial y nuevas formas de hacer política 136
Agustín de Iturbide el caudillo de Córdoba y Orizaba 144
Las ceremonias de Antonio López de Santa Anna entre Veracruz y Xalapa 150
La jura de la independencia y de las constituciones
181
V. HÉROES LOCALES, SÍMBOLOS PATRIÓTICOS Y CONSTRUCCIÓN DE
ESPACIOS PÚBLICOS 205
Un panteón de héroes locales sin bronce 206
Los espacios públicos 230
Símbolos nacionales y locales
250
VI. PROHIBICIONES, INTERESES Y TRANSGRESIONES DEL MUNDO FESTIVO 262
La reducción de los calendarios festivos 265
Prohibiciones y orden público 280
Delitos y tumultos 303
La presencia festiva de los sectores populares 309
CONCLUSIONES 317
ANEXOS 326
CRONOLOGÍA 334
SIGLAS, ACRÓNIMOS Y ABREVIATURAS 349
REFERENCIAS 351
ÍNDICE DE MAPAS, CUADROS, ILUSTRACIONES Y GRÁFICAS 364
