COL Jim Dunphy is an IMA to USSOUTHCOM, has been a 48B for the past ten years,
and for the past four has served with the Office of the Deputy Under Secretary of the Army
(International Affairs). He has agreed to be our regular columnist and can be reached at
Dunphyjj@aol.com.
Meyer, Michael C. and Beezley, William h. ed. The Oxford History of Mexico
New York: Oxford University Press (2000) 709 pp.
Krauze, Enrique (Translated by Hank Heifetz) Mexico: Biography of Power
New York: Harper Collins (1997) 872 pp.
As the United States' immediate neighbor, Mexico's influence on United States affairs
dwarfs that of other Latin American countries. Understanding those relations requires a
background in Mexican history. For example, the Mexican War, relegated to obscurity in the
United States, still echoes in Mexico. Two recently published tomes attempt to mine these fertile
fields.
Neither book takes the traditional narrative approach to Mexican history. The
Oxford History, while divided into distinct periods, takes a thematic approach.
For example, during the colonial period, there are chapters on Imperial Government, Faith and
Morals, Indian Resistance, Disease and Ecology, and Women in Colonial Mexico. Each of these
chapters is written by a different scholar, Professors of History at many of the leading
Universities. Such an approach has both its merits and problems. Given the thematic approach
and the use of different authors, there is a multi-layered approach, both allowing the reader to
form a personal consensus on Mexican History and resulting at times in duplicative rendering of
events. Moreover, by not using a narrative approach, the reader is often brought forth to, for
example, the brink of independence before being jerked back to the Conquistadors. For FAO's,
the final chapters, dealing with Post World War II Mexico are particularly fertile. While
obviously written before the fall of the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI) and the election of
incoming President Fox, the chapters dealing with the rise of the technocrats, the splits within the
PRI, and the increased strength of the National Action Party (PAN) presage this victory. The
chapter on the influence of mass media and popular culture in Mexico also provides valuable
insights for FAOs.
Mexico: Biography of Power takes a differing but still non conventional
approach. Arguing that the history of Mexico is actually the history of its leaders, Krauze takes a
biographical approach to Mexican History. It is the history of Mexico told through the lives of
its leaders. After a brief survey of 19th Century Mexico, with vignettes of Iturbide,
Santa Anna, Juarez and Diaz, Krauze finds his muse with Revolutionary and post Revolutionary
Mexico. Each one of the 20th Century Presidents receives a chapter on his life and
times. Much like the Oxford History, Krauze foresees the fall of the PRI,
particularly after the failures of the most recent Presidents. Two Presidents, de la Madrid and
Salinas, come under particular fire, the former for failing to democratize the PRI but instead
allowing old practices to continue, and the latter for presiding over corruption and possibly
murder to defend the PRI and the old guard.
Of the two, which then is most beneficial to the FAO? Krauze provides a deeper approach,
considering Mexican history from a political standpoint. However, it presumes a basic
knowledge of Mexican History perhaps not present in the neophyte. The Oxford
History, while not without its problems, provides a richer tapestry by considering
culture, the arts, and social factors in addition to traditional political history. Both books are a
worthy addition to any Latin American FAO's library.
2000, Foreign Area Officer Association
Springfield,
Virginia
Maintained by LTC Steve
Gotowicki.
http://www.faoa.org
