Popular Mobilization in Mexico: The Teachers' Movement 1977-87

by Joe Foweraker

Overview

This book explores the process of popular mobilization in contemporary Mexico through the experience of the country's most important organization—the teachers' movement. It creates a distinctive perspective on Mexican politics and makes an original contribution to the study of popular, or "social" movements, providing a richly detailed account of its organization, leadership, strategic choices, and factional divisions. But it also links the trajectory of the movement to the shifting legal and institutional terrain that composes its political environment, so revealing how it is shaped by, and how it shapes the political system. Through its innovative methods, which produce an unusual and compelling blend of fact and theory, the book uncovers the motivations and mechanisms of popular mobilization, as well as explaining its interactions with national politics in Mexico and beyond.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780521441476
Publisher:	Cambridge University Press
Publication date:	04/30/1993
Pages:	224
Product dimensions:	6.38(w) x 9.45(h) x 0.94(d)

Table of Contents

Preface; Glossary of acronyms; Introduction: the character and context of popular mobilization in contemporary Mexico; Part I. Popular Movement and Syndical Struggle: 1. Teachers as political actors; 2. The original impetus; 3. The institutional terrain; Part II. Inside the Movement in Chiapas: 4. Leadership and grass roots; 5. Strategic choices; 6. Factional strife; Part III. National Mobilization and System Responses: 7. Regional movements; 8. Institutional controls; 9. Popular strategies; Part IV. Popular Movements and Political Change: 10. Institutional linkage; 11. The political system; 12. The political meaning of popular movements; Bibliography; Index.

Editorial Reviews

"A major strength of 'Popular Mobilization in Mexico' is found in the sections dealing with the relationships among the CNTE, the SNTE, the ruling Partido Revolucionario Institucional (PRI), and the Mexican state. Foweraker's focus on Chiapas is another strength, for as he notes, that state 'was the pioneer of political mobilization by teachers nationwide.'" Paul Haber, Latin American Research Review

From the Publisher