Labyrinths of Power: Political Recruitment in Twentieth-Century Mexico

Peter H. Smith

Published by Princeton University Press 1979

Labyrinths of Power

Political Recruitment in Twentieth-Century Mexico

Peter H. Smith

Volume 1596 in the series Princeton Legacy Library

https://doi.org/10.1515/9781400871179

Overview
Contents

About this book

Peter Smith has written a comprehensive and in-depth study of the structure and more important of the transformation of the national political elite in twentieth-century Mexico. In doing so, he analyzes the long-run impact of the Mexican Revolution of 1910 on the composition of the country's ruling elite. Included in his focus are such issues as the social basis of politics, the recruitments process, political career patterns, the amount of periodic turnover, and the relationships between the political and economic elites.

The author explores these issues through an empirical, computer-assisted investigation of biographical information on more than 6,000 individuals who held national political office in Mexico at any time between 1900 and 1976. He then employs various comparative and statistical techniques, along with a use of archival data, questionnaires, and interviews, to determine precisely how Mexico’s political system actually works.

Professor Smith finds that the Revolution of 1910 did not fundamentally alter the class composition of the national elite, although it did redistribute power within it. He further observes that the Mexican Revolution did bring about a separation of political and economic elites, and that the route to political success is much more varied and less predictable now than before the revolutionary period.

Originally published in 1979.

The Princeton Legacy Library uses the latest print-on-demand technology to again make available previously out-of-print books from the distinguished backlist of Princeton University Press. These editions preserve the original texts of these important books while presenting them in durable paperback and hardcover editions. The goal of the Princeton Legacy Library is to vastly increase access to the rich scholarly heritage found in the thousands of books published by Princeton University Press since its founding in 1905.

Topics

Frontmatter Publicly Available Download PDF	i
Contents Publicly Available Download PDF	vii
Acknowledgments Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	ix
List of Illustrations Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	xi
List of Tables Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	xii
List of Figures Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	xv
List of Abbreviations Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	xvi
Part I. Introduction
1. The Lines of Inquiry Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	3
2. Society and Politics in Mexico Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	28
Part II. The Results of Revolution
3. The Social Conditions of Rule Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	65
4. Social Background and Political Success Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	104
5. The Structures of Political Careers Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	133
6. Continuity and Turnover Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	159
Part III. Aspects of an Authoritarian System
7. Is There a Power Elite? Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	191
8. Serving the System: Deputies and Sectors of the Pri Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	217
9. The Rules of the Game Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	242
10. Retrospect and Prospect: From Echeverria to Lopez Portillo Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	278
Appendices
Appendix Α. Defining a Political Elite Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	317
Appendix Β. Measuring Continuity and Turnover Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	329
Appendix C. Parties and Sectors in the National Chamber of Deputies, 1964-67 Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	341
Bibliography and Sources
Bibliography Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	349
Index Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	373