The Other Mexico: The North American Triangle Completed

Ronald N. Harpelle is an assistant professor of history at the
University of Manitoba.

The Other Mexico attempts to expose the social and economic costs of the
North American Free Trade Agreement for the majority of people living
between Chihuahua and Chiapas. Warnock demonstrates how two presidents,
Miguel de la Madrid and Carlos Salines de Gortarri, changed the course
of Mexican history by opening its economy to the world. As a result, 60
years of protectionism succumbed to free-market forces and Mexico joined
Canada and the United States in a trade agreement designed to exploit
the country’s cheap labor and lax governmental controls. Warnock
demonstrates the impact of the new economic model and shows how some
Mexicans are struggling to develop an alternative vision of the
country’s future.

This well-written study is suitable for the general reader and for
classroom use. Although Warnock is an economist, he avoids using
complicated jargon and concentrates on the presenting a recent economic
history of Mexico. The one weakness in the book comes in the first
chapter, where the author takes the reader through 400 years of Mexican
history in just 24 pages. As a result, he falls short of establishing a
solid foundation for what he describes as “Mexico’s culture of
domination and resistance.” Nevertheless, the book is one of the best
that’s been published about NAFTA and its impact on Mexico.