Proto-industrialization, informalization, globalization

Abstract

Samuel Huntington, a well–known political scientist in the United States, classifies Mexico as a “torn country”. In his opinion, Mexican political leaders have been trying for the past decade to change their country from a Latin American into a North American one. ¿Will they succeed in establishing their economic, social, and cultural strategy? This article’s aim is to test Huntington’s opinion by delving into the recent “maquila” process that has been taking place in the states of Puebla and Tlaxcala for the past fifteen years. By comparing the current situation of the Mexican clothing industry with the “proto-industrialization process” in some European countries, we reach the conclusion that the spreading of the ‘maquila system’ in a few Mexican regions is not transforming Mexico into a “torn country”. Rather, the growth of the “maquila” and of the informal sector is turning Mexico into a more dependent and asymmetrical country in North America in terms of the economic and social structure.