Mexican Labor Unions and Economic Reforms Over the Past 20 Years Essay

Mexican Labor Unions and Economic Reforms Over the Past 20 Years INTRODUCTION: Since labor unions in Mexico were originally formed in the early 1900s, they have maintained a unique system of collaboration and collusion with the government of Mexico. Though many may refer to their system as one of â€Å"corruption,† it is a system that has become so deeply imbedded in the relationship between labor unions and the government, that it is now a well-understood unofficial network. Over the past 20 years in Mexico, a great deal of progress has been made toward the liberalization of the Mexican markets. Previously government-owned companies have been privatized, foreign investment has boomed, and a once one-party system has just recently produced its first democratically elected opposing party president. But how helpful have the labor unions been to this progress? Generally, labor unions would be one of a society’s greatest opponents to such things as privatization, causing many difficulties to the progress of the economy, however in the case of Mex ico, I contend that labor unions have, in fact, been a beneficial component to the progress. The unions have contributed through their collaboration with the government, their suppression of wages, their maintenance of a balanced governmental system, and their contributions to democracy. Though it cannot be claimed that all of their contributions to the economic development of the past 20 years in Mexico has been positive, it can be claimed that Mexico’s unique style of government-labor union coordination has acted in many unusually beneficial ways. LABOR UNION HISTORY: Up until 1931, no organized labor union had ever been recognized by the Mexican government. In fact, unde... ...rms in Latin America. Cambridge University Press: USA Mujica, Jorge Garcà ­a. (2002). Situacià ³n Econà ³mica y Prospectos. Resumen para la Sà ­ntesis Econà ³mica de Mà ©xico: La Ciudad de Mà ©xico. Otero, Rafael. (1999). Effects of Labor Unions on Regional Economic Development. Ph.D. Dessertation. The Universtiy of Texas-Pan American, Edinburg, TX. Otero, Rafael, and Josà © A. Pagan. (2001). Unions and Job Queuing in Mexico’s Maquiladoras. Working Paper. The University of Texas-Pan American, Edinburg, TX. Panagides, Alexis and Harry Anthony Patrinos. (1994). â€Å"Union-Nonunion Wage Differntials in the Developing World: A Case Study of Mexico.† The World Bank, Latin America and the Caribbean, Country Dept. Policy Research Working Paper 1269: Washington DC Rose-Ackerman, Susan. (1999). Corruption and Government. Cambridge University Press: USA