Social Mobility, Economic Elites and Political Influence in Mexico: 1982-2012

• In Event: Puebla since 1920: A Chronological Case Study of Provincial Power Elites

Abstract

This paper contributes to the recent economic and political history of Mexican social mobility by examining the role that crony capitalism has played in high-income revenue concentration during the last 30 years or so. Alliances between economic elites and politicians, notably those involving bank credit and inside information, have allowed privileges to endure. At the same time, this period has seen changes in the composition of these groups and in their relationship with the federal government.
Taking local examples of economic elites in the state of Puebla, we examine their evolution over these three decades, highlighting the past and present economic performance of selected families and their influence upon state and federal governments. This paper draws from the findings of a seminar held by the Observatorio de Salarios at the Universidad Iberoamericana Puebla, managed by Dr. Miguel Reyes Hernández.

Author

• Humberto Morales Moreno, BUAP (Benemerita Universidad Autonoma de Puebla)