Pursuing the Free-Market System

A blog posted by Laura Carlsen on the NACLA News website discussed the current foriegn policy decisions of President Calderon. 

“Mexican president Felipe Calderón strode off to the World Economic Forum with a bold agenda. At the forum and in meetings with European business leaders and heads of state, he presented Mexico as the guarantor of economic orthodoxy and explicitly criticized Latin American nations that have deviated from the path laid out by the international financial institutions and the
U.S. government.”

 His goals in terms of foreign policy are isolating Mexico from the rest of Latin America and building an image of Mexico as the follower of the rules put forth by the US in terms of a free-market system and economic development. 

“Despite the fireworks between world leaders, Calderón’s primary objective on his European tour wasn’t politics at all but economics, and it was there that he made a distinction between Mexico and its southern neighbors. Davos is the premier forum for the high rollers of globalization and political leaders attend as supplicants. In scores of meetings with investors and corporate heads, the Mexican president sought to position Mexico as a destination for global investment.”

By boasting of Mexico’s adherence to economic development ideologies and models put forth by the United States, Calderon hopes to attract investors into his country.  His goal is to give foreign investors the idea that Mexico, unlike any other country in Latin America, is perfect for business investments because it has followed to rules set forth by the United States and financial institutions in terms of trade policies, economic development, and the neoliberal model.  Calderon’s goal is for Mexico to be the leader of all countries following the neoliberal model of economic development.  

“His strategy for doing this was to say: We’re the ones who have toed the line, we’re the ones who have followed all the rules. These other countries have misbehaved so choose us (and not them). By criticizing other nations in the hemisphere Calderón has established an us vs. them dichotomy that strategically aims to put distance between Mexico and the rest of Latin America in order to find favor with global investors.”

It is obvious that Calderon values neoliberal economic development, power within Latin America, and following the US economic rules so as to be in good favor with the US government.  The problem is that with these values and goals come trade-offs.  It is clear that many people within
Mexico are very unhappy with Calderon’s economic policies.  Of course it is the poor who suffer most from his decisions.  There are have been subsequent protests in the streets of Mexico as tortilla prices rise and real wages decrease.  Not only does his foreign policy decision affect the people of Mexico, but it also creates tensions with the other countries of Latin America who have chosen alternative paths away from the free-market system. 

“By claiming obedience to globalization’s strictest rules as a virtue, Calderon publicly eliminates policy space for much-needed corrective measures. By making conservative free-market economics Mexico’s platform for competition, Calderon rejects demands for a new or modified economic model and for social programs to reduce inequality. These are policies that will inevitably inflame Mexico’s internal differences.”

Calderon’s means for pursuing his foreign policy are to adhere strictly to the idea of free-market economics and to promote the idea that Mexico is pursuing the “right” policy unlike all the other Latin American countries.  In this way, he hopes to attract foreign investment. 

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~ by dav1318 on February 12, 2007.