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Introduction

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Regional Integration, Development, and Governance in Mesoamerica

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Abstract

Mesoamerican regionalism began as an effort to tackle the shared problems of this area. As a relatively new construct based on an ancient identity, the Mesoamerican Region (MAR) showcases several of the debates present today in the study of regionalism and regionalisation.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    Mexican elections are held in early July each six years and a winner is declared shortly thereafter; the elected candidate takes office during the December 1st inaugural ceremony, leaving a five-month “transition” gap. Starting in 2024, presidents will be inaugurated on 1 October, closing the gap to around 3 months.

  2. 2.

    See www.sgsica.org/reuniondepresidentes/documentos/declara-tuxtla-IV.html.

  3. 3.

    See the section on predecessors to the PPP later in this chapter. The administration previous to Vicente Fox belonged to the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI) which had ruled for over 70 years, a fact which illustrates why Fox’s victory was considered a historical win by his National Action Party (PAN).

  4. 4.

    Amplía Calderón bloque regional: Integran a Colombia al Plan Puebla-Panamá pese a resistencias de Daniel Ortega; by Ernesto Nuñez and Erika Hernández Sección Nacional Periódico Reforma 11 Abril 2007.

  5. 5.

    The IDB through its Office of Evaluation and Oversight published an evaluation of their participation in the PPP, in their report they state “However, the Bank’s contribution to the PPP’s results is difficult to determine. First, the Bank did not set up indicators to measure the impact of its regional operations. Second, the Bank did not define specific objectives to guide its involvement in, or the development of, the PPP” (OVE 2008: 22).

  6. 6.

    See Plan Puebla Panamá Documento Base, Capítulo México Presidencia de la República 2001, and Plan Puebla Panamá Avances y Perspectivas Junio 2002, which points out that the main cause for the lagging of the south of Mexico was due to lack of investment in infrastructure by the Federal Government which had instead invested in the North (CG-PPP 2002: 5).

  7. 7.

    Although one could argue that food security and avoiding natural disasters are an important component of “security” what is meant here is the concern over organised crime and violence.

  8. 8.

    Colombia was officially admitted into the PPP in 2006, previously the term Mesoamerica only included through to Panama.

  9. 9.

    2017 population was 123,518,270, according to INEGI, however, by state the most recent statistics are from 2010, when the nine states had a population of 31,752,532 out of the total population was 114,255,555. internet.contenidos.inegi.org.mx/contenidos/Productos/prod_serv/contenidos/espanol/bvinegi/productos/nueva_estruc/AEGEUM_2017/702825097912.pdf.

  10. 10.

    Initially, maquiladoras began in the 1960s to create factories on the northern border with the United States where they could receive raw materials or parts, assemble them in Mexico, and then, export them back across the border. Taking advantage of low wages, tax breaks, as well as lax environmental and labour laws, companies managed to increase production and profit margins overall, while the border economy grew through job creation and investment. Maquiladoras also invested in infrastructure such as bridges and roads, to ensure that the finished product would be able to get back across the border efficiently. NAFTA encouraged the maquila industry by eliminating the quotas that set the percentages of goods that maquiladoras had to export, which meant that they could now tap into the Mexican market. With NAFTA in place, non-American companies also established maquiladoras in Mexico, with the hope that their products would be considered Mexican-made and thus enter the US market tariff-free.

  11. 11.

    There have been many instances of Central American migrants being held hostage for money or killed during their transit through Mexico, causing diplomatic tensions; see Reforma, 30 January 2010 Reclama El Salvador muerte de migrantes.

  12. 12.

    For example, Robinson Salazar’s essay (2002) “El Vinculo Militar del Plan Colombia y el Plan Puebla Panamá” published in the book Lectura Crítica del Plan Puebla Panamá, makes strong statements about the US military involvement in the MAR. However, his evidence is weak, and supported only by websites (some of which have disappeared), and essays written by himself, as seen in his bibliography.

  13. 13.

    This section is intended to give a brief description of the motives behind the mistrust by several groups towards the United States, both from Mexico and from Central America. It is for background purposes only; for in-depth discussions about the US relations with Mexico and Central America please see: Bordering on Chaos by Andres Oppenheimer, Central America, One Nation Divided by Ralph Woodward 1985, Oxford University Press. The Future of Central America, Policy Choices for the US and Mexico by Richard R. Fagen and Olga Pellicer (eds.) 1983, Stanford University Press.

  14. 14.

    The 2006 elections in Nicaragua resulting in Daniel Ortega as President, and subsequent reelections somewhat undermines these claims, nevertheless the resentment is still there.

  15. 15.

    Although Mexican elections take place every six years on the first Sunday in July, the President does not take office until 1 December.

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  1. Universidad Anahuac México, Mexico City, Mexico

    Alina Gamboa

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Gamboa, A. (2020). Introduction. In: Regional Integration, Development, and Governance in Mesoamerica. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-25350-9_1

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