Opening Mexico - by Julia Preston & Samuel Dillon (Paperback)

Book Synopsis

The Story of Mexico's political rebirth, by two pulitzer prize-winning reporters

Opening Mexico is a narrative history of the citizens' movement which dismantled the kleptocratic one-party state that dominated Mexico in the twentieth century, and replaced it with a lively democracy. Told through the stories of Mexicans who helped make the transformation, the book gives new and gripping behind-the-scenes accounts of major episodes in Mexico's recent politics.

Mexico's Institutional Revolutionary Party, led by presidents who ruled like Mesoamerican monarchs, came to be called "the perfect dictatorship." But a 1968 massacre of student protesters by government snipers ignited the desire for democratic change in a generation of Mexicans. Opening Mexico recounts the democratic revolution that unfolded over the following three decades. It portrays clean-vote crusaders, labor organizers, human rights monitors, investigative journalists, Indian guerrillas, and dissident political leaders, such as President Ernesto Zedillo-Mexico's Gorbachev. It traces the rise of Vicente Fox, who toppled the authoritarian system in a peaceful election in July 2000.

Opening Mexcio dramatizes how Mexican politics works in smoke-filled rooms, and profiles many leaders of the country's elite. It is the best book to date about the modern history of the United States' southern neighbor-and is a tale rich in implications for the spread of democracy worldwide.

Review Quotes

"The emergence of a vibrant democracy in Mexico is one of the underappreciated stories of our day. "Opening Mexico" details the political and democratic forces that moved our southern neighbor in this new direction, to the point where Mexico is now helping to set the standard for Latin American nations on the global policy stage. This book is an important analysis for anyone serious about policy-making and international relations in Mexico and the Americas." --Mack McLarty, former White House Chief of Staff and Special Envoy for the Americas
"Opening Mexico tells the fascinating inside story of how Mexico became a multi-party democracy after seven decades of single-party rule. Julia Preston and Samuel Dillon, two of America's finest investigative journalists, recount the events that transformed Mexican politics and strengthened democratic momentum at a crucial moment in the history of Latin America. "Opening Mexico" is indispensable reading for those seeking an understanding of contemporary Mexico and would be a valuable addition to the library of any student of how political power is used, abused or changed." --Madeleine Albright, former U.S. Secretary of State
"Julia and Sam have produced one of the most important books on Mexico since the publication of Alan Ridings "Distant Neighbors" nearly twenty years ago. It is a clear reminder to U.S. policy makers of why America needs to remain engaged with the destiny of its Southern neighbor, and a superb introduction to Mexico for all those who simply want to get to know, and understand, a fascinating country." --Jorge Castaneda, former Foreign Minister of Mexico
"This fascinating book is not the expedition of curious analysts into the archives and clippings of a country at change; it is the effort of two journalists to give their own version and cast lights on the shadows of a country full of secrets, untold stories and hidden compartments." --Adolfo Aguilar Zinser, writer Independent politician an

About the Author

Julia Preston and Samuel Dillon were The New York Times Mexico bureau chiefs from 1995 to 2000. Along with two other reporters, they won a Pulitzer Prize in 1998 for their coverage of Mexico's narcotics underworld.