Book Reviews : The Making of Modern Mexico. By FRANK R. BRANDENBURG. (Englewood Cliffs: Prentice-Hall, Inc., 1964. Pp. xv, 379. $8.95.)
| Author | Rodolfo Martinez |
| Published date | 01 December 1964 |
| Date | 01 December 1964 |
| DOI | http://doi.org/10.1177/106591296401700421 |
| Subject Matter | Articles |
806
and
the
rapid
checking
of
abuse.&dquo;
It’s
principal
defect,
in
accordance
with
a
Liberal
theme,
is
&dquo;a
House
of
Commons
that
is
unrepresentative
of
the
differences
of
political
opinion
within
the
country
as
a
whole.&dquo;
Mr.
Boyd’s
evident
concern
for
the
Liberals
is
reflected
in
his
pointed
account
of
efforts
to
rejuvinate
the
Liberal
party.
Under
the
leadership
of
Jo
Grimond
this
party
has
emphasized
the
significance
of
the
individual,
the
importance
of
inter-
national
cooperation,
and
the
need
to
win
power.
At
the
1957
Liberal
Assembly,
Grimond
gave
his
party
ten
years
&dquo;to
get
on
or
get
out.&dquo;
Whether
power
is
more
important
than
influence
may
well
be
debated,
even
when
both
Conservative
and
Labour
parties
seem
to
latch
on
to
Liberal
programs.
Furthermore,
the
author
argues
that
in
spite
of
loss
of
international
power
Britain
still
may
play a
useful
role
on
the
world
scene
if its
politicians
remain
wise
and
the
public
is
well
informed.
This
conclusion
should
appeal
to
both
journalistic
and
academic
minds
in
this
often
unreasonable
world.
RICHARD
W.
TAYLOR
COE
COLLEGE
The
Making
of
Modern
Mexico.
By
FRANK
R.
BRANDENBURG.
(Englewood
Cliffs:
Prentice-Hall,
Inc.,
1964.
Pp. xv, 379.
$8.95.)
The
purpose
of
this
book
is
to
explain
the
causes
and
effects
of
the
Mexican
Revolution,
of
its
transformation
from
a
chaotic
military
skirmish
to
a
cohesive
social
movement,
and
of
the
&dquo;present
health
and
probable
direction of
the
Mexican
nation.&dquo;
The
author’s
background
as
business
consultant
in
Mexico
and
former
teacher
at
the
National
University
of
Mexico,
the
National
Polytechnical
Institute,
and
the
University
of
the
Americas,
give
him
an
impressive
set
of
credentials
for
writing
this
book.
According
to
Dr.
Brandenburg,
Mexico
is
governed
by
the
elite
-
the
&dquo;Revolu-
tionary
Family,&dquo;
one
made
up
of
men
who
have
run
Mexico
since
the
advent
of
the
Revolution.
Political
decisions,
therefore,
are
the
end-product
of
the
interaction
of
members
of
the
Family.
Within
the
Family
one
finds
a
complete
political
spectrum.
The
head
of
the
Family
is
the
undisputed
ruler
of
Mexico.
If
he
becomes
president,
he
must
prove
that
he
is
capable
of
ruling
the
nation
alone.
Yet,
while
Family
leader-
ship
has
been
possessed
by
eleven
men
since
the
Revolution,
only
eight
succeeded
in
ruling
alone.
After
Lazaro
Cdrdenas
wrested
the
Family
leadership
from
Plutarco
Elias
Calles
in
June
1935,
the
Presidency
of
Mexico
and
the
Family
headship
have
coalesced.
However,
there
have
been
periods
when
the
incumbent
president
has
had
to
share
leadership
with
an
ex-president,
particularly
when
the
president-elect
begins
to
consolidate
his
power.
The
Revolutionary
Family
is
divided
into
three
levels:
at
the
apex
stand
the
head
and
about
twenty
&dquo;favorite
sons,&dquo;
such
as
the
president-elect
(for
one
year
out
of
six),
former
presidents,
a
few
powerful
regional
leaders,
and
important
cabinet
members.
This
&dquo;inner
council&dquo;
is
the
seat
of
power
in
Mexico.
Almost
never
meet-
ing
formally,
the
Family
head
consults
each
individual
member
in
arriving
at
a
&dquo;consensus.&dquo;
The
final
word,
however,
belongs
to
the
Family
ruler.
At
the
second
level
stand
about
200
spokesmen
from
finance,
commerce,
private
industry,
agri-
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