Neoliberal Economic Reform, Unions and the Anomaly of the STRM

Abstract

One of the major consequences of the 1982 debt crisis was that many Latin American governments, including that of Mexico, abandoned the economic model¹ which they had pursued after the Great Depression which was characterized by inward-oriented growth.² The new economic model pursued was underpinned by outward-looking growth.³ This chapter analyses the economic policy pursued by the De la Madrid government throughout the sexenio (1982–8), and, in particular, focuses on the impact that this policy had on organized labour. At the same time, the main reasons which led the Mexican government in the mid-1980s to change their policies towards the telecommunications sector are examined. After providing this broad panorama, I then focus on the specific dilemmas facing the STRM including the modernization and privatization of TELMEX. I examine why the STRM leaders decided to cooperate with plans to ‘modernize’ their company, at a time when many other unions showed outright hostility and opposition to such ‘modernization’ plans.⁴