In the Shadow of the Giant - The Americanization of Modern Mexico by Joseph Contreras
Voices about In the Shadow of the Giant:
"...provocative and highly informative."—The Washington Post
"Joseph Contreras, who on two different occasions has covered the Mexico beat for Newsweek, offers a welcome, entertaining, and deeply insightful perspective of the dramatic impact of Americanization on our southern neighbor accessible to any reader, drawing on a wealth of personal experiences and numerous interviews, uniquely flavored
by his own Mexican-American origins."—Roderic Ai Camp, Author of Politics in Mexico: The Democratic Consolidation
The influx of Mexican immigrants to the United States throughout the years has impacted our culture, labor force, and economy. Often these individuals are blamed for the perceived ills they bring to this country. Yet few people ever consider the profound influence that the United States has on Mexico.
In this first book to view modern Mexico in the era of NAFTA and globalization, In the Shadow of the Giant offers insight into the land on our southern border. What we find is a nation that looks more like the United States than even Mexicans themselves could have imagined a decade ago:
- Rates of obesity are second only to the United States among the world’s industrialized countries
- Recreational drug use is soaring among young Mexicans
- Citigroup owns the largest bank in Mexico
- Wal-Mart is the country’s biggest private employer
Revealing a vastly different physical and cultural landscape from his days as a young journalist living in Mexico in the mid-1980s, Joseph Contreras tracks the relentless and ongoing Americanization of his ancestral home. Although these changes may seem a natural part of globalization, the country had long prided itself on the social, political, economic and even spiritual differences that distinguished it from the United States. In addition to embracing our virtues and vices, Contreras argues that our southern neighbor has become a de facto economic colony of the United States.
At a time when immigration looms as a leading hot-button issue in American politics, the time is ripe for examining our influences, for better or worse, on our neighbor to the south.
About the Author: JOSEPH CONTRERAS, a native of Los Angeles, spent twenty eight years at Newsweek magazine. He most recently was the publication’s Latin American regional editor.
