POLSCI 329S Lecture Notes - Lecture 8: North American Free Trade Agreement, Neoliberalism
17 May 2018
School
Department
Course
Professor
Politics of Violence
9.22.16 Lecture Notes – Violence and Transitions to Democracy
Oct 20 – Spencer is subbing on that day about predicting conflicts
No reading response for the Oct 18th
Recapping
The documentary (A Place Called Chiapas) suggested that the indigenous mobilization was the
consequence of neoliberal reforms (NAFTA)
o Trejo suggests that it is previous to NAFTA, although the management of NAFTA is what led
to rebellion in some places
o Rebellion starts in Chiapas after 20 years of cycle of protest
o Social, non-violent mobilization usually peaks and decreases
▪ BUT rebellion or terrorism emerges
▪ Depends on many factors such as governance strategies
o Neoliberal reforms intensified protests but didn’t give rise to them
In the Spanish case, they don’t really mention state repression
Protest and Democratization
Trejo says that indigenous mobilization was not the consequence of democratization in Mexico
o This mobilization had a strong impact on democratization
o Left-wing political parties promoted the indigenous mobilization
o But after the electoral system is more open and the minority opponents become real
political parties, the left absorbed much of the sway of the social movements
o Mobilization threatened the status quo – opened up opportunities to prevent the threat
o Empowered minority parties began to fight for the median voter, rather than the
indigenous voters
Social mobilization increased as autocratic elites initiated processes of political liberalization (i.e.
controlled elections) → limited political competition
o It led local political elites to ally with indigenous people and promote their demands
o However, when full democratization was achieved (full competition), they abandoned
these demands
o The minority is never the median voter, so when will the ethnic rights be defended
staunchly
o Surprising that the Zapatistas did not follow the path of the radicalized Spanish terrorists
Paradox: the indigenous movement did not get anything although they stimulated Mexico’s
democratization
Lessons:
o Social movements and rebel groups can force authoritarian elites into democratization –
bottom-up approach
o It does not have to be the working class – Indian peasants in the case of Mexico
From protest to violence
o Violence is the consequence of the radicalization of initially non-violence political
movements
o Although social mobilization does not necessarily lead to rebellion
▪ Why did violence escalate in Chiapas
• Repressive subnational elite
• Fear of the withdrawal of economic and political rights
Different types of networks had different effects on collective action
o Decentralized and horizontal networks (created by the Catholic Church) → resilient to co-
optation or repression
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