Mexico's Development
Chapter 31 - The Americas in the Age of Independence
Foreign Investment
- Foreign investors sought economic dominance over Mexico
- British merchants did not establish independent economies
Attempted Industrialization
- General Porfirio Díaz worked to industrialize Mexico during his rule
- Railroads and telegraph lines connected all parts of Mexico, instigating industrial growth
- Mexico City was dramatically transformed through pavement and electricity
- Problems arose when profit generated through industrialization weren't used to continue the industrialization process
- As agriculture, railroad construction, and mining increased, the quality of life for Mexicans inversely decreased
Question 10: Evaluate the reasons why Mexico did not develop like the United States and Canada
- Exports generated large profits for all three states, but in Mexico these profits were not used to further industrialization and instead went to foreign investors
- Decisions made in Mexico's economy were made by foreign investors, and its unstable government could not stand up to the pressure from foreign investors