Jo Tuckman (1967–2020)

A very readable and accesible account of the the principle political and societal forces and issues confronting Mexico since the election of Vicente Fox in 2000. This significant milestone - the transition of the Presidency from the single party hegemony of PRI to the PAN - has not (entirely unsurprisingly) been the panacea some were perhaps tempted to believe at the time.

Jo Tuckman describes and assesses very well the many profound challenges which the Mexican people face in their quest for democractic stability and accountability, including the dreadful Drugs War. She has a journalist's aptitude for the human dimension, thus avoiding an overly dense academic assessment of these travails.

I recommend this book very highly, and encourage all those interested in this wonderful yet troubled country to read it.… (meer)

Ms. Tuckman is a fine writer with a keen mind and an impressive vocabulary. She has the ability to select the precise word to describe her point. She comprehensively reports on the state of Mexican politics since the election (and before as is necessary to explain the present) of the vacuous and disappointing Vicente Fox. Ms. Tuckman employs a clinical approach to her analyses of the various aspects of Mexican society, culture and politics. She is aware but not compassionate.

There is an air of European superiority wafting through her book as she examines the foibles of the various groups which constitute Mexican society. Yet it is a fascinating, well-researched book and I agree with "GypsyJon" that it is engrossing, and that the Mexican people (while perhaps not "wonderful") are decent and hard working and, most of all, long suffering. A question not directly discussed by Ms. Tuckman is whether the people who make up Mexico have it in their character to cast off, once and for all, the corrupt, corrupt, corrupt system that has plagued them since the days of Agustin de Iturbide. I doubt it. I sincerely hope I am wrong. (P.S., the recent arrest of "La Muestra" [E.E.Gordillo] is a very good sign, indeed.)(P.S.S, If you want to know about the cartels go to BorderlandBeat.com, or, El Blog del Narco (oh my).… (meer)