The Megaphone (Georgetown, Tex.), Vol. 79, No. 15, Ed. 1 Friday, January 25, 1985 Page: 4 of 8
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Megaphone
4
Mexico, cont.
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SPC/AL
BEN
TDMMES
East Side of Square
WORK WITH THE BEST!
CHRISTIAN BOOKS
In 1977, PEMEX claimed 19 percent
of all monies spent by the public
sector and 36 percent of actual
expenditures of the decentralized
organizations and state enterprises,
in... 1980, the comparable figures had
grown to 23 percent and 47 percent.
antiques . collections . plants
arrangements , arts
crafts . gifts
sought to take his country out of the
shadow of the Colossus of the North
and thrust it into a leadership role
among Third World nations.
Do you enjoy working with a team of
professionals? Do you enjoy working in
the finest surroundings, with the finest
equipment available? If so, then the
Benchmark Inn is looking for you! We
are now hiring for all housekeeping,
food and beverage, and front desk posi-
tions in our new location on North I.H.
35, •For «’personal interview please call
863-0523 and ask for Larry Bingham,
Tim Conley, or Linda Doheny.
PEMEX is substantiated by noting
that
predecessor, Luis Echeverria Alva-
rez, who
Unfortunately, at least for Mexico,
one cannot deny the reality that the
same black gold that catapulted
Mexico into prominence is the same
resource which now is responsible for
the incredible rise in that country’s
national debt and that causes inflation
to soar in times of world-wide
glut of petroleum.
Mexico thus succumbed to the
fluctuation of international economic
forces which were aligned against
4,
Ms. McPartland
Tickets are $5 and are available only
at the door. Students get in free.
A jazz pianist, composer, recording
artist, teacher and host of her own
series on radio and public television,
McPartland is a strong and original
contributor to jazz. Her strength and
originality are revealed throughout her
widely acclaimed concerts, flavored
with her own music and that of such
greats as Alex Wilder and Duke Ell-
ington.
The performer has been known to
qualify her printed concert program
with the following: “Depending upon
the barometric pressure, the state of
the Union, and the strange promptings
of the Spirit, some or all of the above
(and perhaps a few others) will be
played — almost certainly, but not in
the order listed!”
Mexico has sufficient stature to
participate in any forum with
complete independence. We want to
stand on our own two feet in our
proper place in the world.
12
p
*a
On February 1st., Edward Jackman
will perform in the Main Lounge of the
Union at' 7 pm. According to Jaap
Suermondt, coordinator of the pro-
gram, Mr. Jackman is not just a
“comedy juggler”.
He was nominated in 1984 as
Campus Comedy Entertainer of the
Year, and his television performances
include Merv Griffin, Games People
Play and Fernwood 2Night.
Yes, He really does juggle with a
ten speed bicycle balanced on his
face.
r
4
Echeverria began his sexenio by
establishing diplomatic relations with
nearly seventy more countries than
had had ties with the previous
administration. He established the
first link to the Common Market of all
Latin American nations and even
initiated - much to Washington’s
chagrin — negotiations with the
Communist bloc.
Nevertheless, his efforts were
largely symbolic. Mexico had no
more bargaining leverage under®
Echeverria than it had had twenty
years before. Then the oil began to
gush forth, and with it the phenom-
enon from which the Administration
of Lopez Portillo so benefitted. Until
then, Mexico was not taken seriously
in International Politics and was not
even much of an influence in its own
region. Power required money. The
pais of Echeverria simply did not
have it. Moreover, Mexico was a net
importer of petroleum until the last
year of his presidency.
But soon the ancient Aztec god,
Quetzalcoatl, surely smiled on the
Mexican economy: from 1975 to 1981
proven reserves of petroleum rose
from 6.3 billion barrels to 68 billion
barrels and production rose from
650,000 barrels/p/d to 2.75 million
barrels/p/d. As a consequence, the
majority of the leaders of Western
powers flocked to Mexico during the
last years of the 70s in order to get the
best deal possible for Mexican crude.
E.F. Hutton has had no more of a captive
audience than when the world finally
listened to Portillo in his second State
of the Nation address. He affirmed:
Perhaps a more appropriate image
< would have been that of “four feet”
because the Mexican government was
not alone in its quest for prominence.
The other two feet belonged to the
I national petroleum company of
Mexico1, Petroleos Mexicanos
[PEMEX] and to its newly acquired
status. Even as the president of
Mexico is considered to be the alpha
and omega of Mexican foreign policy
and execution, PEMEX is the
president’s primary influence. This is
an arrangement which began during
the sexenio of Lopez Portillo and
which has continued into the term of
his successor, Miguel de la Madrid
Hurtado.
In other words, Lopez Portillo
would poner en practica an independ-
ent and international political policy
and the phenomenon of petroleum
would be the catalyst to its
implementation. The significance of -
f 0-
9
The future looked bright. In 1978,
The Financial Times estimated that by
1982 Mexico could earn 8 billion
dollars from PEMEX exports which
would be nearly 50 percent more than
the country's total imports of goods in
1977.
The significance of the role of
PEMEX in the Mexican economy is
analogous to the impact of the
military industrial complex of the
United States in our economy. Just as
the executives of the major contract-
ors in the militaryindustries hold the
highest government posts in the U.S.
(MacNamara of Ford Motor Co.,
George Schultz and Caspar Weinber-
ger of Bechtel Corp.), the officials of
PEMEX have wormed their way into
the preeminent positions in Mexican
government. A good example of this
was the selection of Miguel de la
Madrid Hurtado, a past director of
finance of PEMEX, by Lopez Portillo
as the pre-candidato in the elections of
1982. [In Mexican "democracy”, the
president in office picks his successor.
Of course, There is a general election,
but it is basically a one-party
system].
During the term of Lopez Portillo,
PEMEX executives became much
more powerful than most officials in
the government. Indeed, Diaz
Serrano, Director General of the
company from 1976 until 1981 became
“the second most important figure in
the nation....travelling like a foreign
minister and negociating business
transactions as if he were the Minister
of Commerce.”
The powers of Lopez Portillo grew.
So did the expectations of an
impoverished people for relief from
squalor. His government was much
more accomodating to the U.S. than
had been the government of Echever
ria. This is not surprising when one
considers that the U.S. was the
destination of more than 80 percent of
Mexican petroleum exports.
Lopez Portillo, with his new
political muscle, initiated credits in
petroleum at low interest to nine
Central American and Caribbean
countries. And while the bulk flowed
into U.S. ports, Lopez Portillo still
managed to augment exportation to
Brazil, Europe and Japan. Mexico
became the rich uncle of Latin
America.
her. Even as Miguel de la Madrid
Hurtado was inaugurated in 1982 -
merely 5 years after the promise of a
better future for Mexico was
unquestioned - it was determined that
the majority of petro-income was a
being used to make payments on the P
national debt.
Lopez Portillo had stated in 1979
that “Oil may be our only chance of
solving our problems.”
The promise of wealth, the desire to
flex political muscle, and the
improved conditions for the Mexican
people had proven to be nothing more
than a painful mirage - vanishing
almost as soon as it had become
manifest.
With high inflation, a rapid
increase of population, and a
government whose best quality is that1
it is almost totally corrupt, Mexico
faces a bleak entry into the
twenty-first century
---------------------- I
Hours 713 Main
1 ues-Sat Georgetown
10:00-6:00 - 863-9303
McPartland
at 8
One music critic wrote that “If
Marian McPartland were in baseball,
she’d probably be known as a
designated hitter. Or maybe a Goose
Gossage-type relief pitcher, ready to
cool things down and save the game.
“But she’s not. She’s in music, and
she’s always ready to sit down at her
piano and play for whatever cause may
come along, to help raise money, to get
young people interested in jazz — to
save the game for the future.”
Maid Marian, as she is affectionately
known in the predominantly male
world of jazz, comes to Southwestern
University on Friday, Jan. 25, for an
Artist Series concert at 8 p.m. in the
alma Thomas Theatre.
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The Megaphone (Georgetown, Tex.), Vol. 79, No. 15, Ed. 1 Friday, January 25, 1985, newspaper, January 25, 1985; Georgetown, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth1560203/m1/4/: accessed July 17, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Southwestern University.