The Mexican Heartland

In this formidable work of scholarship, Georgetown University historian John Tutino recounts Mexico's long journey to modernity from the standpoint of small communities surrounding Mexico City. This ambitious exercise spans five centuries to analyze how these communities 'built, sustained, subsidized, resisted and changed capitalism' in its various phases from silver-based imperial capitalism under Spanish rule to the shift from national capitalism to liberal globalism in the late 20th century. ---Jose Angel Gurria, Finance & Development This longue-duree Braudelian study of Mexico draws from compelling and fascinating regional and local studies. . . . Based on the author's own original research as well as on broad scholarship from history, anthropology, sociology and political science in both English and Spanish that brings academic perspectives into dialogue beyond the conventional boundaries of disciplines and academic traditions. ---Moramay Lopez-Alonso, EH.net Combining economic and social history, Tutino explores the 500 year trajectory that saw central Mexico's transition from a major player in the world market even as the region remained largely autonomous from it to an economic afterthought buffeted by the hollowing out of the region by the neoliberal turn. ---Andrae Marak, World History Connected What Tutino has done is remarkable, working up and down the scales of analysis from villages to the world market, from gender relations of households to imperial policy. ---Jeremy Adelman, American Historical Review Tutino demonstrates the continued value and validity of an interpretation based on historical materialism. The book is an important contribution to the study of Mexico, globalization, and capitalism. ---Robert W. Patch, Estudios Interdisciplinarios de America Latina y el Caribe