Conversations with Tyler Paul Gillingham on Why Mexico Stays Together
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Mar 25, 2026 
Paul Gillingham, Northwestern historian of Mexico and author of Mexico: A 500-Year History, explores why Mexico stayed united after independence. He gets into Yucatán’s surprising safety, Oaxaca’s political magic, Guerrero’s long violence, Mexico’s unusual freedom from military coups, and why new judicial reforms could reshape the country.
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What Cárdenas Land Reform Actually Achieved
- Cárdenas's land reform partly failed economically but still bought rural legitimacy through pride, healthcare, and the psychological payoff of receiving land.
- Every ejido had a medical office, helping explain why the countryside stayed relatively quiescent despite later resource extraction.
Why Land Mattered More Than Human Capital
- Mexico's land hunger made sense because peasants sought subsistence autonomy, not abstract wealth maximization.
- Paul Gillingham says owning enough land to feed a family through the next harvest was safer than depending on unstable wages and food markets.
Why Mexico's Growth Record Looks Better Long Term
- Paul Gillingham resists the claim that Mexico simply failed at growth, stressing strong long-run GDP gains and the challenge of massive demographic change.
- He notes Mexico rose from the 27th to the 13th largest economy, helped by proximity to the US, even if income distribution remained weak.
