Distant Neighbors

by Alan Riding

563 pp.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, International, Philosophy, Geography, Politics, Journalism

563 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1984

About the author

ALAN RIDING is a Brazilian-born Briton who studied economics and law before becoming a journalist and writer. Working successively for Reuters, The Financial Times, The Economist and The New York Times, he reported from the United Nations in New York, Latin America and Western Europe. During much of his career, Riding covered political and economic affairs. During the final 12 years before he retired from journalism in 2007, he was the European cultural correspondent for The New York Times, based in Paris. In 1980, Riding was awarded the Maria Moors Cabot Prize by Columbia University for his coverage of Latin America and he has also been honored by the Overseas Press Club and the Latin American Studies Association in the United States. He is author of the best-selling book, "Distant Neighbors: A Portrait of the Mexicans," and co-author of "Essential Shakespeare Handbook" and "Opera." His most recent book, published in 2010, is "And The Show Went On: Cultural Life in Nazi-Occupied Paris." It has since also been published in French, Spanish, Catalan, Portuguese and Polish.

Reviews

[Andrew · Rating 5 out of 5]

Although it was written in the mid 1980s, Distant Neighbors remains an authoritative and erudite account of Mexican politics, economics, and culture up until then.

The book is structured as follows. It begins with a few chapters outlining Mexico's history, starting with the arrival of the Spanish conquistador Hernán Cortés, leading up to the present moment which, at the time, was characterized by an economic crisis and the early innings of the neoliberal De La Madrid presidency. Woven in are brief discussions of various implicit power structures in Mexican society. Then, for the rest of the book, Riding methodically re-articulates this basic sketch of history through various angles: politicians and their political factions, the oil industry, businesses, landowners and peasants, agriculture, race & ethnicity (particularly focusing on Indians), artists and intellectuals, and Mexico's relation to the U.S. and the rest of the world.

Mexico remains a country defined and tortured by duality. It was founded through violent European conquest that brought into existence a race of people who could claim neither fully Indian nor fully European heritage. At the time of the book's writing (and ostensibly, even today), Mexican culture and business remains torn between modernity and globalization on one hand and traditionalism and national pride on the other. It both admires the culture and success of the U.S. and deeply disdains its consumerism and negligent, self-interested foreign policy. Mexican industry remains reliant on foreign investment to thrive, but its history has left it proudly resistant to taking capital from world powers that do not show respect toward its society.

Mexican society is rendered stable through an intricate equilibrium characterized by the conflict between various subgroups: the government and media, business owners and labor unions, landowners and peasants, the population (which itself consists of an Americanizing north, a colonial and mestizo center, and an Indian, traditional south) and the church, and foreign investors and world powers. Underlying and fueling virtually every level of every one of these groups is corruption – bribed politicians, schmoozed business deals, and the like. At the top, the ruling elite, it seems, can ill-afford to alienate too many of these groups at once without endangering their own place in society. Any perturbation to this system must strike a balance between an endless array of conflicting, warring interests. To this end, any attempts to shoehorn Western ideals such as democracy or economic efficiency, have been, at best, adopted with deeply Mexican characteristics, though usually resisted. For example, though Mexico is ostensibly democratic, at the time of the book's writing, the PRI ("Institutional Revolutionary Party") effectively appointed the new president every election. With respect to global trade, Mexico's dealings with foreign powers (most notably, with the US) would often be driven more by national pride than by purely economic considerations: once, when President Carter rejected what he considered an overpriced deal to buy Mexican natural gas, President López Portillo, feeling slighted, gave some surplus gas to domestic businesses and then stubbornly burned the rest.

Though factually there are a number of distinct political parties in Mexico, in reality, Mexican politicians are animated by pragmatism over ideology. Party lines are not particularly distinct. This remains true today, where President AMLO, commonly viewed as a leftist and socialist, campaigned in a coalition with the right-wing Social Encounter party and had himself used tax cuts to stimulate local business investment. To this end, Mexican politicians could be pithily summed up as the direct negation of the common "socially liberal and fiscally conservative" tagline of libertarian college bros, in that they are "socially conservative and fiscally liberal". Mexican society is at once deeply patriarchal (and accordingly, paternalistic toward its citizens) and financially profligate. This is manifest in the fact that at the top of government, there are regular calls to become a more "moral" society, concerns about importing American over Mexican media, and censorship of media (which itself relies on the government for its livelihood). At the same time, the government is not particularly strategic or long-term with its financial thinking, often spending (and wasting) enormous resources on poorly-planned public projects or business endeavors that enrich corrupt bureaucrats and business owners. The crisis of 1982 (and the ensuing De La Madrid presidency), for instance, was the natural consequence of many years of foreign borrowing, following volatile oil prices and over-investment in the 1970s.

This flavor of social conservatism and economic profligacy is best personified by the socialist President Echeverría (1970-1976), known for brutally massacring a student uprising in 1968 during his time as Interior Secretary, as well as for numerous infrastructure projects and social safety nets.

Distant Neighbors provides not only a fantastic window into Mexico's psychological and economic past, it also offers a lens to predict its future. In particular, I believe that its commentary on Echeverría will be instructive in understanding Mexico's current president, Andrés Manuel López Obrador.

[Lauren Albert · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am probably, sadly, typically American in knowing more about Mexican food than Mexican politics. This book did a very good job of rectifying that and making me want to read more about the country. Riding goes very far in explaining the misunderstandings between our two countries.

[Centli Garcés Buendia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Como lo dijo Carlos Fuentes, estamos ante un libro clásico sobre México, lo que me gustó en especial de esta obra es la manera en que Alan Riding describe a México y a los mexicanos, ya que de una manera completamente objetiva se mete en las entrañas de nuestra historia (incluso antes de que el país naciera) para poder entender nuestro presente y así cambiar el futuro para algo mejor, en específico, como mexicano que soy me ayudó a entender algunos sentimientos que me han sido transmitidos de manera tácita durante generaciones y más en concreto he podido entender que mientras nosotros nos enfocados a Estados Unidos de Norte América olvidamos que tenemos fronteras al sur del país y que así como nos llegan a tratar mal nuestros vecinos del norte por su falta de comprensión hacia nuestra historia, el sentimiento se repite con centro América para con México.
Este es un libro que ayuda a entender a México y a los mexicanos, incluso ayuda los propios mexicanos a comprenderse como individuos y a entender a su nación.

[Oscar Romero · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was very impressed with what Mr. Riding is telling us about Mexico. He seems to know more about Mexico and the Mexicans than I or any Mexican I know, about all topics, and especially about politics. Even though this book was written so long ago, some truths remain.

I hope we take notice of what he is telling us, and I, too, hope we can change for the better...if we really want to change. Otherwise, we will remain as we are. A very strong contender to get out of the "developing nations status" but, that somehow, still trying...close, but no cigar.


I know we can--all we have to do is work together in the same direction. I want our distant neighbors to be our closest and most wanted neighbors....because it is good for all of us.

[Diāna · Rating 3 out of 5]

Distant Neighbors explains a lot when it comes to Mexican politics and historical development up until 80s. I was somehow confused by author introducing Spanish language vulgarities already at the beginning, and a lot of subjects I felt were misrepresented (I.e.agriculture is more than corn and beans...).
Overall, it could be pretty actual representation of Mexican sentiment, especially when it comes to the current strained relationships between the United States and Mexico.

[Susie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Even though this book is somewhat old, in terms of current events, it is still an excellent reference and history of cultural differences between the United States and Mexico. The author, a journalist who spent years in Mexico, describes and explains the causes for misunderstandings between our nations.

[Carlos Alonso-Niemeyer · Rating 3 out of 5]

Back in the 1980 this book was a must for those who love all things Mexico.
I still find it useful for anyone who is going to do business and deal with the Mexican culture.
There are good chapters about language and customs.
The society has changed a lot since the 80's but by all means it provides a good frame to understand the "magical realism" of the Mexican people.

[Laura Sluder · Rating 3 out of 5]

this is actually a book i had to read before i left to live in mexico, but it had a huge impact on me. i think it would do america good to learn a little bit mroe about mexico. we are so ignorant.

[Steve Van Slyke · Rating 4 out of 5]

Opening Mexico is more recent a tad better, but this is well worth reading for anyone wanting to understand Mexico.

[Gavin · Rating 3 out of 5]

I am not surprised that Riding left Mexico after writing this. The first chapter's brutal generalisations feel like something from the 1930s - Ruth Benedict shit.

Because of the risks involved in defining oneself, most important academic treatises about Mexico have been written by foreigners...

In its soul, Mexico is not—and perhaps never will be — a Western nation. But by trying to make the country more superficially democratic, more Western, more “presentable” abroad, the system’s roots in the population have weakened. It has become less truly democratic because it is less representative of real Mexicans. The more the system responds to the Americanized minority, the more blatant will be the contradictions within the country...

more evident than in Mexico’s almost aggressive sense of nationalism. The threats, attacks, invasions and occupations that have come from abroad since the time of Independence are more than sufficient to justify Mexico’s unspoken xenophobia... Feeling imprisoned historically and economically by the United States, Mexico has used a series of lesser political issues as loudspeakers for its nationalism. Its strong influence over local media and the discipline of its political apparatus enable the government to switch on nationalist “shows” at its convenience: issues that in one year become tests of national honor may be ignored the next year. Major “victories” have therefore been recorded on problems of little consequence to the United States and of great symbolic weight to Mexico... A drought that severely damaged Mexican agriculture in 1980 was attributed by some officials to hurricane seeding by the U.S. National Ocean and Atmospheric Administration. On this occasion, embarrassed Mexican diplomats conceded privately that the nationalism was misplaced and the media “show” had taken off on its own. The following year, no credit was given to the United States for an excellent rainy season.


Mexico alone is truly mestizo: it is the only nation in the hemisphere where religious and political—as well as racial—mestizaje took place; it has the only political system that must be understood in a pre-Hispanic context; and its inhabitants alone are still more Oriental than Western

Some ridiculous apophasis too:

Conversely, the wife, who as an object of sex is considered an aberration from feminine perfection, must be humiliated, since a husband’s faithfulness or excessive affection would imply vulnerability and weakness

Whether or not this neo-Freudian analysis is wholly valid, the male-female relationship in Mexico is often marked by tension and distrust.

I wondered how he could keep up this level of English disdain for 500 pages but he rights himself and goes on to give a good, value-laden potted history of 3000 years of the territory. Big focus on incredible inequalities and "internal colonialism".

Dozens of remarkable details, like the folk hero Pancho Villa slaughtering Chinese civilians; or the left populist Echerverria who killed hundreds of leftists.

soon became apparent that much of the crime, in the main holdups and kidnappings, was being carried out in Mexico City by current and former members of the local police

on numerous occasions each year, politicians—men and women—will line up for hours in the hope of receiving an abrazo from the President.

the INI moved to recover direct control over Maya, Tarahumara, Mixtec and Nahuatl radio stations thought to be too independent.

Given the fatalism of the Indians and the repression prevailing throughout the country, revolution could only begin in the middle classes.

Today, Mexicans resent the arrogance of many Spanish migrants, with their well-earned reputation for “exploiting” local workers, but they feel drawn to all things Spanish, from singers and bullfighters to food and wines. At a national level, even though Mexico is today richer, more populous and more influential than Spain, it continues to look, perhaps subconsciously, for the mother country’s approval.

I am surprised the PRI was so successful at suppressing the church:

In 1992, Salinas restored Mexico’s diplomatic relations with the Vatican and relaxed controls on church activities. For the first time in seventy-five years, the clergy stopped being official pariahs.

He claims that the anti-Americanism was actually just an elite thing not shared by the populace (until 1990, when the elites started to kowtow):

There is resentment bequeathed by the loss of so much territory in the nineteenth century and by U.S. military interventions as recently as 1916. There is resistance to the oppressive weight of continuing U.S. political and economic influence in Mexico. There is intellectualized contempt for the materialistic culture exported by the United States. And there is the reassuring belief that “clever” Mexicans can always outwit “naïve” Americans. But among ordinary Mexicans there is also admiration for the United States and, above all, for its organization, honesty and affluence.

Overall, tragedy piled haphazardly on tragedy.

the country’s own historical record of defeats and betrayals has prepared Mexicans to expect — and accept — the worst. The official heroes — from Cuauhtémoc to Emiliano Zapata—have invariably been murdered, while the ideals enshrined in laws and constitutions have been universally betrayed. “The hero’s tomb is the cradle of the people,” the poet Octavio Paz

This was risible:

[The US is separated by] language, religion, race, philosophy and history. The United States is a nation barely two hundred years old and is lunging for the twenty-first century. Mexico is several thousand years old and is still held back by its past.

A classic mistake, forgetting that nation-states are very new and simply not identical with their geography. (In what sense is the current administration or population the same as that of the Olmecs?)

This was wrong at the time:

No former colony with a large indigenous population has ever climbed out of underdevelopment. No valid blueprint exists, no improvised plans seem to work. Even if Mexico’s political system survives in its present form, its managers harbored few illusions that the country’s deep social problems would be resolved before the year 2000: optimistically, it might resemble Greece; pessimistically, it will be more like India

(Canada.) Chile is now above a reasonable definition of middle-income, but this is mostly growth since 2000.

A Cold War book. Mexico is a different country now, more different than most countries 40 years on.

----

Some slang:

* "Priista": member of the PRI, previously the dictator party.
* "mordida": bite, small routine bribe
* "cacique": boss, chief, in particular the monopsonist exploiter of rural workers.
* "chingadazo is a heavy physical blow, and a chingadera is a dirty trick. A Mexican can warn, jokingly or threateningly, no chingues, meaning “don’t annoy me,” and if he loses out in some way, he will admit that me chingaron. It is high praise to describe someone as chingón—that is, he is clever enough to chingar others"

[Kevin · Rating 3 out of 5]

My edition lists this book as from 1984. Even so, it gives a good "outsider's" perspective and understanding of Mexican culture and history, managing to mostly avoid taking sides. Chapters start strong, extracting the symbolism behind how a political party "institutionized" a "revolution" to help avoid the violent transfers of power that often plague Latin America. But towards the end of chapters, the author, a NYT reporter in Mexico during the time of print, makes the common journalist-writing-a-book mistake of rehashing the minutia of what he covered.

[Ivan Chàvez · Rating 4 out of 5]

..Bien, justo en este momento a cabo de dar término a mi último libro leído en este año, y esta
vez se trata de “Vecinos Distantes” un retrato de los mexicanos; de Alan Riding (Brasileño).
Bueno he de confesar que tardé mucho tiempo en el leer este libro; ya que este mes, hay más
convivios, que tiempo para leer, sin embargo, pues me hacía de un tiempo.
Sin más… diré que en verdad este autor nos da una crítica descriptiva de lo que en serio es México
y sus costumbres, desde tiempos inmemorables los mexicanos hemos sido conquistados o
invadidos, por tanto siempre han marcado nuestro yugo, el mexicano ha tolerado y ha soportado
el actuar de muchos poderosos o líderes jefes mandatarios, que pisotean nuestros derechos,
individuales como constitucionales, desde la época precolombina hasta la fecha, Riding nos
muestra como por siempre la libertad de expresión ha sido o censurada o castigada, y a pesar de
todo ello, México y sus corruptelas, ha podido salir adelante, lo lamentable es que éste hombre
Brasileño pone de manifiesto la realidad cruda de nuestro México, y pues eso es una verdadera
vergüenza, invita a mexicanos a que despertemos de ese letargo ensordecedor y nos demos
cuenta de tanto abuso, y que como hombres libres no! debemos permitir. En verdad, de verdad,
recomiendo este ejemplar, muy corto pero también, muy aleccionador, es interesante, y deja
mucho que pensar, y planteamientos a una forma mejor de vivir, bien no digo más, se trata de
incitarlos a leer…. Fin de un libro más en este año… y feliz año…

[Valencia W · Rating 5 out of 5]

While many may disagree with specific viewpoints of Riding's comments, this provides someone with little knowledge of Mexican history, mentality, and political points of view that are valuable. He does say in the first few pages that there would be PLENTY of people who disagree with his foreign views of Mexico and Mexicans so for those who automatically think that this "isn't accurate" he is clever to address those responses from the very beginning. Would I substitute this book for actually going to Mexico and coming to my own conclusions - no. Would I use this book as a guidebook for how all Mexicans think - no. But do I think the book is valuable to understand his perspective and build some sort of contextual approach at the time of his original manuscript, yes. I could see myself re reading this book in a few years, or...I could just move there permanently and have his perceptions and mine. The book was completed in 1985 with an afterword added in 2000. We are in 2019 - there is a chunk of history left out but it will get you understanding Mexico up until 1985 with a snippet of 2000. Then it's on you to find other books to fill in the gaps. Great read and would recommend!

[Keith · Rating 5 out of 5]

Pretty great. Riding's goal to present a portrait of Mexico from many angles; historical, geographical, anthropological, sociological; in order to contextualize contemporary Mexico for an estadounidense audience which lacks understanding of all of those angles. I think he succeeds. It's succinct, does not limit itself to just fact or myth, and brings together each discipline in a cohesive, logical way that never fails to be interesting. It is dated of course (the contemporary context is the late 80s, so the social stats are not up to date) but as a snapshot of that crucial era, the book provides a great understanding of Mexico as a nascent postmodern state.
I read this book for a class on the history of US-Mexican relations. 1985 was truly the last nadir in our relationship until the current one since 2016. So many of our current problems date back to that time of oil, migration, drugs and thugs. To read Mexico contextualized in that time is very much relevant today – and Riding makes it fascinating.

[Job Ascarraga]

Hace ya mucho que leí este libro así que mis palabras son más recuerdos que una recomendación.

Riding hace una fotografía de la idiosincrasia del mexicano, nuestra manera de ver la vida como sociedad y como personas (obvio, hay muchas generalizaciones), la manera de ofendernos por nuestros orígenes indígenas y esa visión idílica que tenemos de los Estados Unidos, pero a pesar de todo nos decimos "muy mexicanos" cuando se trata de cosas poco serias y superficiales como las fiestas.

Tomemos en cuenta que desde hace mucho hemos sido sometidos por culturas "más avanzadas" españoles y ahora los Estados Unidos (sometimiento consensuado y por necesidad aclaro), estos aspectos han marcado nuestra cultura muchas veces "agachona" con los más fuertes y muchas veces "prepotente" con los más débiles.

Lo interesante es que pasa el tiempo y las cosas no han cambiado mucho.

[Oscar · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was very impressed with what Mr. Riding is telling us about Mexico. He seems to know more about Mexico and the Mexicans than I or any Mexican I know, about all topics, and especially about politics. Even though this book was written so long ago, some truths remain.

I hope we take notice of what he is telling us, and I, too, hope we can change for the better...if we really want to change. Otherwise, we will remain as we are. A very strong contender to get out of the "developing nations status" but, that somehow, still trying...close, but no cigar.


I know we can--all we have to do is work together in the same direction. I want our distant neighbors to be our closest and most wanted neighbors....because it is good for all of us.

[MariaDul GV · Rating 5 out of 5]

As Mexican I'm fascinated the way Riding captured the Mexican essence from an American view. From my personal perspective even that it was written in the 80s the core remains till now days.
Distant neighbors was recommended by an American person who is in constant touch with my culture. After some talks about my culture and how accurate he is on his perceptions he suggested me to read it. If you want to understand Mexican culture and live within, Distant Neighbors is an introduction to understand the culture from historical, economical, political and sociological perspective.
I found it easy to read even that I'm a non English native speaker.

[Eduardo Ocampo · Rating 5 out of 5]

No es la primera vez que leo este libro, cada vez que lo tomo me doy cuenta de que Alan Riding hizo un buen trabajo para capturar la idiosincrasia del mexicano, y los problemas que identificó hace 40 años, aún son vigentes en esta época, aunque con un contexto muy distinto.

Riding veía como una amenaza para México el hecho de que fuera gobernado por la izquierda, pero el día de hoy así es y el país continúa caminando, con altibajos, pero continúa, lo cual me recuerda la frase con la que concluye el libro: si bien los sistemas que se implante pueden perecer, México continuará, y es lo que vemos actualmente.

[Aldrin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Para ser un libro del 1985 refleja muy bien a los mexicanos que aún existen y como han evolucionado y pues no han cambiado mucho. Como seguimos buscando y añorando las metas de la revolución,de como creemos que el petroleo sigue siendo nuestra salvación y como seguimos siendo muy racistas.
Tal vez un tiempo atrás cuando era estúpidamente muy nacionalista este libro me hubiera molestado. No más.
Temas de los indígenas, del arte, de los medios etc son tocados de una gran manera. Se hace mención a la mayoría de presidentes y como no hemos sido capaz de lograr lo que siempre se ha soñado. Crecer como país y sin embargo siempre la avaricia y el deseo de poder ganan.

[Samanta García · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really like it, it is a very extense analisys of Mexico and the different ambits of its culture.

[Jorge · Rating 3 out of 5]

Excellent Mexico political situation report on December 1984. It was barely updated with 40 pages, on September 2000.

[Micheel Granados · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you want to understand Mexico and Mexicans before neoliberalism, this is the book you’re looking for.

[om · Rating 4 out of 5]

Un acertado intento por descifrar el complicado enigma que nos compone a los mexicanos.

[Kayla Dean · Rating 3 out of 5]

A very thorough book, but quite outdated.

[Steve Majerus-Collins · Rating 4 out of 5]

A superb book.

[Andres Corrales · Rating 3 out of 5]

A bit outdated in terms of how it tackles the social aspect but a good read nonetheless.

[PS · Rating 5 out of 5]

A very insightful book into the psychology and sociology of the Mexican People.

[~Ivy~ · Rating 4 out of 5]

I learned so much from this book. I would recommend it to most people. However, I found his writing style redundant and frustrating. I feel most of this book could have been chronological but he broke it up into odd chapters and then repeated information several times.

[Diana · Rating 4 out of 5]

Me parece muy interesante como un libro escrito hace más de 30 años, puede ser tan fácilmente aplicado y entendido en la realidad actual de México.

Curiosa la opinión que un extranjero residente puede hacerse sobre la sociedad, la cultura, la política y la historia de un país.

[jim · Rating 4 out of 5]

Seems a fair-minded gringo's view of Mexico. Suits me.