From chickpeas to oil. The keys to fifteen years of hispanic-mexican economic relations (1977-1992)

• Main Authors: Santiago Forcada, Lourdes Viladomiu, Jordi Rosell
• Format: Article
• Language: Spanish
• Published: Barcelona Centre for International Affairs (CIDOB) 1993-07-01
• Series: Revista CIDOB d'Afers Internacionals
• Online Access: http://www.cidob.org/es/content/download/7168/71718/file/26rossell.pdf

This article intends to analyse the evolution of economic relations between Spain and Mexico from the reestablishment of diplomatic relations taking into account both the keys to this evolution and its changes. The authors highlight three distinct periods : a boom between 1977 and 1981 ; a relapse between 1982 and 1986 and a recovery between 1987 and 1992. This division into periods takes note of an initial spectacular increase in which bilateral exchanges were multiplied up to 33 times. A five year period in which oil replaced chickpeas as the main product bought in Mexico (up to four-fifths of the total volume) and in which Spanish exports multiplied themselves ten times over. Already from this first phase, the commercial balance was clearly in favour of Mexico, a fact more striking during the second period, during which Spanish imports fell up to 50% but whileher exports were reduced by two-thirds. The key was the fall in the price of oil. The continuity of Spanish oil buying in Mexico however precipitated the recovery of the third period which coincided with the signing of the General Friendship and Cooperation Agreement between both countries. In 1992 Spain regained second place as a customer of Mexico behind the United States while the joint political policies coincide in pointing out that these are two reciprocal pathways to both the EC and US markets. The authors however, sustain that the global evolution of economic blocks does not favour this vision bearing in mind that the composition of and leadership in trade between such blocks will be governed, basically, by the strategies deployed by transnational companies.