Amit's Blog

From Viceroyalty to Global Player: Mexico's Economic, Social, and Political Development Prelude In 1821, Mexico emerged from a grueling eleven-year war of independence as a vast but fragile republic, inheriting the sprawling territories of New Spain—from Oregon to Central America. Yet this “paper giant” was burdened by centuries of Spanish colonial extraction, a rigid racial hierarchy, and a geography of towering mountains that isolated its regions. The independence movement, sparked by economic exploitation under the Bourbon Reforms and fueled by social grievances of indigenous and mestizo majorities, promised equality but delivered elite dominance and instability. For two centuries, Mexico has wrestled with these legacies: repeated political upheavals, territorial losses, revolutionary upheavals, and cycles of boom and bust. The Porfiriato’s export-led growth masked deep inequalities; the 1910 Revolution sought justice but brought violence; the “Mexican Miracle” of the mid-20...

The Tale of Two Punjabs: From Breadbaskets to Backwaters Once the crown jewels of their nations, Indian Punjab and Pakistani Punjab rode the Green Revolution’s wave in the 1960s to become agricultural powerhouses, boasting prosperity unmatched in South Asia. Extensive canal systems, high-yield seeds, and government support turned them into India and Pakistan’s breadbaskets. Yet, both regions have since stumbled, failing to transition to large-scale industrialization or services, remaining tethered to agriculture’s sinking ship. Indian Punjab, battered by insurgency and policy missteps, and Pakistani Punjab, choked by national instability and feudal grip, missed the IT and manufacturing booms that transformed peers like Gujarat, South Indian States, Maharashtra, and Karachi. Ecological decay, governance failures, and brain drain have left them middling players. This note explores their parallel declines through economic, political, and social lenses, drawing on thinkers like Nirvikar...