Open AccessThe Takeover of the Banco de Comercio of 1954: Collision and Collusion between Mexican Political and Business Elites
Author(s) -
Andrew Paxman
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
américa latina en la historia económica(en línea)/america latina en la historía económica
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 2007-3496
pISSN - 1405-2253
DOI - 10.18232/alhe.1174
Subject(s) - politics , collusion , state (computer science) , capital (architecture) , mexican state , political science , political capital , economy , scale (ratio) , political economy , economic history , economics , law , geography , cartography , archaeology , algorithm , computer science , microeconomics
The hostile takeover of the Banco de Comercio in 1954 made way for the era of Manuel Espinosa Yglesias, who would transform the bank into Mexico’s largest. However, the episode is more historically notable for what happened behind the scenes: the first large-scale hostile takeover in Mexico; the fact that those who lost control of the bank numbered among the country’s most powerful businessmen; the illegal participation as chief purchaser of the foreign citizen William Jenkins, and, as this article argues, the state’s approval of the deal on the basis of the distinct political affiliations and relationships of the parties involved. Overall, the episode offers a case study in Mexican state-capital interdependence.