| BUSINESSWEEK ONLINE : DECEMBER 20, 1999 ISSUE | ||||||||
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| INTERNATIONAL -- LATIN AMERICAN COVER STORY
'Why Did They Have to Mess It All Up?' (int'l edition) A year ago, Rosalba Luna was a personal banking executive with 17 years of service at Bancomer, Mexico's second-largest bank. Then she was laid off as part of a cost-cutting sweep. Gone were her $2,100 monthly salary and generous perks, including top-notch hospitalization insurance. With Mexico's banking system in a shambles, the university-trained economist knew it would be difficult to find work at another bank. So she used her severance pay to buy a 3 1/2-ton truck and formed her own shipping company, working with her husband, a customs broker. Today, she has two trucks and her company, Transportes Aguila, pulls in more than $2,000 a month. Luna is one of the lucky ones: She landed on her feet. The same cannot be said for all 41,000 bank employees who lost their jobs as a result of Mexico's devaluation-induced banking crisis. Still, Luna is bitter. She blames former President Carlos Salinas and his hand-picked successor, Ernesto Zedillo, among others, for wrecking Mexico's economy. ''The country was moving in the right direction, we had a future, so why did they have to mess it all up?'' she gripes. Many members of Mexico's middle class feel betrayed. Before the devaluation in 1994, credit cards, car loans, and home mortgages were their passports to a better life. But when interest rates shot up to 100% in 1995, many could no longer keep up with their debt payments--and lost everything. Now, Luna is worried that Mexico could experience more financial turbulence in the run-up to next year's presidential election. ''They're assuring us that there won't be a sexenio crisis,'' she says, referring to the six-year presidential term. ''But I'm not convinced.'' She is sure of one thing, though: The long-ruling Institutional Revolutionary Party will remain in office, thanks to its powerful political machine. For Luna, that's not a pleasant prospect, but she doesn't think much of the opposition parties, either. ''What we need in Mexico is a really intelligent, strong leader who can get the country moving again,'' she says. Although she hasn't decided on a candidate, Luna is intrigued by the National Action Party's Vicente Fox, whose pro-business platform and pledge to end corruption appeals to many owners of small and midsize companies. Still, Luna has already learned the hard way that she can't count on any politician to look out for her or her two preschool children. She's prepared for anything. ''Even if I lost my trucks, I know my kids will eat tomorrow,'' she says. ''I'd buy a kilo of tomatoes and set up a stand on the sidewalk to sell tacos.'' She's hoping that it doesn't come to that. By Geri Smith in Mexico City _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ BACK TO TOP |
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 RELATED ITEMS Mexico: Breaking the Curse (int'l edition) LATIN AMERICAN COVER IMAGE: Mexico: Breaking the Curse TABLE: Mexico: Then and Now TABLE: What Could Still Shake Mexico's Financial Stability A Microscope Maker Takes a Global View (int'l edition) ``Why Did They Have to Mess It All Up?'' (int'l edition) ONLINE ORIGINAL: Gurria: Toward Democratic Normality ONLINE ORIGINAL: Mexico's Central Banker: ``It Doesn't Matter Who Wins'' INTERACT E-Mail to Business Week Online | |||
