The Romance of Democracy : Compliant Defiance in Contemporary Mexico

An insider perspective on contemporary Mexico, this text examines the meaning of democracy in the lives of working-class residents in Mexico City in 2002.

This ethnographic study of popular politics and official subjugation provides a detailed, bottom-up exploration of what men and women think about national and neighbourhood democracy, what their dreams are for a better society, and how these dreams play out in their daily lives.

Based on extensive fieldwork in the same neighbourhood he discussed in his book "The Meanings of Macho", Matthew C.

Gutmann now explores the possibilities for political and social change in the world's most populous city.

In the process he provides a fresh perspective on many issues affecting Mexicans countrywide.