Attribution of blame in the global economy: The case of the Mexican public and the peso devaluation crisis

Using survey data collected in 1995, this article examines how Mexicans assess responsibility for the 1995 Peso Devaluation Crisis. Mexicans primarily blame former president, Carlos Salinas, but a significant number also blame external actors and institutions for the crisis. The tendency to blame recent presidents is related to assessments of economic conditions and to partisanship; by contrast, the tendency to blame external actors and institutions is related to traditional Mexican nationalism with its defensive posture toward the United States. This posture is found primarily among the economically maginalized and the politically alienated. Nationalism remains an important force in citizen politics in Mexico, but its meaning is still contested.