Neither South, Nor North: The Mexican Textile Industry in the Global History of Cotton

The article inserts the evolution of cotton agriculture and industry into the narrative of the global history of cotton proposed by Sven Beckert. It points out that the history of cotton in Mexico shared charac­teristics with that of the Global South until the 19th century: its cultivation and manufacture prospered until the Industrial Revolution when, by not using the slave plantation system of the southern United States and by not incorporating new technological advances, both were displaced by producers from the Global North, al­though its deindustrialization was lower. In contrast, from the 20th century onwards, its development resem­bled that of the Global North, as the growing organization of labor and higher wages displaced its production to other countries in the South. However, unlike in the North, by not developing other skills, its wages decreased to make it relatively competitive in the garment maquila industry located in the South.