Word: mexicanization
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Dates: during 1980-1989
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Traveling southwest, we come to Dallas and the elegant hotel the Mansion on Turtle Creek, whose chef, Dean Fearing, offers The Mansion on Turtle Creek Cookbook (Weidenfeld & Nicolson; 287 pages; $25). Fearing has adapted the spicy Indian-Mexican-Spanish influences of the region to fashionable nouvelle creations like lobster taco with yellow-tomato salsa and jicama salad. His intricate arrangements and subtle desert colors make his creations as intriguing to the eye as to the palate, although nearly impossible for the average home cook to duplicate...
...just as suddenly as the financial picture turned sunny, it has clouded over again. Last week the Mexican peso began to gyrate wildly. By Friday its value had settled to about 2,700 pesos to a dollar, down 37% for the week. Supplies of dollars quickly ran out as Mexican citizens lined up at banks to change their pesos. At week's end Mexico's Finance Minister, Gustavo Petricioli, appealed to the public on national television to remain calm...
What led to the turmoil? The trouble began in earnest with the Oct. 19 crash on Wall Street, which knocked the wind out of the Mexican stock market. Since Black Monday, the total value of shares on the exchange has plunged by more than 70%, from $38 billion to $11 billion. Says Salvador Kalifa, an economic consultant from the northern city of Monterrey: "Gossip and rumors take precedence over all else. All people want is to get rid of their portfolios." The market collapse made Mexicans nervous about the peso...
...several weeks the government propped up its currency by using its reserves of dollars to buy pesos. By last week, however, Mexican officials began to fear that they would come close to running out of greenbacks. If that happened, Mexico would be unable to pay interest on its foreign loans and obtain new credit from banks. Result: the government abruptly abandoned its support of the peso, sending the currency into a free fall...
Officials defended the strategy, saying they had acted decisively. But it is a gamble that could destroy what is left of public confidence in the Mexican economy. Even American retailers along the border who rely on Mexican patronage will probably experience reduced sales. Moreover, the falling peso will surely fan the country's raging inflation. Prices are now rising at an annual rate of 141%, the highest level in Mexican history...