Word: zedillo
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: all
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
This expensive peso meant that jobs were somewhat scarce, and thus contributed to some of the rural unrest. When the rebels seemed to be readying for a new round of attacks, President Zedillo decided to lower the peso by about 12 percent. Then, in a surprise to almost everyone, he allowed the peso to float against the dollar. Investors were used to being warned well in advance of a devaluation. This sudden move scared them, causing them to start unloading Mexican securities. The peso continued to drop...
...plunge in the peso has caused much panic, both within the Mexican government and among outside investors. President Zedillo has released a plan which he hopes will keep inflation at around 15 percent in the short term and have growth at around 1.5 to two percent. This is quite a bit different from the four percent inflation and four percent growth that had been predicted a month ago, before the devaluation. In addition, he hopes to cut government spending by about 1.3 percent. More ominously, though, nearly $8 billion in foreign investment has fled the country since the drop. This...
...Zedillo was convinced that he would have to undertake the devaluation himself when the Chiapas rebels launched a new offensive in advance of the first anniversary of their uprising. Within days the rebels had captured dozens of villages, disabled 47 jungle airstrips and seized several highways. On Dec. 19, Zedillo got the news from Finance Minister Jaime Serra Puche that the prospect of further trouble in Chiapas had prompted jittery Mexicans to move about $1 billion out of the country that day alone...
Though Serra had reassured investors just days earlier that the peso would remain stable, Zedillo directed him to blame a climate of insecurity spawned by the rebels for a change in policy. Within 24 hours the peso lost 12% of its value. Then came the bombshell. Despite an earlier promise of no further devaluations, Serra abruptly made public on a television show that the peso would be permitted to float against the dollar...
...Chiapas, for now Zedillo has some breathing room. Recognizing that he | had to defuse the situation quickly, last week he drew back an army buildup around rebel areas and accepted the rebel demand that Bishop Samuel Ruiz help negotiate peace. But in his new economic plan he is certain to defer his election promise that 1995 will be the year that prosperity will trickle down to the masses. That could mean the kind of social discontent that launched Mexico on its most recent cycle of headaches. Welcome to the nightmare...