Mexican Unions and Economic Reforms in the Last 20 YearsINTRODUCTION: Since unions in Mexico were originally formed in the early 1900s, they have maintained a system unique collaboration and collusion with the government of Mexico. While many may refer to their system as a system of “corruption,” it is a system that has become so deeply embedded in the relationship between unions and government that it is now a well-understood unofficial network. Over the last 20 years, much progress has been made in Mexico towards the liberalization of Mexican markets. Formerly government-owned companies have been privatized, foreign investment has increased, and the once one-party system recently produced its first democratically elected opposition party president. But how useful have the unions been to this progress? Generally speaking, unions would be one of a company's biggest opponents to things like privatization, causing many difficulties for the economy to progress, however, in the case of Mexico, I argue that unions have, in fact, been a beneficial component to the progress. Unions have contributed through their collaboration with the government, reducing wages, maintaining a balanced government system and their contribution to democracy. While it cannot be said that all of their contributions to economic development over the past 20 years in Mexico have been positive, it can be said that Mexico's unique style of government-union coordination has acted in many unusually beneficial ways. HISTORY OF UNIONS: Until 1931, no organized union had ever been recognized by the Mexican government. In fact, below...... middle of the paper ......rmsin Latin America. Cambridge University Press: USAMujica, Jorge García. (2002). Economic situation and prospects. Resumen para laSíntesis Económica de México: La Ciudad de México.Otero, Rafael. (1999). Effects of unions on regional economic development.Ph.D. Dessertation. The University of Texas-Pan American, Edinburg, TX.Otero, Rafael and José A. Pagan. (2001). Unions and work queues in Mexican maquiladoras. Working document. The University of Texas-Pan American, Edinburg,TX.Panagides, Alexis and Harry Anthony Patrinos. (1994). “Union-Nonunion Wage Differentials in the Developing World: A Case Study of Mexico.” The WorldBank, Latin America and the Caribbean, Country Dept. Policy Research Working Paper 1269: Washington DC Rose-Ackerman, Susan. (1999). Corruption and government. Cambridge University Press: United States