Economic and political reform institutions and their effects

Economic and Political Reform and Institutions

China, Russia, and Mexico: Patterns of economic and political reform

At the end of the 20th century, some of the most potent images of Chinese political repression were those photographs taken of the suppressed pro-democracy demonstrators in Tiananmen Square. Today, these demonstrations are largely forgotten in the popular media, and most discussions of China revolve around the economic role that this developing nation will play in the future. China, although it still has a highly repressive government, engaged in a program of political liberalization. This program existed both before and after the Tiananmen Square demonstrations. The Chinese government allowed Western businesses to enter the nation and engage in capitalist enterprise, even while it curtailed the political expression of the populace in a Western fashion. This increased the standard of living for many Chinese, created a more affluent middle class, and brought new and better-paying jobs to the nation.

In contrast, the former Soviet Union first introduced political reform, in the form of glasnost and perestroika, under the watchful eye of Mikhail Gorbachev. Although Gorbachev was popular in the West his program of reform did not substantially and swiftly improve the economic circumstances of Russia or reform the institutional inefficiencies of the command system. He was rapidly replaced once he allowed the dissatisfied and disaffected populace a greater voice in the institutions of government. Today, the Russian government has now fully transitioned into capitalism, and the nation is enjoying prosperity because of its rich reserves of oil, but the government of Vladimir Putin has come under considerable fire from a pro-democracy minority for repressing all dissent. As in the case of China, government repression and economic prosperity and liberalization have quelled some of the current ruling party's most vocal critics, although it remains to be seen how Putin's successor will fare.