Toward an analytical framework for assessing the impact of the 1968 student movement on U.S.-Mexican relations

The 1968 Mexico City Olympics marked a climax of Mexican modernity. The millions of dollars invested in readying for the events, the country's marketing campaigns abroad, and ultimately the student movement itself all focused on the Olympics as a key signpost of Mexican progress.¹ It can also be argued that the student movement and massacre at Tlatelolco irrevocably transformed Mexican politics and society, shattering what was an uncritical faith in the ruling Partido Revolucionario Institucional's (PRI) ability to delivery on the twin promises of democracy and economic redistribution.² This article aims to explore how the Olympics, the student protest movement, and the massacre at Tlatelolco fit into the framework of U.S.-Mexican relations. Although by no means exhaustive, what follows will hopefully further our understanding of the complexities of that relationship during the latter part of the 1960s.