Crawling towards Weber? Mexican State Capacity in the 19th Century

Abstract

I examine 19th century Mexico for a better understanding of how and why it was so difficult to create the institutions of a modern state. I show that Mexico suffered from a vicious cycle in that period, something that is probably common to many developing countries, in that they needed a large army in order to create a monopoly on violence, but they did not have the money to fund such an institution. The chronic lack of funding led to a situation where the country was littered with roving bandits, and the central government had little ability to stop the constant revolts and banditry that prevailed. It was not until the late 19th century that the government was finally able to create a centralized police force and the beginnings of centralized, state control.