CHAPTER XVI
THE FOREIGN COMMERCE OF MEXICO: THE
DIAZ RÉGIME AND AFTER
From the '70s until 1892 the statistics of Mexican imports are only less fragmentary than those in the years before the Diaz régime. Frequent tariff changes disturbed what would have been the course of development and the tariff classifications are not such as make easy the analysis of the trade as a reflection of changing national economic demands. This latter difficulty, in fact, continues up to the present time.
The textile trade, which was the characteristic feature of Mexican imports in the preceding periods, continued to be the most important factor though less important in comparison with the total imports, and less important when compared to the total consumption, for a local industry was developing, which, through high tariff protection, was gaining ground steadily.
In 1872-3, 58 per cent of the total invoice value of imports was made up of textiles, a position maintained as late as 1884. Then conditions changed rapidly. In 1889-90 the value imported had risen but the percentage of the total had fallen to 22 per cent. Local competition was gaining strength and the demands of Mexico on the world's markets were becoming diversified and greater. Textile imports, therefore, took a less prominent place. The decline in their relative importance in
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