cover image Limits to Friendship

Limits to Friendship

Robert A. Pastor. Alfred A. Knopf, $24.95 (415pp) ISBN 978-0-394-55840-0

Pastor, former director of Latin American Affairs on the National Security Council, and Castaneda, a syndicated columnist for the Los Angeles Times , explore in alternating chapters the history, current state and future of Mexican-American relations. The purpose of the study is to present each nation's views of the other on foreign policy, economic relations and social influence. Pastor and Castaneda trace the deterioration of relations over the past decade, the effect of the collapse of petroleum prices and the peso , the increasingly complex issue of drug traffic, the large-scale migration from Mexico, as well as fears of Americanization and Mexicanization, respectively. Pastor addresses the question of whether Mexican immigrants in the megastates of California and Texas will assimilate, or try to ``keep one foot in both countries'' until their numbers are large enough to make separatist demands a la Quebec. Castaneda analyzes anti-Americanism south of the border, arguing convincingly that its power is seriously underestimated in the U.S. Both authors of this significant survey are guardedly optimistic about the fundamental question: whether cooperation is possible between the two countries. Above all, the book brings into sharp focus the fact that Mexico probably has a great capacity to affect the United States than any other country. (Nov.)