CONSUMING CLASS: Multilevel Marketers in Neoliberal Mexico
Since the 1980s, Mexican leaders have followed other Latin American countries in pursuing neoliberal economic policies designed to stimulate foreign investment, reduce public spending, and promote free trade. Recent studies of indigenous movements and popular protests challenge the idea that these market-based economic reforms enjoy a broad consensus and suggest that elites impose them by force. By turning the focus to middle-class Mexicans, I argue that some nonelite sectors of society avidly welcome the reign of the free market. Although they do not profit directly from unregulated capitalism, the middle class looks to neoliberalism to ensure access to the material markers of class status. The rising popularity of multilevel marketing companies in Mexico, which glorify consumption and celebrate the possibilities of entrepreneurship, demonstrates the appeal of neoliberalism to citizens fearful of diminished purchasing power. By tying consumption to globalized free markets, neoliberalism does not need coercion to win acceptance.
Navigating changing food environments – Transnational perspectives on dietary behaviours and implications for nutrition counselling
Abstract United States (US) migrants are often characterised as experiencing unhealthy nutrition transitions. ‘Looking-back’ into dietary behaviours and the processes that affect dietary changes before migration may improve counselling interventions. We conducted a qualitative study of an indigenous Zapotecan transnational community based in Monterey, California, and Oaxaca, Mexico. Four focus groups and 29 interviews were conducted with transnational participants concerning health beliefs around and dietary differences between the US and Oaxaca. Analysis focused on nutrition-related themes. The four major themes were: (1) the paradox between participants' experience growing up with food insecurity and fond memories of a healthier diet; (2) mothers' current kitchen struggles as they contend with changes in food preferences and time demands, and the role ‘care packages’ play in alleviating these challenges; (3) positive views about home-grown versus store-bought vegetables; and (4) the role of commercial nutritional supplements and the support they provide. Counselling implications include (1) taking a detailed medical/social history to explore experiences with food insecurity and views on the role of nutrition in maintaining health and (2) exploring patients' struggles with different dietary preferences within their families. Transnational experiences may provide new insights for dietary counselling and patient-centred health communication.
The economic health of dentistry: past, present, and future.
Important changes in dentistry during the past two decades include a declining caries incidence, an increase in the number of dentists, greater competition for patients, and the spread of retail dentistry and alternative plans for financing and delivering dental services. Dire predictions about the effects of these changes often have not been based on facts. This article uses available data to examine the profession's economic prospects.