The primary bases of Mexican revolutionary nationalism include a defensive posture towards the United States, economic nationalism, the political legitimacy of the PRI stemming from its revolutionary roots, and popular pride in the nation's unique cultural heritage. Due to the transformation of Mexico's economy from one directed by the state to one guided by market principles; a shift in relations with its traditional archenemy, the United States; and its recent democratic transition, these tenets of Mexican nationalism are being fundamentally challenged. Although there is widespread agreement that nationalism in Mexico has been fundamentally transformed in recent years, there has been little consideration by scholars regarding the form and substance of Mexican nationalism in the twenty-first century. Based on the views of some of Mexico's foremost intellectuals, this dissertation will demonstrate that the contradictions posed to the traditional tenets of Mexican nationalism by political and economic liberalization do not signify nationalism's death. Rather, new sources of nationalistic pride reflecting these economic and political changes are being incorporated into the discourse of Mexican nationalism
