In the past 30 years, Mexico has seen periods of economic prosperity interrupted by crippling economic crises accompanied by a sudden and drastic currency devaluation. The peso, the nation's currency, saw its value slashed by half in  1976, 1982 and most recently in 1994.

In January of 1994, Mexico, Canada and the United States entered the North American Free Trade Agreement, reducing trade barriers and sparking international confidence in Mexico's future economic and social development. But concurrent with the signing of NAFTA was a series of  shocking events that would result in a complete change of attitude and confidence, economic breakdown, and even the voluntary exile of former President Carlos Salinas.

There was an Indian uprising in the southern state of  Chiapas, the assassination of the ruling Institutional Revolutionary Party's (PRI) presidential candidate, Luis Donaldo Colosio, and the murder of PRI Secretary General Francisco Ruiz Massieu.
Massive amounts of capital fled  the country, leading at year-end to an unsustainable current account deficit and  the depletion of the nation's foreign currency reserves.

Substitute PRI candidate Ernesto Zedillo was named, elected and installed as president as the financial crisis worsened. The new administration, in office only a few weeks, watched foreign currency reserves disappear and botched an effort to prop up the currency, leading to panic and a run on the peso, which was finally devalued by  about 50 percent in December of 1994.

Both the Mexican economy and the people's morale were devastated, interest rates and inflation soared, millions lost their jobs, bank loans went unpaid and the banks had to be rescued by the government, creating economic problems which remain unresolved to this day.