%0 Journal Article
%T The miracle (and mirage) of Mexican flight: Aviation development in Mexico, during and after the Second World War
%A Peter Soland
%J The Journal of Transport History
%@ 1759-3999
%D 2019
%R 10.1177/0022526618823931
%X This paper explores the development of Mexican commercial aviation (and more specifically the trajectory of Compaˋ赤a Mexicana de Aviaci車n) against the background of Mexico＊s Second World War alliance with the USA and its post-war economic expansion. USA foreign aid allowed Mexican president Manuel 芍vila Camacho (1940每46) to further develop the country＊s aviation network and personnel. The Second World War＊s disruption of tourism allowed Mexico to reap the benefits of a rapidly growing vacation industry. The election of Miguel Al谷man in 1946 reinforced commercial aviation and tourism as crucial, co-dependent elements in modernising the country and making Compaˋ赤a Mexicana de Aviaci車n a symbol of national progress. Although the Second World War emerges as a crucial point in the development of Mexican aviation, the same processes that buoyed commercial airlines also reinforced cultural stereotypes that were exploited for USA tourists and masked reckless financial decisions that nearly bankrupted Compaˋ赤a Mexicana de Aviaci車n＊s in late 1950s
%K Aeronautics
%K aviation
%K Compaˋ赤a Mexicana de Aviaci車n
%K Mexico
%K technology and culture
%U https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/0022526618823931