In the absence of comparable macroeconomic indicators for most of the Latin American economies before the 1930s, the apparent consumption of energy is used in this paper as a proxy of the degree of modernization of Latin America and the Caribbean.This paper presents an estimate of the apparent consumption per head of modern energies (coal, petroleum, and hydroelectricity) for 30 countries of the region, 1890 to 1925. As a result, it provides the basis for a quantitative comparative analysis of modernization performance beyond the few countries for which historical national accounts are available in Latin America.
RESUMENEn 1921 México producía un cuarto del petróleo mundial, siendo el segundo mayor productor en el mundo, pero para 1930 ya sólo representaba el 3 por cien de la producción. Hasta la fecha la mayor parte de la discusión se ha basado en los hechos acaecidos en México para explicar el declive de la industria petrolera, poniéndose muy poca atención en los acontecimientos de la industria petrolera en otros lugares, salvo en Venezuela. Prácticamente ningún esfuerzo se ha dedicado a entender las razones del auge, ignorando así los cambios masivos que tuvieron lugar en la industria petrolera durante la Primera Guerra Mundial y la inmediata posguerra, y sobre todo, olvidando la crisis energética que se produjo entre 1918 y 1921. Estos eventos son cruciales a la hora de comprender el primer auge de la 69 MARÍA DEL MAR RUBIO industria petrolera mexicana y sientan las bases para comprender mejor el posterior súbito declive.Palabras clave: oferta mundial de petróleo, México, I Guerra Mundial, crisis energética
ABSTRACTIn 1921 Mexico produced a quarter of the world's petroleum, making the country the second largest producer in the world, but by 1930 it only accounted for 3 per cent of production. To date, the debate surrounding this decline has relied mainly on events taking place in Mexico. Very little attention has been paid to developments elsewhere in the petroleum industry, except in Venezuela. Practically no attention has been paid to the reasons for the rise of oil output in Mexico. The massive changes which took place in the petroleum industry during the Great War years and its aftermath and especially the shortage of oil which occurred on world markets between 1918 and 1921 have been neglected. These events are crucial in order to understand the initial rise of the Mexican oil industry and help to understand the subsequent sudden decline.
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