Politics in Mexico

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Politics in Mexico
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Mexico

• Population
• 109 million
• 1/3 the population of US
• Spanish, Amerindian
• Roman Catholic
• land area
• 2 million km2
• 1/5 the size of US

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Colonial rule independence

• Ancient Amerindian civilizations
• 3 centuries of Spanish rule
• war of independence 1810 - 1821

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War between Mexico U.S.

• US invaded in 1847
• Mexico City was occupied
• Mexican lost most of its territory

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Revolution new constitution

• Mexican Revolution (1910 - 1920)
• overthrew 3-decade dictatorship by Diaz
• new constitution of 1917
• state control of all natural resources
• subordination of the church to the state
• governments right to redistribute land
• labor rights
• most provisions not implemented until 30s

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PRI dominance (1929-2000)

• Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI)
• established by then president in 1929
• a mechanism for
• resolving conflicts
• sub-national personalistic political machines
• co-opting newly emerging interest groups
• legitimating the regime through elections
• most stable regime in Latin America

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Democracy or not?

• 1950s and 1960s
• one-party democracy
• incomplete political development
• 1960s and 1970s
• governments massacre of student protesters
• authoritarian system
• subject to qualifications

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Democracy or not?

• part-free, part-authoritarian system
• has long defied easy classification
• selective democracy
• hard-line democracy
• or modernizing authoritarian regime
• partly competitive elections
• not necessarily fair and honest

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Turnout in national elections
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Authoritarian regime

• Governments were more committed to
• maintaining political stability
• maintaining labor discipline
• than to
• expanding democratic freedoms
• protecting human rights
• mediating class conflict
• electoral fraud and selective repression

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Pragmatic authoritarian regime

• Institutional system, not personalistic
• leadership renewal and executive succession
• inclusion and co-opt
• leaders of potential dissident groups
• new organizations for emerging interests
• repression
• student protests in 1960s and 1970s
• leftist militants in 1970s and 1980s

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Constitutional structure

• On paper, Mexican government is much like the
  U.S. government
• presidential system
• 3 branches of government
• legislative, executive, and judicial
• checks and balances
• federalism
• autonomy at the local level

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Federal system

• Federalism enshrined in 1917 constitution
• often political centralism in practice
• concentration of decision-making power
• level of govt. / share of public spending
• Federal government 80
• Federal District 31 states 16
• 2,401 counties 4

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In practice

• Until late 1990s, Mexicos system of government
  was very different from U.S.
• highly centralized decision making
• few restraints on Presidents authority
• President dominated legislature and judiciary
• PRI controlled
• both houses of the federal legislature
• most public offices (political appointees)

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PRIs political control

• Corporatist system of interest representation
• relate citizens and social sectors to the state
• state-sanctioned organizations

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PRIs political control

• PRI itself was divided into 3 sectors
• labor sector
• peasant sector
• popular sector
• other organizations were affiliated with PRI

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Decline of PRI

• From 1988 to 1991 PRIs control of the Congress
  was significantly weakened
• 260/500 seats in the Chamber of Deputies
• 60/64 seats in the Senate
• 1993 electoral reform
• expanded opposition parties presence
• in both Senate and the Chamber of Deputies
• divisions within PRI

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PRIs dilemma

• Transform from an official government party to a
  competitive political party
• older, less educated, and low-income voters

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Opposition parties

• National Action Party (PAN)
• urban middle class
• also attracted conservative peasants and urban
  working class
• large cities in Mexico
• except Mexico City
• Party of the Democratic Revolution (PRD)
• Mexico City mayor

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Mexican Chamber of Deputies Elections( seats
won)
Source Politics in Latin America, p. 348
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Mexican Presidential Elections( popular vote)
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2000 presidential election

• PAN candidate Vicente Fox won
• PRIs 71-year monopoly over presidential power in
  Mexico came to an end

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2006 presidential election

• Calderon (PAN) 36
• Obrador (PRD) 35
• Madrazo (PRI) 22
• Obrador and his supporters alleged that the
  election was rigged
• Calderon took office in December 2006