United Mexican States (Estados Unidos Mexicanos)

Chapter 5

Territory = 1,964,375 sq km

Population = 118,818,228

Ethnic Groups = mestizo (Amerindian-Spanish) 60%; Amerindian30%; White 9%

Language = Spanish only 92%

Religion = Roman Catholic 82%; Pentecostal 1.6%; Jehovah’s Witness 1.4%

Independence = September 16, 1810Constitution = February 5, 1917Chief of State = President Enrique Pena NietoChief of Government = NietoBicameral Legislature- National Congress consisting of Senate and Chamber of DeputiesJudiciary = Supreme Court of JusticeFederal form of government (31 states)

GNP per capita = $13,800

GNP Growth Rate = 5%

Out migration = 3.24 people per 1,000 per year

Currency = 12 peso = US$1

Capital City = Mexico City

President = Enrique Pena Nieto

Making of the Modern Mexican State

Independence and Instability (1810-1876)

- Spanish rule for 3 centuries - 1810 Miguel Hidalgo began war for Independence (1821 Spain recognized) - 1833-1855 = 36 Presidential regimes

during this time Mexico lost half her territory legacy of resentment towards the U.S. = 1848 Treaty

- Constitution of 1857 = democratic gov., bill of rights, and limits on power of church - 1864-1867 = French rule under Emperor Maximilian - 1867 Benito Juarez executed Maximilian

The Porfiriato (1867-1911)

- 1876 Porfirio Diaz took office - Est. dictatorship known as Porfiriato

- centralized authoritarian government - cientificos

Revolution and the Sonoran Dynasty- 1910 Revolution- 1911 Francisco Madero elected President- 1913 Madero assassinated during a coup d’etat

Emilio Zapata Pancho Villa

Mexican Constitution of 1917

Established formal political institutions

Agrarian reform

Social security

Right to organize unions

Minimum wage

8 hour work day

Profit sharing

Universal education

Adult male suffrage

Sonoran Dynasty

Revolutionary leaders from the North

Capitalist model of economic reform

jefe maximo = Plutarco Elias Calles

Anticlericalism (Cristiada)

Established the Institutional RevolutionaryParty (PRI)

7 decades of uninterrupted rule and nonviolentConflict resolution

Results of the Revolution

1. Rural landowners lost power- est. of ejidos and ejidatarios

2. Catholic Church lost influence3. Foreign investment curtailed4. Emergence of political elite5. New Constitution and new party est. strong

central gov’t.

Institutional Revolutionary Party

Pendelum Effect

PRI became the only party that mattered

Left of the PRI Right of the PRI

Presidents can only serveOne term!

Power swings b/w factionsThrough choice of Pres.

Manuel Avila Camacho 1940Miguel Aleman 1946Adolfo Ruiz Cortines 1952

Right

Adolfo Lopez Mateos 1958Gustavo Diaz Ordaz 1964Luis Echeverria 1970

Left

Miguel de la Madrid 1982Carolos Salinas de Gortari 1988Ernesto Zedillo 1994

tecnicos

First social security system,Rapid industrialization, “trickle-down” economics

Limit cost of food and Housing, repress dissent,Economic problems

“moral renovation”, Democratic reform, andShift to market economy

- Limits on government role in the economy- 1993 NAFTA

Implications of Mexican Modernization

Corporatist State - interest groups as institutionalized part of the state, not independent source of advocacy - not true democracy - increased state power in relation to civil society - state defined goals for development

• PRI established political stability - Mexican model of government = alliance b/w dominant party and development-oriented state• Transforming from corporatist state to

democratic one• Upper-middle-income developing country

Current Economics of Mexico

GDP: - Industry = 32.9% - Service Sector = 62.8% - Agriculture = 4%

Mexico oil rich- government owned petroleum industry

State and EconomyState Capitalism- gov. action to encourage private investment and reduce risks for entrepreneurs

1. Import substitution Industrialization (ISI) 1940-1982 - domestic manufacturing of previously imported goods to meet market demand

- agrarian reform – develop private agriculture as foundation of industrial greatness a. Food for cities, raw materials for industry b. Transportation networks, irrigation projects, agriculture storage facilities c. Most assistance to large landowners d. invested in research e. Imports of technology

Large, commercially oriented farmers emerged to dominate ag. economy

GreenRevolution

2. Rise of domestic entrepreneurs in Mexico - protected by high tariffs and special licensing requirements = limits imports - subsidized credit to invest in equipment and plants - rarely paid taxes

Powerful players in politics

3. Labor Unions - widespread unionization - dependent on gov for benefits and protection - limited right to strike - membership + job security, housing benefits, and health care = compensation for lack of dem.

Confederation of Mexican WorkersPeasant organizations

Main cogs in PRI corporatist machine

Additional organizations: railroads, electrical, telecommunications, journalist, photographers - quasi-official organization - solidified PRI support

a. Provided tangible benefits b. “causal arrow” running “downward” from state to society c. Base for PRI to recruit grassroots leaders

4. Those left behind a. peasant farmers - farming in ejido communities was difficult

b. Urban poor - growth of informal sector c. Income disparities among urban and rural poor - rural guerilla movements and student protest

Limits on domesticmarkets

No longer able to meetDomestic demand forBasic food = imports

Sowing the Oil and Reaping a Crisis (1970s)

- Gov increased investment in infrastructure and public industries, regulated foreignInvestment, and increased social spending - spent more than they were bringing in

- 1978-1982 Mexico became major oil exporter a. President Portillo policy to “sow the oil” into economy b. 4/5 of economy from oil

Oil prices up Economy up

Global economy

Budget Deficits and Debt- PRI borrowed very little pre-1970: Total debt of $6 billion- 1976 = $26 Billion- 1982 = $80 Billion- 1987 = $107 Billion

Became one of the most indebted countries in the world = 16% of GNP in 1970 70% in 1987

The Crisis - economic strategy based on continued high oil prices - 1979-1981 oil revenue from $3.9 B to $14.5B; 75% of exports and 45% of revenue

- 1981 oil prices dropped and by 1982 on brink of collapse - inflation topped out at 159% in 1987; exchange rate 1,460 peso to $1US

Structural Reforms and NAFTA

• Free market policies put in place• Deregulation • Devolution in the federal system• NAFTA- What it means for Mexico?

Governance and Policy-Making

Congress Executive Judiciary

SenateChamber of Deputies

President and Cabinet

Supreme Court

The Executive 1. The Principle of Non-reelection (all levels of government) - What it means for the President? a. New President working with inexperienced Congress and state level officeholders b. Appoints all key bureaucratic and judicial positions = whole new team with new policy directions c. “Mexico avoids a dictatorship by retiring their dictators every 6 years”

2. Formal powers- initiate legislation, issue decrees, transfer funds, authorize expenditures3. Real source of power in informal powers a. Patronage is key; PRI created broad support; all active in PRI: all with experience4. Changes a. 1999 Pres. Zedillo did not choose his successor b. PRI began using primaries to select candidate5. PAN (National Action Party) to Executive with Vicente Fox a. Fox’s big problem in government

The LegislatureChamber of Deputies - Lower House

500 Seats - 317 men; 183 women - 300 majority deputies are elected by plurality - 200 “party deputies” appointed through rules of proportional representation - 1 deputy for every 200,000 people - renewed every 3 years (Mid-term elections)

PRI = 49 + 164 = 213 seatsPAN = 62 + 52 = 114PRD = 42 + 58 = 100PVEM = 15 + 13 = 28PT = 10 + 5 = 15PNA = 10 + 0 = 10CM = 12 + 8 = 20

Senate of Mexico - Upper House

128 Seats; 86 men; 42 women - 2 seats for each of 31 states and Federal District - 1 seat for 31 states and FD to 2nd place party - 32 at large based on share of national vote - renewed every 6 years

JudiciaryWeakest branch of government

Federal Court System:

Supreme Court - Nominated by Pres; approved by Senate

- Circuit Courts - cases on appeal

- District Courts

State Court System - subordinate to Fed Courts

Partido del TrabajoNew Alliance Party

Partido VerdeEcologista Mexicana

ElectionsPRI VOTER = rural area; small town, low education level, older and poorer than those voting for other parties

PAN VOTER = Northern state, urban, middle-class professional, high school or college education

PRD VOTER = young, political activist, elementary/high school education, central states, small town or urban

PRI will need to increase support in urban areas and among young voters to stay competitive

Presidential elections are “first past the post”Pressure for elections to be fair

Other State Institutions1. The Bureaucracy a. 1.5 million working in fed. Bureaucracy b. low level officials are unionized and protected by legislation = job security and benefits c. “confidence employees”- middle and upper level; serve as long as boss has confidence in them 1. appointed by superiors at start of new administration; modest salary, but lots of power

2. The Parastatal Sector a. semiautonomous and autonomous agencies producing goods and services b. 1982 = 1,155 parastatal organizations; 1994 = 215

3. The Military a. Generally operates outside politics b. heavily involved in combating drug trafficking c. transfer from PRI to PAN sign of military subordination to civilian control

4. Subnational Government (State and Local) a. Mexican Federal System = each state has a constitution, executive, unicameral legislature, and judiciary b. little money and lack of experience c. 1988 = all state governors PRI; 2011 = 11 states and Federal District non-PRI

Policy-Making1. President and Bureaucracy are focal point of policy and management2. Since 1997, Congress become more actively involved a. Presidents skills of negotiation, managing the opposition, using the media, and the bureaucracy are now key 3. Limits on presidential power = policy implementation a. Low level officials disagree or make deals or lack the skill to implement policy

Political Culture, Citizenship,And Identity

1. Role of media and public opinion more important now than ever a. several major tv networks; access to CNN b. expanding # of newspapers and circulation c. new magazines d. wider range of opinions today

Interests, Social Movements,And Protest

1. Accommodation a. group (interest group) expresses concern for policy or program and gov. accommodates (State Capitalism) b. PRI loss of power c. emergence of indigenous groups

Mexican Politics in Transition1. Ongoing process of change in Mexico towards democracy a. moving from authoritarianism and control to liberal democracy and capitalism2. Concerns about division of power between parties and branches of gov

3. Sept. 1 “Day of the President”

4. Vicente Fox brought transparency to Mexican government a. Appointed human rights activists to cabinet b. ordered secret police and military files be opened to public c. gov ministries ordered to supply more info about activities and services available to citizens d. UN opened human rights office

Current IssuesThe Economy:

1. Large gap b/w rich and poor 2. rapid, unplanned urbanization 3. borrowing against high oil prices of the 1970s led to massive foreign debt

Reforms: 1. sharp cuts in government spending 2. debt reduction 3. Opportunidades- anti-poverty program that gives free benefits and jobs to those without formal jobs

2. Foreign Policy a. Historically bilateral b. Continues to assert itself at UN and WTO c. Drug Trafficking 1. Campaign to root out corruption has led to increase in violence 2. brutal murders of police 3. cartels competing to control distribution to the US

d. Immigration Policy 1. supports amnesty and guest worker program 2. denounce border fence3. Ethnic Rebellions a. Zapatistas- protested NAFTA by capturing four towns 1. see NAFTA as exploitation of Amerindians to benefit PRI 2. growing movement in the South