Mexican Political Mexican Political InstitutionsInstitutions

Government Institutions

►Mexico is a federal republic, though state and local governments have little independent power and few resources

►Executive branch has held majority of the power historically

►Legislative & Judicial branch have traditionally followed the executive’s lead, rubber-stamping most presidential decisions

Executive Branch

► Center of policy-making► Sexenio: non-renewable six-year term (Under PRI

similar to dictator)► President’s powers under PRI system:

Selected successor Appointed officials to all positions of power in the

government Named PRI candidates for other public offices

► Until mid-1970s Mexican presidents were above criticism and people revered them as symbols of national progress and well-being Managed huge patronage system (camarillas) Control over “rubber-stamp” Congress

Changes in the Executive Changes in the Executive BranchBranch

►President Ernesto Zedillo (1994-2000) –relinquished a number of informal powers, including naming the PRI candidate for the 2000 election

►President Fox won the presidency in a time of transition President still viewed as all powerful, but

blamed for shortcomings Harder for Fox to accomplish political

goals without strong party support in the post-PRI Congress

Bureaucracy

►About 1.5 million people employed by federal government (Most in Mexico City)

►High & middle level officials have a good deal of power

►Under PRI, corruption and bribes quite common amongst officials in the bureaucracy

►Parastatal Sector – companies owned or controlled by the state PEMEX (state-owned petroleum company) After 1980’s oil bust, reforms cut the number of

parastatals, and many are now privately owned President Fox tried unsuccessfully to privatize

PEMEX

Legislature

►Bicameral Chamber of Deputies (500 members)

►300 deputies from single-member districts (plurality)

►200 deputies chosen by proportional representation Senate (128 members)

►3 senators from each of the 31 states & the federal district (96)

►Remaining 32 selected by proportional representation

►All legislators directly elected►Until 1980s legislature remained under strict

control of the president

Women’s Role in the Women’s Role in the LegislatureLegislature

►Women in both houses has risen significantly since 1996 election law required parties to sponsor female candidates Parties must run at least 30% female

candidates for proportional representation and single-member district elections

113 of 500 deputies in Chamber are female 20 of 128 Senators are also female

Judiciary

►Mexico does not have an independent judiciary or judicial review system

►Most laws are federal, limiting the authority of state courts

►Historically has been controlled by the executive branch

Supreme Court

►On paper has judicial review, but it never overrules important government policy or actions

► Judges appointed for life, but in practice resigned at the beginning of each sexenio

►President Ernesto Zedillo (1994-2000) attempted to strengthen courts by emphasizing the rule of law, he refused to interfere with court judgments and President Fox continued this policy

Military

►Dominated Mexican political life into the early 20th century

►PRI dramatically cut back the political power of generals

►Strong ties between military officers and drug barons Military heavily involved in drug-enforcement Patron-client system of favors and loyalty has led

some military officers to accept money from drug lords in return for allegiance and security

Linkage Institutions

►Political parties, interest groups, and media all link Mexican citizens to their government

►During the PRI era all of this took place under the authority of the PRI party so a true civil society did not exist

►As democratization began and civil society began to develop, these structures were already in place, so activating democracy was easier than it would have been otherwise

Political Parties

►Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI)

►National Action Party (PAN)

►Democratic Revolutionary Party (PRD)

PRI

►In power from 1929-2000►Founded by coalition of elites led by

President Calles►Originally, elites agreed to trade favors

and pass around power between one another (Sexenio)

Structure of the PRIStructure of the PRI

►Corporatist structure – interest groups woven into the structure of the party Party has ultimate authority, but other

voices heard by bringing interest groups under the umbrella of the party

Structure was not democratic, but allowed for more input into government than other types of authoritarianism

Particularly since Cardenas, peasant and labor organizations have been represented in the party and hold positions of responsibility

Structure of the PRIStructure of the PRI

►Patron-client system – party traditionally gets its support from rural areas where patron-client system is still in control Patron-client system allowed the PRI to

remain in control of Mexicans as long as majority of population was rural-based, this began to change in the late 1980s

PAN (Right of Center)

► Founded in 1939► Represents business interests opposed to

centralization and anti-clericalism► PAN support strongest in the north► PAN generally considered PRI’s opposition on the

Right► PAN candidate Vicente Fox won 2000 presidential

election, Felipe Calderon won 2006 election► Platform:

Regional autonomy Less government intervention in the economy Clean & fair elections Good rapport with Catholic Church Support for private and religious education

PRD (Left of Center)

►PRD considered PRI’s opposition on the Left

►PRD has been plagued by poor organization, lack of charismatic leadership, and most importantly the lack of an economic alternative to the market-oriented policies of the PRI & PAN

Elections and the PRDElections and the PRD

► Presidential candidate in 1988 & 1994 was Cuahtemoc Cardenas (son of Lazaro Cardenas) He was ejected from the PRI for demanding

reform that emphasized social justice and populism

In 1988 Cardenas won 31.1% of the official vote, and PRD captured 139 seats in the Chamber of Deputies (500 total)

Many believe had it been an honest election Cardenas would have won

► Andres Lopez Obrador, former mayor of Mexico City, was the PRD candidate for president in the 2006 election. He lost by a slim margin to Calderon (PAN) and bitterly contested the election results.

Voter Profiles

►PRI – small town or rural, less educated, older, poorer

►PAN – from the north, middle-class professional or business, urban, better educated (at least high school, some college), religious (or those less strict regarding separation of church & state)

►PRD – younger, politically active, from the central states, some education, small town or urban

Election of 2000

► PAN candidate Vicente Fox won presidency (43% of the vote compared to 36% garnered for PRI candidate Francisco Labastida)

► PAN captured 208 of 500 deputies in the lower house; PRI captured 209 deputy seats

► PAN won 46 senate seats; PRI won 60 senate seats► New, competitive election system has encouraged

coalitions to form to the right & left of the PRI► Split in votes has encouraged gridlock, phenomenon

unknown to Mexico under the old PRI-controlled governments

► Election of 2006 – closely contested election, won by PAN candidate Felipe Calderon by narrow margin over PRD candidate Andres Lopez Obrador

Interest Groups & Popular Movements

►Corporatist structure allowed for accommodation of interest groups Business Interests Labor Rural/Peasant Organizations –

encouraged under PRI through the ejido system that granted land from the government to these organizations

Urban/Popular Movements

Media

►Part of the patron-client system under the PRI, with rewards and favors handed out in return for political support

►Have become more independent as PRI-political structure has been reorganized

►Many Mexicans have access to international newspapers, magazines, CNN and the BBC