Mexican Political Institutions

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 Branch ► ► President Ernesto Zedillo ( ) – 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 Legislature ► ► 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 ( ) 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 20 th 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 ► ► 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 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 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 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