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Mexico A Developing, Democratic Country that’s actually somewhat Developed and Unstable.

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Presentation on theme: "Mexico A Developing, Democratic Country that’s actually somewhat Developed and Unstable."— Presentation transcript:

1 Mexico A Developing, Democratic Country that’s actually somewhat Developed and Unstable

2 Brief History in 3 Segments
Colonialism (1519 – 1821) Independence until the Revolution of 1910 ( ) 20th Century (1911 – Present)

3 Colonialism Cultural Heterogeneity
Began as Amerindians controlled by the Aztecs from Tenochtitlan Spanish conquistadors (Hernan Cortes) bring it under Spanish control Population is now 60% Mestizo, with more Amerindians living in the south

4 Colonialism Catholicism Economic Dependency
Spanish missions became population centers Economic Dependency Colony depended on Spain for all resources Spanish mostly ignored (never explored) Mexico’s vast natural resources

5 Independence ( ) Miguel Hidalgo led a popular rebellion against Spanish rule in 1810 Formal recognition of independence from Spain comes in 1821 Characteristics of the new country Instability – absence of Spanish hierarchy Rise of military – high ranking generals often served simultaneously as president Domination by the U.S. – instability of its southern neighbor leads U.S. to challenge Mexican land claims Liberal vs. Conservative Struggle – ideals of popular democracy clash with colonial style authoritarianism

6 Miguel Hidalgo “Father of the Mexican Nation”

7 Independence (1810 -1911) The Porfiriato (1876 – 1911)
Porfirio Diaz stages a military coup in 1876 and becomes president promising one term in office Characteristics Stability Authoritarianism – no power sharing beyond small group of elites Foreign investment, economic growth – primarily from the U.S. Growing gap between rich and poor

8 Porfirio Diaz President of Mexico,

9 20th Century 1910 Revolution Reformers seek an end to Diaz’s rule, Diaz blocks any creation of a presidential election Support grew for General Francisco Madero, Diaz is forced to abdicate in 1911 Characteristics from 1910 to 1934 Chaos Warlordism Popular uprisings

10 20th Century Influences of the Era Patron-Client System
Caudillos challenge each other for power Emiliano Zapata, Pancho Villa lead peasant armies in separate rebellions Many assassinations between caudillo followers Constitution of 1917 Established democratic elections, 3 branches, did not end violence or assassinations

11 20th Century Influences of the Era Conflict with the Catholic Church
Christeros Rebellion – liberals believe church is an instrument of authoritarian conservatives, restrict church activities, priests fight back Establishment of the PRI Caudillos all came together under 1 political party Pass power between each other in single 6 year terms (sexenio) Other leaders get major positions in government

12 20th Century The Cardenas Presidency (1934-1940)
Redistribution of land – ejidos given to peasants Nationalization of industry – foreign business owners were kicked out and taken under government control Protected domestic industry through import substitution industrialization (ISI) – high tariffs Investment in public works – roads, electricity, other public services Encouragement of peasant and union organization Concentration of presidential power, peaceful transfer to the next caudillo

13 Lazaro Cardenas President of Mexico

14 20th Century Pendulum Theory – after Cardenas, President Aleman returned to a market driven economy, and the next president returned to Cardenas-style policies, and so on… Pendulum ends in 1970s with the rise of technicos – educated business oriented leaders who favored the free market 1980s characterized by neoliberalism – free market, balanced government budget, privatization of industry, limited government Results in “Mexican Miracle” – spectacular GNP growth through the early 1980s Conflict develops between politicos (old elite of the PRI) and the technicos

15 Cleavages in Mexico Urban vs. Rural – Mexico is 75% urban
Urban voters are less likely to support PRI Social Class – Gini coefficient of .50 Poorest 10% has 1.6% of the money Richest 10% has 35.6% Middle to upper income earners likely support PAN Mestizo vs. Amerindian – 30% see themselves as Amerindian Amerindians are more likely to live in impoverished rural areas

16 Cleavages in Mexico North vs. South North is dry and mountainous
Trade with U.S. has enriched the north (NAFTA) North is more likely to support PAN South has not benefited from NAFTA Zapatista movement based in the south

17 Political Participation in Mexico
Patron-Clientelism Rooted in loyalty to caudillos in 19th century Diminishing due to modernization, urbanization, but still prevalent Accusations by PRD’s Obrador that PAN’s Calderon won through vote-rigging Protests Government usually responds with co-optation; bringing protesters into the political process ex. Tlatelolco Plaza masacre led to student protesters working in the next presidential administration

18 Political Participation in Mexico
Voting PRI controlled elections at all levels until reforms in the 1990’s Election day parties with free food, entertainment for PRI voters, rife with corruption Today around 60-65% of Mexicans vote in presidential elections Voter behavior is often determined by Region – North supports PAN, South supports PRD Education Level – Higher educated voters more likely to vote PAN or PRD than PRI Income – Higher income voters more likely to vote PAN

19 Political Participation in Mexico
Civil Society PRI practiced state corporatism – state mediated among groups to prevent challenges to the government Created 3 interest groups; labor, peasants, and middle class with each controlled by the PRI PAN formed around discontented business owners who were not connected to the system (1939) State corporatism, neocorporatism, and pluralism all could possibly emerge now with the fall of the PRI and rise of competitive elections

20 Political Institutions
Regime is transitioning from authoritarianism and control to liberal democracy and capitalism Economically mixed picture PPP adjusted income - $10,700 per year Massive inequality Economic dependency on neighbors Developed? Developing? MIC?

21 Political Institutions
Transition to Democracy Last 2 elections (2000 and 2006) saw considerable progress in political accountability political competition political freedom political equality Not enough history to demonstrate a consistent trend of democratic practices

22 Political Parties PRI – Partido Revolucionario Institucional
In power continuously from 1920 to 2000 Formed out of elites who wished to compromise rather than perpetuate violence Coroporatist structure – groups were carefully selected to come under the party umbrella and wield influence Patron-Clientelism – support comes from rural areas where PRI can do favors

23 Political Parties PAN – National Action Party
PRI’s opposition to the right Platform Regional autonomy Less government in the economy Clean and fair elections Good rapport with the Catholic Church Support for private and religious education Won presidency in 2000 and 2006, currently has most seats in legislature

24 Political Parties PRD – Democratic Revolutionary Party
PRI’s opposition to the left Has been poorly organized, lacks a clear defining alternative to pro-market PAN Led by Obrador, finished just behind PAN’s Calderon for president in 2006

25 Elections Direct elections for president, Chamber of Deputies, senators, and most state and local officials Most competitive in urban areas, though competition is growing in rural Pressure for elections to be fair started in 1988 Population was becoming more urban, educated Mexico sought world trade agreements, led to international pressure Most recent election changed power balance as PRI lost heavily in both legislative chambers, PRD gained substantially, PAN gained a little bit

26 Elections Presidential Senate Chamber of Deputies
“First past the post” Senate Each of 31 states elects 3 senators 2 chosen through direct election 1 given to party with the 2nd highest number of votes 32 more senators chosen through proportional representation Chamber of Deputies 300 seats determined by plurality SMD vote 200 determined by proportional representation

27 Interest Groups Through cooptation, Mexican private organizations have always been well linked into the government Leads to slow development of civil society Elements of state corporatism led business elites to get rich through connections, but were not incorporated into the PRI Labor was accommodated after unionizing, made strong gains from PAN leans more toward neocorporatism than PRI

28 Media No criticism under PRI rule
Government subsidized sympathetic media outlets Most media revenue came from PRI ads PAN rule has allowed open media access, domestic and international new agencies “Toallagate” – scandal about overpriced towels purchased for Pres. Fox’s mansion “Comes y te vas” – “eat and go” instructions given to Castro during a U.N. gathering became a controversy

29 Government Institutions
Mexico is a Federal Republic – considerable power at the national and state levels Historical distribution Presidency dominated the power structure Legislature and judiciary acted as “rubber stamp” for executive decisions Constitution of 1917 is modeled on the U.S., with checks and balances, 3 branches, federalism Tended towards authoritarianism through 20th century, despite the constitution Modern description would be “strong presidential system”

30 Executive President elected every 6 years, can serve one sexenio (6 year term) Under the PRI, incumbent would select the successor, appoint all powerful bureaucratic officials, name candidates for governor and Senate President was effectively the manager of a massive patron-client system PAN’s Fox was the first to try and govern without the patron-client PRI system behind him People in Mexico still view the president as all powerful, and responsible for all failures of government Fox lacked support of the legislature, was still blamed for failing to enact programs

31 Bureaucracy 1.5 million employees of the federal government
Paid very little, but even low to mid level bureaucrats have considerable power PRI officials would use position to boost their incomes through corrupt practices… most expect it to occur today as well Para-Statal entities – autonomous governmental agencies PEMEX – state owned oil company Fox pushed for privatization of entities like PEMEX but failed

32 Legislature Bicameral Congress Chamber of Deputies – 500 members
Senate – 128 members Functionally similar to U.S. Congress constitutionally, but was controlled by the president until the 1980’s PRI’s legislative grip was lost by 1988 due to growing strength of opposition and proportional representation reforms Lacked a majority for the first time in 1997 Since 2006, PAN and PRD hold larger numbers of seats than PRI Parties are required by law to sponsor 30% women candidates Challenges the president, but has not fully developed into a true president “check”

33 Judiciary Follows code law, not common law
Common law – based on tradition, past legal precedents, courts may interpret statutes Code law – comprehensive system of written rules for criminal, commercial, and civil codes Judiciary does not have power of judicial review Supreme Court has the power constitutionally, but never exercises it on important issues Judiciary is not independent Judges are “appointed for life”, but in tradition, all judges resign at the start of a president’s sexenio so he can place his loyalists on the bench Zedillo administration ( ) tried to strengthen judiciary by obeying court judgments Strong judiciary is difficult due to perception that judges are corrupt

34 Military Generals dominated politics through the 19th and early 20th century All presidents were generals through 1940s Creation and centralization of power into the PRI brought the military under control Presidents Calles and Cardenas rotated generals’ regional commands, effectively depoliticizing the military Often provided generals with business opportunities and other economic benefits to keep them out of politics Military is now feared to be accepting deals with drug cartels, similar to the arrangement they used to have with the government General Jesus Gutierrez Rebollo, head of anti-drug force, arrested in 1997 for protecting a drug lord

35 Current Issues in Mexico
The Economy Problems Large gap between rich and poor Rapid, unplanned urbanization Heavy borrowing against high oil prices through the 1970’s… plummeting price in 1982 caused massive foreign debt (70% of GNP) Reforms – Begun by president Miguel de la Madrid and the technicos Sharp cuts in government spending Debt reduction Privatization, tax cutting to invite U.S. businesses into Mexico Oportunidades – government anti-poverty program that gives free benefits and jobs to those without formal jobs

36 Current Issues in Mexico
Foreign Policy Historically bilateral – all focused on the U.S. Increasingly, Mexico asserts itself at the UN and WTO, among other international forums Drug Trafficking Campaign by Fox and Calderon to root out corruption has led to massive increase in violence Regularly involves brutal murders of police Cartels are competing to control distribution into the U.S.

37 Current Issues in Mexico
Foreign Policy Immigration Policy Mexico supports amnesty for illegal immigrants, guest worker program Initially supported by Bush, but 9/11 changed American border priorities Calderon has denounced the building of the border fence, comparing it to the Berlin Wall Maquiladora and NAFTA Zones in Mexico without customs duties created to bring manufacturing business Lack of environmental and employment regulations in Mexico have led to criticism Mexico is also a GATT/WTO member

38 Current Issues in Mexico
Ethnic Rebellions Zapatistas – EZLN protested NAFTA by capturing four towns, wearing black ski masks Saw NAFTA as exploitation of Amerindians to benefit PRI bosses Movement is growing in the South, very hostile to the rich, the government, and mestizos

39 Current Issues in Mexico
Democracy Can competition be sustained without PRI establishment? CFE – Federal Election Commission Placed restrictions on campaign finance Reduced PRI control of media Bring in international watchers to ensure fair elections Allow election monitoring by opposition party

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