1. MEXICO Part 2

2. “The Porfiriato” (1876-1911)  Military coup staged by Porfirio Diaz in 1876  promised to serve a single term, instead ruled for 34 years  installed the cientificos  influences:  stability  authoritarianism  foreign investment and economic growth  growing gap between rich and poor  competition among elites ended Diaz’s regime with a coup from within  Revolution of 1910

3. the chaotic early 20 th century  Revolution of 1911 set off a period of warlordism and popular uprisings that lasted until 1934  influences:  patron-clientelism  Constitution of 1917  conflict with the Catholic Church – the Cristero Rebellion  establishment of PRI (Institutional Revolutionary Party) : stabilized conflict

4. The Cardenas Upheaval 1934-1940  Lazaro Cardenas: ‘the Roosevelt of Mexico’  stabliized and radicalized Mexican politics  many changes: –redistribution of land - ejidos –nationalization of industry –investments in public works –encouragement of peasant and union organizations –concentration of power in the presidency  import substitution industrialization  state corporatism

5. The emergence of the technicos and the pendulum theory  President Miguel Aleman rejected many of Cardenas’ socialist reforms  promoted economic liberalization  next president shifted emphasis back  1970s: pendulum stopped, technicos took control of the government and PRI : moderate, free-market approach  1980s: neoliberalism: free markets, balanced budgets, privatization, free trade, limited government intervention in the economy  the ‘Mexican miracle’: huge GNP growth based on oil, followed by oil bust  conflict between politicos and tecnicos

6. citizens, society, and the state  camarillas (patron-client networks) are interwoven into the fabric of Mexican politics –Clientelism gives the government the upper hand  role of the citizen is changing as political parties become more competitive  cleavages: – social class – urban vs. rural – mestizo vs. Amerindian – north vs. south  often cross-cutting, but recently have coincided: urban, middle-class, northern mestizos vs. rural, poor, southern Amerindians

7. political participation  until recently, citizens lived under authoritarian rule by political elite  participation characterized by revolution and protest   now, increasing participation through legitimate, regular elections  patron-clientelism remains an important factor in political participation, but modernization tends to break this up –‘networks’ get blurred in large population centers – more formal forms of participation are instituted

8. protests  co-optation: government responds to citizen demands by – accomodating their demands and – including protesters in the political process  major protests: – Zapatista uprising – Oaxaca pprotest

9. voting  before 1990, PRI controlled elections on local, state and national levels – high voting rates required by patron- client system – rampant corruption, challengers easily defeated  as competing parties began to pull support from PRI, influences on voting patterns can be seen: – region – education – income

10. civil society  long-standing, lively civil society, acceptance of public protest  PRI practiced state corporatism divided interest groups into 3 sectors: – labor, peasants, middle class – each dominated by PRI-controlled groups  civil society led to the downfall of PRI and formation of PAN in 1939 – disaffection of businessmen not incorporated into the government system – led to 2000 election of Vincente Fox – PRI’s state corporatism broken up

11. Political institutions  regime type: traditionally, state corporatist – central, authoritarian rule that allows input from interest groups outside of government – transitioning toward economic and political liberalization – in the middle ‘development’ stage

12. political parties  for most of 20 th century, Mexico was virtually a one-party state  today, 3 parties, and competitive elections are a reality  (1) PRI: continuous power 1920-2000 – coalition of elites – corporatist structure – patron-client system – lost presidency in 2000 but gained majority in lower legislative house in 2009

13.  political parties, cont.  (2) PAN: founded as an opposition party in 1939 – created to represent business not included in PRI – opposed centralizaiton and anti-clericism – strongest support in North  regional autonomy  less government intervention in economy  fair elections  rapport with Catholic Church  support for private and religious education

14.  political parties, cont.   (3) PRD ; PRI’s oppositon on the left – won 139:500 seats in lower house in 1988, floowed by gains in 2006 and losses in 209 – struggled to define a left-of-center alternative to PRI’s market-oriented policies – poorly organized – current leader: Obrrador, Mayor of Mexico City