Mexico

Political and Economic Changes

Presentation Outline

IV. Political and Economic Changesa) Mexican Politics under PRI ruleb) Political reformsc) Mexican economy under PRI ruled) Economic reforms

IV.a) Mexican Politics under PRI rule

• PRI ruled in a “perfect” dictatorship from 1934-2000

• Although elections took place for the Chamber of Deputies every 3 years and for the Senate and President every 6 years, the PRI dominated both legislative houses and held the presidency until 2000

How was PRI able to stay in power for so long?

• Manipulation of elections• Control of the media• Legitimacy as the main party after Mexico’s

Revolution• Patron-client system• Moderate economic success• Corporatist interest group system• Popularity and land reforms

Larenzo Carednas (1934-1940)

• Mexico’s first PRI president was and still is regarded as its most popular

• Cardenas nationalized the banks, transportation networks, and Mexico’s oil industry

• He also instituted major educational reform and land redistribution

Cardenas posing with loyal supporters in Mexico’s impoverished South.

Land was redistributed to poor peasants throughout Mexico. This was a popular political move. Most of the land redistribution took place while Cardenas was in power (1934-40). Once he left office, the land redistribution efforts declined.

Lack of Significant Electoral Competition:

Notice the massive electoral victories for PRI in the 1979 (above) and 1985 (below) elections to the Chamber of Deputies. PRI had majorities until the mid 1990s

It was not uncommon for PRI presidential candidates to win by ridiculous margins before the mid 1980s.

IV. b) Political reforms

A series of events during the early to mid 1980s created pressure for both economic and political reforms

• debt crisis• 1985 earthquake• mounting protests• international pressure

Debt Crisis

• Mexico’s economy was in severe debt by 1983

• Mexico needed loans from the IMF and the USA

• The US and IMF agreed provided Mexico make some democratic political reforms

The 1985 Mexico City earthquake• Mexico was already in

trouble with its huge debt• However, PRI’s mishandling

of the 1985 earthquake hurt its reputation with the Mexican people

• President de la Madrid downplayed the number of deaths and PRI was blamed for not doing enough to help earthquake victims

Major Political Reforms

• Creation of the Instituto Federal Electoral• 1993 Electoral Reforms

Instituto Federal Electoral (IFE)

• Under pressure new PRI president Carlos Salinas established the Instituto Federal Electoral (IFE) in 1990 which was an independent agency that would supervise and monitor elections to reduce corruption and encourage electoral competition

1993 Electoral Reforms

• President Salinas also signed into law three major reforms• Doubled the Size of the Senate• Guarantee that opposition parties would control at least

one-third of the Senate seats• Guarantee that no political party could have more than

300 out of 500 seats in the Chamber of Deputies

* Without a supermajority (2/3 of the seats) no political party can push through its agenda without the support of opposition parties.

Results of reforms

• By the mid 1990s the opposition parties were winning some state gubernatorial races (PAN in the North, and PRD in the urban South)

• Both opposition parties were also gaining seats in the Chamber of Deputies and Senate

• In 2000 PAN presidential candidate Vicente Fox won the election ending 70 years of PRI rule

The 1994 Election to the Chamber of Deputies had been the most competitive election to that point. Even though the PRI still held the majority of the seats, both the PAN and PRD made significant electoral gains.

Vicente Fox’ watershed victory• Fox’ victory is

considered a turning point in Mexican history and politics

• Fox was committed to democratization and economic reforms but was unable to accomplish much due to divided government

Will democratization continue?

• PRI is now back in power

• It holds the presidency and is the largest party in both legislative houses

• Will PRI go back to its old authoritarian ways?

Mexicans may be disappointed in the results of democracy but it does not appear that they believe that PRI is the answer to Mexico’s problems.

IV. c) Mexican economy under PRI rule

• Until the economic crisis of the 1980s PRI used the import substitution model

• It was not really involved in the global trading system but had managed to obtain moderate economic growth through the 1960s and 1970s

As long as there was moderate growth most Mexicans were content with PRI.

IV. d) Economic reforms• Mounting debt and runaway inflation gave

PRI President de la Madrid little choice but to liberalize Mexico’s economy in exchange for US and IMF loans

Economic Liberalization

• Widespread privatization of nearly all Mexican industries except for the state owned oil company PEMEX

• Encouragement of foreign direct investment• Signing of the North American Freed Trade

Agreement

President Salinas signing the NAFTA agreement with Canada and the USA in 1992

Huge growth in Mexican exports but also US imports to Mexico since NAFTA

The state owned oil giant PEMEX has not been privatized. Some Mexicans fear that if t were privatized that it would be purchased by a US company since most Mexican oil exports go to the USA.

Mexicans have mixed feeling about the success of economic liberalization.