Mexico Linkage Institutions
By: Sheel BhalaniThomas DardenRobby Pyles
Comparative Party Systems
Type of system: Multi-Party SystemRelationship to Legislature: 3 parties well
represented in the LegislatureRelationship to the Executive: Unclear, but most
likely competitive relationship with ExecutiveTypes of Parties: Parties on left and right
PRI Officially: “Partido Revolucionario institucional”
1920-2000: Ruled Continuously, so it has dominated for much of the last century
Party Platform: Anti-Clericism (Keeping the church out of politics) Centralization: Consolidating power to a central government body Representing peasant and labor organizations
Characterized by:
Corporatist Structure (which brought competing elites into the cabinet)
Patron Client System
Appeal to rural people, residents of southern Mexico
Ejected Cuauhtemoc Cardenas, son of Mexico’s famous and revered president, Lazaro Cardenas, for demanding reform that emphasized social justice and populism, causing him to switch parties to PRD
PAN Officially: “National Action Party”
Founded in 1939
Platform: Regional Autonomy Less government intervention in the economy clean and fair elections Good rapport with the catholic church support for private and religious education
Goal is to represent business interests, support regional autonomy
Voters are mainly northerners, middle class or professional, who are better educated
Misc.: Considered right-sided, opposes PRI, and President Filipe Calderon was a party member
PRD Officially: Democratic Revolutionary Party
Party Platform: Social Welfare Greater state control of economy Renegotiation of parts of NAFTA with the US and Canada
Considered to the left of the PRI
First was supported in the 1980s
They have had trouble defining their left of center alternative to the PRI’s market-oriented policies
Reforms emphasize social justice and populism
Leaders have been divided on issues and publically quarrel
Election Overview/Electoral
System Citizens of Mexico directly elect:
The President (through first past the post) State and Local officials Chamber of Deputy Representatives (Lower House): 300 seats
determined by plurality within single-member districts, and 200 seats chosen by proportional representation.
Senators (Upper House): Each of Mexico’s 31 states elects three senators (two decided by majority vote, one by whichever party receives the second highest vote). Also, 32 senate seats are determined nationally through a system of proportional representation
Both the Chamber and Senators are elected through a dual system of “first past the post” and proportional representation, and proportional representation came from a major reform law in 1986.
Voter AppealPRI: Small town or rural, less educated, older,
poorerPAN: From the north, middle-class professional
or business, urban, better educated (at least high school, some college), religious (or those less strict about separation of church and state)
PRD: Younger, politically active, from the central states, some education, small town or urban; drew some middle-class and older voters in 2006
Elections of 2000
• PAN Candidate, Vicente Fox, brought into presidency
• PAN captured 208 of 500 deputies in the lower house (Chamber of Deputies)
• PRI edged them out with 209 members
• 46 of 128 senators elected were from PAN, as opposed to 60 for PRI
• Gridlock may be currently occurring because coalitions are forming on the left and right of the PRI
PAN’s Vicente Fox
Elections of 2006
• PAN candidate Felipe Calderón (the victor) and PRD candidate Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador were virtually tied for the lead, with PRI’s Roberto Madrazo trailing.
• The official vote count put Claderón ahead by about 230,000 votes, out of 41.5 million votes (about ½ a % point)
• Obrador challenged and demanded a national recount, but the election tribunal only did a recount for 9% of the precincts, and said that the result was still the same.
• Throughout the recount disputes, Obrador encouraged his supporters to protest, and claimed to be the legitimate president
• After the recount results, Obrador claimed the election was “stolen” by a broad conspiracy between business leaders and the government (something which seems possible due to Mexico’s election corruption history)
• In Legislative Branch, PRI’s power weakened in both houses, as PAN received modest gains in the Chamber of Deputies, and PRD gained many seats in both houses.
PAN’s Felipe Calderoñ
PRD’s Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador
Mid-Term (Legislative) Election of 2009
Both PAN and PRD lost a significant number of seats; PRI almost doubled the number of seats it held in the Chamber of Deputies.
PRI won five of the six state governorships in play and many important mayoralties
PRI’s rise could be attributed to a slogan “proven experience, new attitude,” and by factional splits in PRD that made Obrador’s (PRD’s leader at the time) leadership of that party controversial.
PRI’s rise indicated that Calderón (president at that time, and a PAN member) would govern for the last three years of his presidency in possible gridlock with a PRI-dominated legislature
Election of 2012PRI: Enrique Peña NietaPRD: Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador (or AMLO)PAN: Josefina Vazquez MotaThe PRI has capitalized on a growing sense among voters that neither Pan nor PRD is any less corrupt than PRI, and many think the PRI is more able to deliver on political promises. Results:
Nieta (PRI) wins 39%Obrador (PRD) wins 25%Vazquez Mota (PAN) wins 20%
PRI’s Nieta experiences victory
Pre-Election Commentary: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7VXtZ5xBmbc.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jEdfjVZdcxU.
Riots Begin as Nieto Takes Office
Results of 2012 Election
Interest GroupsThe government responds to the demands of
interest groups through co-optation and accommodation.
When there’s an open conflict, it is usually met with efforts to find a solution.
In the past 30 years, business interests networked with political leaders to protect the growth of economy (State Corporatism).
Interest Groups cont.Under State Corporatism, business elites have
become wealthy, but not incorporated into the PRI.
Power of union bosses is declining.Today, under PAN (when Calderon was
president), there is a possibility for neo-corporatism. PAN controls the presidency, but does not control the legislature, and there is no clear evidence that businesses are controlling the government
Interest Groups Cont.The most powerful interest group is Educational
Workers’ Union.Peasant organizations have been encouraged
through the edijo system (which grants land from the Mexican government to the organizations themselves) by the PRI.
Since the 1980s, peasant groups have demanded independence from the government.
Popular MovementsOrganizations are concerned with
Social welfare spendingCity servicesNeighborhood improvementsEconomic developmentFeminismProfessional identity
Media Under PRI (1929 to late 1990s)
Media could not criticize the government or influence public opinion.
The government rewarded media outlets that supported them with special favors, such as access to airwaves.
The government subsidized salaries of those who supported PRI initiatives.
Media TodayIn the 1980s, the media began to become more
independent as PRI lost its hold.Mexican citizens now have more access to more
outlets of media.Today, several magazines and newspapers
criticize government initiatives.Mexican citizens have a broader range of
political opinions than ever before.
Current Event: “Mexico Bar Shootings Leave
Nine Dead in Caohuila State
• http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-20929205.
• 1/6/2013• Heavily armed gunmen in
northern Mexico have stormed two bars, killing at least nine people.
• “Police believe they were carried out by gangs fighting for control of drug trafficking in the Coahuila state.”
• “Also, others bars were targeted in similar attacks in Torreon in the past few days.”
“The Mexican army has been at the forefront of the fight with drug cartels.”
Thank you
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