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Mexican Political Institutions

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

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Mexican Political Institutions

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  1. Mexican Political Institutions

  2. 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

  3. 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

  4. Changes in the Executive Branch • President Ernesto Zedillo (1994-2000) –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

  5. 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

  6. 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

  7. 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

  8. 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

  9. 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 (1994-2000) attempted to strengthen courts by emphasizing the rule of law, he refused to interfere with court judgments and President Fox continued this policy

  10. Military • Dominated Mexican political life into the early 20th 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

  11. 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

  12. Political Parties • Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI) • National Action Party (PAN) • Democratic Revolutionary Party (PRD)

  13. PRI • In power from 1929-2000 • Founded by coalition of elites led by President Calles • Originally, elites agreed to trade favors and pass around power between one another (Sexenio)

  14. 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

  15. 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

  16. 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

  17. 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

  18. 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.

  19. 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

  20. 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

  21. 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

  22. 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

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