*Mexico
Modified from Mr. Caroddo’s Education Website at
http://caroddoapclasses.com/id4.html
Geographic Influence
Natural Resources – petroleum, silver,
copper, gold, lead, zinc, natural gas, timber
 U.S.-Mexican Border – 2,000 mile long
border means relationships are inevitable
(migration, dependency, conflict)

Population

Over 112 million people live in Mexico
 60% Mestizo
 30% Amerindian (Indigenous)
 10% other (European, Asian)

Most populated Spanish-speaking country in the
world

75% of Mexico’s population lives in urban areas
(Mexico City’s population is nearly 9 million; it is
the 16th largest city in the world)

Population in the northern part of Mexico is more
prosperous than central and southern Mexico. The
farther south, the greater the poverty.
Political Culture
National Identity: Mexicans share a
strong sense of national identity, based on
history, religion and language.
 Clientelism: Mexican politics has a long
history of patron client relationships.

Historical Traditions


Authoritarianism –Mexico has long tradition of
authoritarian rule. Presidents still hold a great
deal of power.
Populism – revolutions of 19th and 20th century
had a significant peasant base; led by charismatic
leaders that called for more rights for ordinary
Mexicans, particularly indigenous citizens. The
Zapatista movement is a reflection of this
tradition
* Historical Traditions


Power Plays/Divisions within Elite – There is a
division within the elite over whether the
politicos or tecnicos should run government.
Instability and Legitimacy Issues – Mexico’s
political history is full of chaos, conflict,
bloodshed, and violent resolution to political
differences. Even though most Mexicans believe
the government is legitimate, the current regime
is unstable.
Legitimacy
◦ Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI) – helped
legitimize the revolution, served as an
important source of government legitimacy until
the late 20th century
◦ Constitution of 1917 – created a democratic,
three-branch government, but allowed the PRI
to stabilize and consolidate power. An
authoritarian one party state was created but
within a democratic framework.
Colonial Era

Cultural Heterogeneity – Spanish took control over
numerous indigenous populations dominated by the Aztecs
once they conquered Tenochtitlan
 Mestizo – ethnic mixture of two peoples (European and
indigenous)

Catholicism –

Economic Dependency – all trade wasdone with
most Spaniards settled in or near Mexico
City, but Spanish priests settled throughout Mexico,
converting the population to Christianity. Priests developed
strong relationships with the people.
Spain

Spanish Hierarchy – elaborate political and social
status hierarchy structure, with deference to elites
Independence



Instability and Legitimacy Issues – the Spanish left
and took hierarchy structure with them;
reorganizing government was difficult task;
Mexico had 36 presidents from 1833-1855
Rise of Military – Instability led to military control,
ex. Santa Anna
U.S. Domination – US challenges Mexican land
claims, Mexican-American War (1846-1848),
Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo (US gets TX, NM, CA,
AZ, UT, part of CO)
The Us and Mexican Territory
“The Porfiriato”

Porfirio Diaz
 Staged military coup in 1876
 Instituted himself as president of Mexico;
promised he would serve no more than one
term
 Ruled Mexico for 34 years with an iron hand
 Cientificos – young, educated advisors of Diaz
who believed in bringing scientific and
economic progress to Mexico
Influences of Porfiriato

Stability – Diaz dictatorship ended years of
conflict and chaos

Authoritarianism – no sharing of political
power beyond a small, closed elite group

Foreign Investment/Economic Growth
– cientificos encouraged entrepreneurship and
foreign investment, primarily from the U.S.,
which resulted in growth of business and industry

Growing Gap between Rich & Poor –
a result of development and industrialization
as
20th Century
Porfirio Diaz was ousted in a coup by
other elites dissatisfied with Diaz’s
rule and sensitive to the greed of the
Porfirians
 Diaz abdicated to General Francisco
Madero
 Revolution of 1910 begins and
warlordism (caudillos) and chaos
would persist in Mexico until 1934

Influences of the Mexican
Revolution
 Patron-client
 Constitution
 Conflict
System
of 1917
with Catholic Church
 Establishment
of the PRI
Mexican Revolution

Patron-Client System – in an effort to
unseat Diaz, caudillos rose to challenge each
other for power. Popular leaders Pancho Villa and
Emiliano Zapata emerged leading peasant armies.
Around each leader a patron-client system
emerged that involved large numbers of citizens
 Many caudillos were ultimately assassinated
(including Villa and Zapata)
 Large numbers of followers were also killed in the
competing world of the caudillos
Constitution of 1917
 Ended
the Revolution
 The Mexican constitution is very long and
easily amended
 Set up structure for Democratic
Government (political Institutions
resemble those of the U.S.)
 Three branches of Government
 Competitive elections
 Federalism
Conflict with the Church after
Revolution
 Although
most Mexicans are Catholic,
church and state are legally separate
 Until recently, priests were not allowed to vote.
Establishment of PRI

PRI brings all caudillos under one big umbrella
political party
 Bring stability through the idea of “passing around”
power from one leader to the next as the presidency
changed hands
 Sexenios – president could only serve one 6-year
term
 Other leaders would be given major positions in
government to establish their influence
 PRI- “institutionalized” the revolution by stabilizing
conflict between leaders
Cardenas Upheaval (1934-1940)
Gave voice to peasant demands from
the Revolution of 1910
 Charismatic leader
 “The Roosevelt of Mexico” as
labeled by American scholars

Cardenas’ Changes

Redistribution of Land –

Nationalization of Industry –

Investment in Public Works –

Encouragement of Peasant and Union
Organizations – Cardenas welcomes their input in
land was taken away from big
landlords and foreigners and redistributed as ejidos – collective
land grants – to be worked by peasants
foreign business owners
were kicked out of country, most industry was put under control of
the state. Ex: PEMEX – giant, government controlled oil company
government builds roads,
provides electricity, creates public services to modernize Mexico
government, they form their own camarillas with leaders that
represent their interests on president’s cabinet

Concentration of Power in Presidency –
Cardenas
stabilizes presidency, when his sexenio was up he peacefully let go
of power
Cardenas and ISI

Cardenas used a strategy of state-led
development known as Import
Substitution Industrialization (ISI)
 Employs high tariffs to protect locally produced goods
from foreign competition
 Government ownership of key industries (PEMEX)
 Government subsidies to domestic industries
 Government takes the lead in promoting
industrialization (very little capital in private hands
during this era)
Pendulum Theory




Miguel Aleman becomes president in 1946
 Encouraged entrepreneurship
 Foreign investment
 Free-market strategies on exports
Followed by president who returned to Cardenasstyle reform
Pendulum Theory – back-and-forth effect in
Mexican politics from socialist reform to freemarket economic development and back again.
By the 1970s the pendulum appeared to stop with
the emergence of the tecnicos
Tecnicos
Tecnicos – educated, business-oriented
leaders usually with degrees in economics,
political science or business.
 Tecnicos in the PRI espouse a free-market
approach to the economy
 By the 1980s Mexico had settled into an
economic approach based upon
Neoliberalism






Free markets
Balanced budgets
Privatization
Free trade
Limited government intervention in the economy
Mexico borrowed in “Petrodollars”
Tecnicos & Politicos
Mexico welcomed foreign investment
 GNP experienced spectacular growth until the
1980s
 This “Mexican Miracle”was based largely on
huge supplies of natural gas and oil
 Mexico became a model for developing states
everywhere
 During the oil bust in the early 1980s, prices of
oil sunk the Mexican economy and inflated the
value of the peso
 This caused added political tension within the PRI
 Division between the politicos – old style
politicians who headed camarillas – and the
tecnicos began to grow wider

Citizens, Society, & the State




Traditionally Mexican citizens have interacted
with government through a patron-client system
Because camarillas so interwoven in Mexican
politics, most people have had some contact with
government during their lives
Clientelism has generally meant that the
government had the upper hand through its ability
to determine which interests to address and
which to ignore
The role of citizens in Mexico is changing as
political parties have become competitive and
democracy becomes more firmly entrenched
Camarillas
Hierarchical network
 Exchange of offices and other benefits for
political support
 Within the PRI, up until the election of 2000, most
positions within the president’s cabinet were
filled by supporters or heads of camarillas that
the president wanted to appease
 Peasants in camarillas received jobs, financial
assistance, family advice, and even food & shelter
in return for votes for the PRI.

Patron-Client System (Mexico)



Corporatism favors the largest businesses and
labor unions
Patron-client system still very important in
determining the nature of political participation
Modernization and legitimate democracy tend to
break up the patron-client system as networks get
blurred in large population centers, and more
formal forms of participation are instituted
Political Participation
 Historically
and protest
characterized by revolution
 Mexican
citizens have generally been
subjects under authoritarian rule of the
political elite
 Citizens
sometimes benefited from
patronage, but legitimate channels to
policy-makers were few
 Today
citizens participate through
increasingly legitimate and regular
elections
Cleavages



Urban vs. Rural –Today Mexico is 75% urban, with
a literacy rate of about 90%. Urban voters are
less likely to support PRI and are more receptive
to political and economic reform
Mestizo vs. Amerindian – only about 10% of
Mexicans speak indigenous languages, but about
30% consider themselves Amerindians.
Amerindians are marginalized, predominantly
rural, and poor. This cleavage tends to define
social class, with most of Mexico’s wealth in the
hands of the mestizo population.
North vs. South – The north is almost like a
different country then the area south of Mexico
City. Majority of educated citizens and Mexico’s
wealth lies in the north. Southern Mexico is
primarily populated by Amerindians,
characterized and led by Zapatista Movement in
Chiapas.
Protests

When citizens demands have gotten out of hand,
the government generally responded by not only
accommodating their demands, but by including
them in the political process through cooptation
 Tlatelolco (1968) – student protest led to a
massacre by government troops. The next
president recruited large numbers of students
into government, increased spending on social
services
 Zapatista Uprising (1994) – Partly a reaction
to NAFTA, the Chiapas rebellion reminded
Mexicans that some people still lived in
appalling conditions, and poverty and lack of
education were still serious problems
Voter Behavior


Until 2000
 PRI controlled local, state, and national
elections
 Voting rates were high because of patronclient system
 Election day was festive, accompanied by free
food, music, and celebrations
 Corruption extensive
 Challengers easily defeated with tacos,”
stuffed ballot boxes
2000-2012
 Presence of competing parties, have existed
since 1930s, but no real legitimacy until 1994
when electoral reforms were put in place
 In 1988, 49% voter turnout. This election was
marred by fraud.
 78% of eligible citizens voted in 1994, when
election reform was promised
 64% voted in 2000, when PAN won the
presidency
Factors influencing Voters



Age
 Younger voters were more likely than older
voters to support PAN, and older voters more
likely to support the PRI
Education
 More educated vote for PAN
Region
 PRI is evenly supported throughout the
regions of the country
 PAN received majority of its support from
the north and center-west
Mexico in Transition

Mexico is characterized by economic and political
transition

Authoritarianism under the PRI has been replaced
by competitive elections, which makes Mexico a
transitional democracy

Economic dependency and underdevelopment are
slowly being transformed as public policies
support a free market economy, yet a backlash
against neoliberalism has continued
Linkage Institutions
Mexico’s political parties, interest
group, and media all worked to 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.

Political Parties
 Partido
Revolucionario Institucional
(PRI)
 National Action Party (PAN)
 Democratic Revolutionary Party (PRD)
Voter Profiles

PRI – small town or rural, less educated, older,

PAN –

PRD –
poorer
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)
younger, politically active, from the central
states, some education, small town or urban
PRI



In power from 1920-2000, re-elected in 2012
Corporatist structure –Party has ultimate
authority, but other voices were heard by bringing
interest groups under the umbrella of the party.
Structure is not democratic, but allows for more
input into government than other types of
authoritarianism.
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
PAN (Right of Center)
Represents business interests
PAN support strongest in the north
PAN generally considered PRI’s opposition to the
Right
 PAN candidate Vicente Fox won 2000 presidential
election, Felipe Calderon won 2006 election
 Platform








Regional autonomy
Less government intervention in the economy
Fair elections
Good relationship with Catholic Church
Support for private and religious education
PRD (Left of Center)

PRD considered PRI’s opposition to the Left

Presidential candidate in 1988 & 1994 was
Cuahtemoc Cardenas (son of Lazaro Cardenas)
 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

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 and PAN

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)
Elections

Citizens in Mexico directly elect the president,
Chamber of Deputy Representatives, and Senators
as well as most local & state officials.

Elections are generally competitive, specifically in
urban areas
Elections

Each of Mexico’s 31 states elects three senators,
2 are determined by majority vote, the other is
determined by whichever party receives the
second highest number of votes

32 senate seats are determined nationally through
a system of proportional representation that
divides the seats according to the number of votes
cast for each party (128 Senate seats in total)

In the Chamber of Deputies, 300 seats are
determined by plurality within single-member
districts, and 200 are chosen by proportional
representation
Election of 2000

PAN/PRD 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 lower house

PRI captured 209 deputy seats in the lower house

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 encourage 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
Interest Groups & Popular Movements

Corporatist structure allowed for accommodation of interest group

Business Interests

Labor – accommodated within system, wage levels for union workers increased from 1940-1982,

Rural/Peasant Organizations

Urban/Popular Movements –
– networked with political leaders to protect the growth of commerce,
finance, industry, and agriculture
until economic crisis of lowering oil prices caused wages to drop. Power of union bosses has
decreased as unions weaken and members become more independent
– encouraged under PRI through the ejido system that granted
land from the government to these organizations. Since 1980s groups have demanded greater
independence from the government, and supported movements for better prices for crops, and
access to markets and credit. Joined with other groups to promote better education, health services,
and environmental practices
concerned about social welfare spending, city services,
neighborhood improvement, economic development, feminism, and professional identity. As groups
become more independent and grow in strength the government and political system must negotiate
with them, and in doing so transform the political culture
Media

Part of the patron-client system under the PRI, with
rewards and favors doled 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
◦ “Toallagate” Scandal – overpriced towels
at President Fox’s mansion
◦ “Comes y te vas” – Fidel Castro-U.N.
meeting incident
XVIII. 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 followed the
executive’s lead, rubber-stamping most presidential
decisions

Mexico has traditionally been an authoritarian and
corporatist regime
Executive Branch

Center of policy-making

Sexenio: non-renewable six-year term (Under PRI similar to dictator)

Until mid-1970s Mexican presidents were above criticism and people revered
them as symbols of national progress and well-being





Selected successor
Appointed officials to all positions of power in the government
Named PRI candidates for other public offices
Managed huge patronage system
Control over “rubber-stamp” Congress

President Ernesto Zedillo (1994-2000) –relinquished number of traditional powers
of the president, including naming the PRI candidate for the 2000 election

President Fox inherited 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 postPRI Congress
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 – semiautonomous government agencies that
often produce goods & services
◦ PEMEX
◦ After 1980’s oil bust reforms cut the number of para-statals,
and many are now privately owned
◦ President Fox tried unsuccessfully to privatize PEMEX
Legislature

Bicameral
 Chamber of Deputies (500-member)
 300 deputies from single-member districts (plurality)
 200 deputies chosen by proportional representation
 Senate (128-member)





 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
PRI’s lost hold on legislature earlier than it did on the presidency
Lost majority in the Chamber of Deputies in 1997
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
Judiciary
Strong judicial branch necessary for a country to operate on
the “Rule of Law”
 Mexico does not have an independent judiciary or judicial
review system
 Most laws are federal, limiting the authority of state courts


Supreme Court
 On paper has judicial review, but it never overrules important government
policy or actions
 Historically has been controlled by the executive branch
 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
 Fox tried to work for an independent judiciary but seems to have come up
short on this endeavor
Military

Dominated Mexican political life into the early 20th century

PRI dramatically cutback the political power of generals (even former
military generals who became presidents acted to separate the
military from politics)



Calles and Cardenas de-politicized the military
Continually moved generals to different regions of the country not allowing them to
develop a regional base of power
Presidents traded favors with military officers to allow them economic power, if not
political power

Government control of the military one of PRI’s most important
accomplishments

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
General Jesus Gutierrez Rebollo (Head of anti-drug task force) arrested in 1997 on
accusations of protecting a drug lord
XIX. Policies & Issues

Economy
◦ “Mexican Miracle”




1940-1960 economy grew more than 6% per year
Industrial production up nearly 9% per year during 1960s
Agricultural share of production down: 25% to 11%
Manufacturing share of production up: 25% to 34%
◦ Problems
 Growing gap between rich & poor
 Rapid/Unplanned Urbanization
Economics II
Debt Crisis
Mexican government borrowed heavily in order to
industrialize
Most of the economic growth based on oil economy
Oil plummet in 1982, caused Mexican economy to
plummet as well
1987, Mexico over $107 billion in debt, debt
represented 70% of GNP
Economics III

Reform
 Begun by President Miguel de la Madrid in 1982, continued
by presidents Salinas & Zedillo (the tecnicos)
◦ Sharp
cuts in Government Spending – according to agreements
with the IMF, World Bank, and the U.S. Mexico greatly reduced government spending by
eliminating public enterprises, cutting government subsidies, and cutting hundreds of thousands
of public jobs
◦ Debt
Reduction – with assistance from U.S. the Mexican government reached
agreement to reduce interest rates on loans and allow for more lenient repayment plans. Mexico
still pays on average about $10 billion a year on loan interests
◦ Privatization
– many government industries were privatized, in 1990 President
Salinas returned the banks to the private sector. Special laws like duty-free importing of
components and cheap labor led foreign companies to invest in Mexican manufacturing plants
 Between 2001 and 2003 Mexico economy suffered from the
post-September 11 U.S. recession. In 2004, the economy grew
by 4.1% but an estimated 40% of the Mexican population still
lived below the poverty line
Foreign Policy

GATT/WTO –

NAFTA – economics still dominates even in terms of
in 1986 Mexico joined the General
Agreement on Tariffs and Trade, the precursor to the
World Trade Organization
foreign policy

Immigration & Drug Trafficking
the key focus for Mexican foreign policy
– America still
Issues of Democracy

Election Reform
 CFE (Federal Election Reform) – created as an independent regulatory
body to safeguard honest and accurate election results
 Campaign Finance Restriction – laws that limit campaign contributions
 International Watch Teams – so Mexico could convince other countries
that elections are fair and competitive
 Election monitoring – done by opposition party members
Fox’s Legacy

Pluralism

Decentralization

Electoral Reform

Rule of Law

Anti-Narcotics Policy
“Ya Basta” Zapatista Movement
Lives On (EZLN)

EZLN – began in 1994 in Chiapas in protest of the signing of the NAFTA treaty

Viewed agreement as a continued exploitation of landowners and PRI bosses

EZLN captured four towns demanding jobs, land, housing, food, health, education,
independence, freedom, democracy, justice and peace

Rebellion originally based on ethnicity – Amerindian – but spread to other factions of
society

Zapatista supporters were black ski masks to hide their identity from the government

Although a moderate truce was announced with the government, the Fox
administration was unable to negotiate a settlement to the dispute with the
Zapatistas despite numerous efforts to do so

Zapatistas represent the stance against all that is still wrong with Mexican politics