Mexico
¡Viva el desarrollo económico y
democracia ! Debido a que toman
un tiempo muy largo.
Brief History in 3 Segments
 Colonialism (1519 – 1821)
 Independence until the Revolution of 1910
(1810 - 1911)
 20th Century (1911 – Present)
Colonialism
 Cultural Heterogeneity
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Began as Amerindians controlled by the
Aztecs from Tenochtitlan
Spanish conquistadors (Hernan Cortes) bring
it under Spanish control
Population is now 60% Mestizo, with more
Amerindians living in the south
Population in Mexico Today
Colonialism
 Catholicism
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Spanish missions became population centers
 Economic Dependency
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Colony depended on Spain for all resources
Spanish mostly ignored (never explored)
Mexico’s vast natural resources
Religious Affiliation in Mexico
Independence (1810 -1911)
 Miguel Hidalgo led a popular rebellion against
Spanish rule in 1810
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Formal recognition of independence from Spain comes
in 1821
 Characteristics of the new country
 Instability – absence of Spanish hierarchy
 Rise of military – high ranking generals often served
simultaneously as president
 Domination by the U.S. – instability of its southern
neighbor leads U.S. to challenge Mexican land claims
 Liberal vs. Conservative Struggle – ideals of popular
democracy clash with colonial style authoritarianism
Miguel Hidalgo
“Father of the
Mexican Nation”
Viva Revolucion!
 Revolution
 Revolution
 Revolution
 Revolution
 Revolution
 Revolution
 Revolution
 Revolution
 Revolution
Independence (1810 -1911)
 The Porfiriato (1876 – 1911)
 Porfirio Diaz stages a military coup in 1876
and becomes president promising one term in
office
 Characteristics
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Stability
Authoritarianism – no power sharing beyond
small group of elites
Foreign investment, economic growth – primarily
from the U.S.
Growing gap between rich and poor
Porfirio Diaz
President of
Mexico,
1876-1880
1884-1911
Protest banner in 1903 – “The Constitution Has Died”
20th Century
 1910 Revolution
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Reformers seek an end to Diaz’s rule, Diaz
blocks any creation of a presidential election
Support grew for General Francisco Madero,
Diaz is forced to abdicate in 1911
Characteristics from 1910 to 1934
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Chaos
Warlordism
Popular uprisings
20th Century
 Influences of the Era
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Patron-Client System
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Caudillos challenge each other for power
 Emiliano Zapata, Pancho Villa lead peasant armies
in separate rebellions
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Many assassinations between caudillo followers
Constitution of 1917
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Established democratic elections, 3 branches, did
not end violence or assassinations
20th Century
 Influences of the Era
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Conflict with the Catholic Church
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Christeros Rebellion – liberals believe church is
an instrument of authoritarian conservatives,
restrict church activities, priests fight back
Establishment of the PRI
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Caudillos all came together under 1 political party
Pass power between each other in single 6 year
terms (sexenio)
Other leaders get major positions in government
20th Century
 The Cardenas Presidency (1934-1940)
 Redistribution of land – ejidos given to peasants
 Nationalization of industry – foreign business owners
were kicked out and taken under government control
 Protected domestic industry through import
substitution industrialization (ISI) – high tariffs
 Investment in public works – roads, electricity, other
public services
 Encouragement of peasant and union organization
 Concentration of presidential power, peaceful transfer
to the next caudillo
Lazaro
Cardenas
President of
Mexico
1934-1940
20th Century
 Pendulum Theory – after Cardenas, President
Aleman returned to a market driven economy, and
the next president returned to Cardenas-style
policies, and so on…
 Pendulum ends in 1970s with the rise of technicos –
educated business oriented leaders who favored the
free market
 1980s characterized by neoliberalism – free market,
balanced government budget, privatization of
industry, limited government
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Results in “Mexican Miracle” – spectacular GNP
growth through the early 1980s
Conflict develops between politicos (old elite of the
PRI) and the technicos
Cleavages in Mexico
 Urban vs. Rural – Mexico is 75% urban
 Urban voters are less likely to support PRI
 Social Class – Gini coefficient of .50
 Poorest 10% has 1.6% of the money
 Richest 10% has 35.6%
 Middle to upper income earners likely support PAN
 Mestizo vs. Amerindian – 30% see themselves as
Amerindian
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Amerindians are more likely to live in impoverished
rural areas
Cleavages in Mexico
 North vs. South
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North is dry and mountainous
Trade with U.S. has enriched the north
(NAFTA)
North is more likely to support PAN
South has not benefited from NAFTA
Zapatista movement based in the south
Political Participation in Mexico
 Patron-Clientelism
 Rooted in loyalty to caudillos in 19th century
 Diminishing due to modernization, urbanization, but still
prevalent
 Accusations by PRD’s Obrador that PAN’s Calderon
won through vote-rigging
 Protests
 Government usually responds with co-optation;
bringing protesters into the political process
 ex. Tlatelolco Plaza masacre led to student protesters
working in the next presidential administration
Student protesters confront the army prior to the “Tlateloco Massacre”
PRD activists protest in Mexico City after the 2006 election, alleging
fraud and vote rigging
Political Participation in Mexico
 Voting
 PRI controlled elections at all levels until reforms in the
1990’s
 Election day parties with free food, entertainment for
PRI voters, rife with corruption
 Today around 60-65% of Mexicans vote in presidential
elections
 Voter behavior is often determined by
 Region – North supports PAN, South supports PRD
 Education Level – Higher educated voters more likely
to vote PAN or PRD than PRI
 Income – Higher income voters more likely to vote
PAN
Many believed the PRI was gone for good after election reforms
2006 Election by State
Blue = PAN
Yellow = PRD
Green = PRI
2012 Election by State
Blue = PAN
Yellow = PRD
Green = PRI
Political Participation in Mexico
 Civil Society
 PRI practiced state corporatism – state mediated
among groups to prevent challenges to the
government
 Created 3 interest groups; labor, peasants, and middle
class with each controlled by the PRI
 PAN formed around discontented business owners
who were not connected to the system (1939)
 State corporatism, neocorporatism, and pluralism all
could possibly emerge now with the fall of the PRI and
rise of competitive elections
Political Institutions
 Regime is transitioning from authoritarianism
and control to liberal democracy and
capitalism
 Economically mixed picture
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PPP adjusted income - $17,390 per year
Massive inequality
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33% live on less than $5 per day
Gini Coefficient – 48.1 (2012)
Economic dependency on neighbors
Developed? Developing? MIC?
Political Institutions
 Transition to Democracy
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Last 2 elections (2000 and 2006) saw
considerable progress in
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political accountability
political competition
political freedom
political equality
Not enough history to demonstrate a
consistent trend of democratic practices
Political Parties
 PRI – Institutional Revolutionary Party
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In power continuously from 1920 to 2000
Formed out of elites who wished to
compromise rather than perpetuate
violence
Coroporatist structure – groups were
carefully selected to come under the party
umbrella and wield influence
Patron-Clientelism – support comes from
rural areas where PRI can do favors
Political Parties
 PAN – National Action Party
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PRI’s opposition to the right
Platform
 Regional autonomy
 Less government in the
economy
 Clean and fair elections
 Good rapport with the Catholic
Church
 Support for private and
religious education
Won presidency in 2000 and 2006,
currently has most seats in
legislature
Political Parties
 PRD – Democratic
Revolutionary Party
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PRI’s opposition to the left
Has been poorly organized,
lacks a clear defining
alternative to pro-market PAN
Led by Obrador, finished just
behind PAN’s Calderon for
president in 2006, distant 2nd
in 2012
Elections
 Direct elections for president, Chamber of Deputies,
senators, and most state and local officials
 Most competitive in urban areas, though competition
is growing in rural
 Pressure for elections to be fair started in 1988
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Population was becoming more urban, educated
Mexico sought world trade agreements, led to
international pressure
 After losses in 2000 and 2006, post-2012 PRI once
again holds the presidency, and the most seats in
both legislative chambers
One perspective on what happened in 2012…
Elections
 Presidential
 “First past the post”
 Senate
 Each of 31 states elects 3 senators
 2 chosen through direct election
nd highest number of votes
 1 given to party with the 2
 32 more senators chosen through proportional
representation
 Chamber of Deputies
 300 seats determined by plurality SMD vote
 200 determined by proportional representation
Interest Groups
 Through cooptation, Mexican private organizations
have always been well linked into the government
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Leads to slow development of civil society
 Elements of state corporatism led business elites to
get rich through connections, but were not
incorporated into the PRI
 Labor was accommodated after unionizing, made
strong gains from 1940-1982
 PAN leans more toward neocorporatism than PRI
Media
 No criticism under PRI rule
 Government subsidized sympathetic media
outlets
 Most media revenue came from PRI ads
 PAN rule has allowed open media access,
domestic and international new agencies
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“Toallagate” – scandal about overpriced
towels purchased for Pres. Fox’s mansion
“Comes y te vas” – “eat and go” instructions
given to Castro during a U.N. gathering
became a controversy
A newsstand with a few of Mexico’s print media options
2012 Media Controversy
• Many Mexicans believed Televisa,
the largest media company in
Mexico, heavily biased its
coverage in favor of PRI candidate
Enrique Pena Nieto
• Yo Soy 132 – Student uprising
against media bias
• Pena Nieto ordered a
crackdown on protestors as
Governor of Mexico, and
some were killed
• He asserted he would do it
again at a university campaign
event, prompting protests
• Televisa asserted it was not
students, but radical party
activists protesting
131 students went online and held up
their university ID card, saying they were
the ones protesting
… and many Mexicans joined, saying “I am # 132!”
Government Institutions
 Mexico is a Federal Republic – considerable power at
the national and state levels
 Historical distribution
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Presidency dominated the power structure
Legislature and judiciary acted as “rubber stamp” for
executive decisions
 Constitution of 1917 is modeled on the U.S., with
checks and balances, 3 branches, federalism
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Tended towards authoritarianism through 20th century,
despite the constitution
 Modern description would be “strong presidential
system”
Executive
 President elected every 6 years, can serve one
sexenio (6 year term)
 Under the PRI, incumbent would select the
successor, appoint all powerful bureaucratic officials,
name candidates for governor and Senate
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President was effectively the manager of a massive
patron-client system
PAN’s Fox was the first to try and govern without the
patron-client PRI system behind him
 People in Mexico still view the president as all
powerful, and responsible for all failures of
government
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Fox lacked support of the legislature, was still blamed
for failing to enact programs
Carlos Salinas de Gortari
President of Mexico,
1988-1994
Reputation as one of the
most corrupt
administrations in
Mexican history led to
demands for reform
Vicente Fox
President of Mexico
2000 - 2006
Felipe Calderon
President of Mexico
2006 - 2012
Enrique Pena Nieto
President of Mexico
2012 - Present
Imagery of
Salinas is
often used by
opponents of
the PRI
Bureaucracy
 1.5 million employees of the federal government
 Paid very little, but even low to mid level bureaucrats
have considerable power
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PRI officials would use position to boost their incomes
through corrupt practices… most expect it to occur
today as well
 Para-Statal entities – autonomous governmental
agencies
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PEMEX – state owned oil company
Fox pushed for privatization of entities like PEMEX but
failed
Pena Nieto has pushed through reforms to subject
PEMEX to foreign competitors
Debate over Privatization
From the Economist
An opposing perspective
Corruption of Public Officials
Legislature
 Bicameral Congress
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Chamber of Deputies – 500 members
Senate – 128 members
Functionally similar to U.S. Congress constitutionally, but
was controlled by the president until the 1980’s
PRI’s legislative grip was lost by 1988 due to growing
strength of opposition and proportional representation
reforms
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Lacked a majority for the first time in 1997
Since 2006, PAN and PRD hold larger numbers of seats than
PRI
Parties are required by law to sponsor 30% women
candidates
Challenges the president, but has not fully developed into a
true president “check”
The Chamber of Deputies
The Senate of the Republic
Judiciary
 Follows code law, not common law
Common law – based on tradition, past legal precedents,
courts may interpret statutes
 Code law – comprehensive system of written rules for
criminal, commercial, and civil codes
 Judiciary does not have power of judicial review
 Supreme Court has the power constitutionally, but never
exercises it on important issues
 Judiciary is not independent
 Judges are “appointed for life”, but in tradition, all judges
resign at the start of a president’s sexenio so he can place
his loyalists on the bench
 Zedillo administration (1994-2000) tried to strengthen
judiciary by obeying court judgments
 Strong judiciary is difficult due to perception that judges are
corrupt
 Many states have “closed door” trials – 2008 reform requires
public trials by 2016
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The Supreme Court of Mexico
Military
 Generals dominated politics through the 19th and early 20th
century
 All presidents were generals through 1940s
 Creation and centralization of power into the PRI brought the
military under control
 Presidents Calles and Cardenas rotated generals’ regional
commands, effectively depoliticizing the military
 Often provided generals with business opportunities and
other economic benefits to keep them out of politics
 Military is now feared to be accepting deals with drug cartels,
similar to the arrangement they used to have with the
government
 General Jesus Gutierrez Rebollo, head of anti-drug force,
arrested in 1997 for protecting a drug lord
Current Issues in Mexico
 The Economy
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Problems
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Large gap between rich and poor
Rapid, unplanned urbanization
Heavy borrowing against high oil prices through the 1970’s…
plummeting price in 1982 caused massive foreign debt (70% of
GNP)
Reforms – Begun by president Miguel de la Madrid and the
technicos
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Sharp cuts in government spending
Debt reduction
Privatization, tax cutting to invite U.S. businesses into Mexico
Oportunidades – government anti-poverty program that gives
free benefits and jobs to those without formal jobs
Current Issues in Mexico
 Foreign Policy
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Historically bilateral – all focused on the U.S.
Increasingly, Mexico asserts itself at the UN
and WTO, among other international forums
Drug Trafficking
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Campaign by Fox and Calderon to root out
corruption has led to massive increase in violence
Regularly involves brutal murders of police
Cartels are competing to control distribution into
the U.S.
Current Issues in Mexico
 Foreign Policy
 Immigration Policy
 Mexico supports amnesty for illegal immigrants, guest
worker program
 Initially supported by Bush, but 9/11 changed American
border priorities
Calderon has denounced the building of the border
fence, comparing it to the Berlin Wall
Maquiladora and NAFTA
 Zones in Mexico without customs duties created to
bring manufacturing business
 Lack of environmental and employment regulations in
Mexico have led to criticism
 Mexico is also a GATT/WTO member
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Current Issues in Mexico
 Ethnic Rebellions
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Zapatistas – EZLN protested NAFTA by
capturing four towns, wearing black ski masks
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Saw NAFTA as exploitation of Amerindians to
benefit PRI bosses
Movement is growing in the South, very hostile to
the rich, the government, and mestizos
Current Issues in Mexico
 Democracy
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Can competition be sustained without PRI
establishment?
CFE – Federal Election Commission
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Placed restrictions on campaign finance
Reduced PRI control of media
Bring in international watchers to ensure fair
elections
Allow election monitoring by opposition party