Representation and Participation
in Mexico
The Peruvian novelist, Mario Vargas Llosa,
once called Mexico the world’s “most perfect
dictatorship.” The PRI’s adept use and abuse of
democratic institutions to prolong its rule forced the
opposition to struggle within those democratic
arenas-the electoral system, the Congress, and state
and local government-to ultimately remove the PRI
from power. Thus Mexico offers an intriguing
example of a country in which a democratic
transition has taken place within a constitutional
framework. –Michael Sodaro
Recruiting the Political Elite
• Since the days of the “Porfiriato” the Mexican
political elite has been recruited primarily from the
middle class.
• In recent years the political elite have become more
homogenous: drawn increasingly from the
capitalinos (people raised in Mexico City).
• The cabinets and upper level bureaucracy have
been filled by tecnicos who studied economics,
business, or public administration in the U.S.
• Many politically important families are interrelated,
either through marriage or through the traditional
rite of compadrazgo (godparent)
• Mexican political elite show considerable fluidity.
Massive turnover of officeholders every six years is
evidence of that. The medium age of cabinet
ministers and presidential aspirants Mexico has been
dropping with most in their late 30s or early 40s.
Interest Representation and Political Control
In its presidentialist system, the most effective interest
participation took place within the upper levels of
the government. Structures that normally aggregate
and articulate interests served other purposes in
Mexico: limiting the scope of citizens’ demands on
the government, mobilizing electoral support, and
distributing jobs and other rewards to “clients”.
• From the 1930s to the PRI’s defeat in 2000, Mexico
had a “corporatist” system of interest representation
in which interest groups were part of the state
structure: mass organizations affiliated with the PRI:
the Labor Sector (CTM), Peasant Sector (CNC) and
Popular Sector (CNOP).
• Because the ruling party and national legislature did
not effectively aggregate interests, individuals and
groups made personal contacts in the bureaucracy.
• In recent decades, the emergence of independent
citizens’ organizations, not tied into the PRI
regime’s clientelistic networks, has introduced new
complexity and uncertainty into the political system.
Political Parties
Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI)
• was founded in 1929 by President Calles. The party
was intended to serve as a mechanism to reduce
violent conflict among contenders for public office
and for consolidating the power of the central
government, at the expense of the local and statelevel political machines.
• For 70 years the PRI dominated Mexican politics.
For much of that time the party operated with
impressive efficiency, co-opting newly emerging
interest groups, legitimating the regime through the
electoral process, and resolving inter-party conflicts.
• In 1938 President Cardenas transformed the party
into a mass-based political party by merging the
local, state, and national organizations of peasants
and workers into the official party.
Reasons for decline of the PRI
1. The party’s inability to distance itself from the
unpopular austerity policies made by the tecnicos
in the federal government from the 1990s.
2. Electoral reforms in 1993-94 and in 1996 limited
total private contributions to any party and
increased public funding to all parties. Reforms
also added a prohibition against use of public
resources and programs to benefit any campaign.
2 (cont.) PRI had benefited from use of a large
government slush fund, (la partida secreta) doled
out during campaigns. Responding to public
pressure, President Zedillo eliminated this fund
3. A Federal Electoral Institute, established in 1990 to
oversee the funding and registration of national
parties, was separated from executive branch
influence and given greater strength and autonomy
which cut down on electoral fraud. Independent
tribunals were set up to adjudicate election disputes;
and new, high tech photo ID cards were introduced.
These and other innovations improved the security
and fairness of the electoral systems, but cost the
4. The PRI vote getting machine became less effective
with the demographic changes in Mexico i.e. the
shift of workers from the rural to urban areas and an
increase in education levels. Voters were no longer
closely tied to the PRI’s clientelistic networks and
better informed about issues.
In 2001 and again in 2006 PRI candidates lost in
presidential elections. However, in 2012 a
revitalized PRI, under the leadership of Enrique
Peña Nieto, recaptured the presidency with 37% of
the vote. Nieto worked to form a temporary coalition
to pass reform legislation (Pact for Mexico).
Subsedquently PRI won the largest percentage of
4. The National Action Party (PAN)
• Founded in 1939 to represent interests opposed to
the centralization and anticlericalism of PRI. It has a
center-right ideology. Regional strongholds included
several northern states states.
• Up to the 1990s, PANista representation was mainly
in the federal Congress, mainly in the lower house.
• PAN deputies found it difficult as many of their
proposed bills were ignored. However, gradually
PANista legislative proposals were adopted by PRI
governments such as increased proportional
representation in Congress, autonomous electoral
courts, voter IDs, etc.
• PRI found themselves voting to the right of PAN
because they had to support the austerity measures
of their presidents. PAN has been divided into
moderate-progressive (Vicente Fox) and militantconservative (neo-PANista) factions.
• When Vicente Fox became president in 2000, PAN
not at all united in backing him and did not have a
majority in either chamber of Congress. Divided
government was the main challenge for Fox.
• In the 2006 presidential election, the PAN candidate,
Felipe Calderon, won but without the same mandate
as his predecessor and faced, once again, the
difficulty in policymaking with divided government.
• Calderon’s popularity plummeted in the wake of
narcotics trafficking violence from which over
60,000 died during his sexenio. Corruption scandals
tainted the military, police, and local officials.
• For the 2012 presidential election PAN’s candidate
was former education secretary, Josefina Vázquez
Mota. Because of the unpopularity of the drug war,
associated with PAN, she won only 26% of the vote.
Challenges for PAN
To achieve wider popularity in view of the past
ineptitude of its administrations. This would include
recapturing its previous northern states’ region of
support lost in the 2012 presidential election.
The Democratic Revolutionary Party (PRD)
• was an outgrowth of moderate socialist parties of the
Mexican left. The key to the left’s rejuvenation
came in 1987 with a split within PRI leadership. A
dissident group known as Corriente Democratica
(CD) criticized de la Madrid’s economic
restructuring and sought a renewed commitment to
economic nationalism and social justice.
• The CD’s demands for reform were rejected by the
PRI and they formally split from the party. They
joined with four other leftist parties to form a
coalition, supporting Cuahtemoc Cardenas, the son
of Mexico’s revered president, as their candidate.
• Cardenas and this coalition ultimately formed the
PRD in 1988 and won the mayoral race in Mexico
City and gubernatorial elections in 5 states.
• In the 2006 and 2012 presidential elections PRD ran
a leftist former mayor of Mexico City, Andres
Manuel Lopez Obrador (AMLO). Mexicans did not
elect Obrador who then mounted disruptive street
protests that deepened PRD’s unpopularity.
• Obrador is a polarizing figure. He is beloved by
Mexico´s working-class population, yet alienates
middle class voters due to his populist political
message. Following the 2012 election he resigned
from PRD to found a new party, MORENA.
Challenges for the PRD
1) PRD takes policy positions to the left of the ruling
party on many issues. Its involvement in public
demonstrations after the past two general elections,
has strengthened an unpopular radical image.
2) PRD ties to rural areas have been underdeveloped
as it has been dominated by Mexico City
politicians. Central party leaders shortchanged
local organizations in their allocation of funds.
3) The fracturing of the party with the defection of
Obrador to MORENA has drawn away traditional
left-wing supporters.
The National Regeneration Movement (MORENA)
• Following PRD’s loss in the 2012 election, Lopez
Obrador (AMLO) left PRD to form form a left-wing
party: MORENA, “The National Regeneration
Movement” (Movimiento Regeneración Nacional)
• In the subsequent 2015 general election, MORENA
drew votes mainly away from PRD based on the
supporters of AMLO. The party won 8.8% of the
vote in the Chamber of Deputies and Senate,
becoming the 3rd largest party.
• The same challenges that face PRD will face
MORENA or even greater since this party has split
the left learning voters.
Political Spectrum of Mexico’s Political Parties
The PRD and MORENA are today left of center, PRI
is more center, and PAN is right of center.
General Election of 2012
On Sunday, July 1, 2012 Mexico held a general
election for the following:
• President: selected by FPTP to serve a 6-year term.
• 500 members of the Chamber of Deputies: 300 by
FPTP and 200 by PR (with electoral reforms they
can run for office for four consecutive 3-year terms)
• 128 members of the Senate including 3 per state by
FPTP and 32 by proportional representation (can
serve up to two consecutive 6-year terms)
States won by Peña Nieto in green, López Obrador in
yellow, Vázquez Mota in blue.
Mexico's outgoing president, Felipe Calderon, left, gives a Mexican flag
to Enrique Peña Nieto, right, during the official transfer of command
ceremony on Dec. 1, 2012 at the National Palace in Mexico City.
The 500 members of the Chamber of Deputies were elected in the 2015
interim election by two methods; 300 were elected in single-member
constituencies, and 200 by proportional representation in a single
nationwide constituency. The largest 4 parties are shown below:
District
Proportional
Votes
%
Seats
Votes
%
Seats
Total
seats
PRI
11,604,665
34.24
25
11,638,556
29.18
47
203
-9
PAN
8,346,846
22.06
55
8,379,270
21.01
53
108
-6
PRD
1,941,105
5.13
5
4,335,731
10.87
28
56
-48
MORENA
3,327,793
8.80
14
3,346,303
8.39
21
35
New
Party
+/–
Why did PRI win? Commentators note:
First: It is a national party unlike PAN and PRD which
are more regional. In 2011 PRI had 21 governors
among the 31 states indicating its nationwide status.
Governors help candidates win.
Second: PRI avoided fragmentation unlike the
competition. PRI had a very popular, charismatic
candidate and this discouraged internal party splits.
Third: Identification with PRI grew stronger as PAN’s
popularity waned due to the drug violence. Also PRI
became more adept in communicating with voters at
the state and municipal level.
Is Mexico a democracy?
With the elections of opposition candidates to the
presidency in 2000 and 2006 and seemingly fair
elections in 2012, it can be said that Mexico is
now as democratic and transparent as any country
in North America.
• Electoral law reforms have ended most forms of
fraud that were typical in the past.
• The Federal Electoral Institute has been a strong
guardian of democracy.
Mexico has come a long ways from the one-party
rule of the past.