Politics of Mexico
Encyclopedia
The politics of Mexico take place in a framework of a federal
presidential
representative democratic
republic
whose government is based on a congressional system, whereby the president of Mexico
is both head of state
and head of government
, and of a multi-party system
. The federal government
represents the United Mexican States and is divided into three branches: executive, legislative and judicial, as established by the Political Constitution of the United Mexican States
, published in 1917. The constituent states
of the federation must also have a republican form of government based on a congressional system as established by their respective constitutions.
The executive power
is exercised by the executive branch, which is headed by the President, advised by a cabinet of secretaries that are independent of the legislature. Legislative power is vested upon the Congress of the Union
, a two-chamber legislature comprising the Senate
and the Chamber of Deputies
. Judicial power is exercised by the judiciary, consisting of the Supreme Court of Justice of the Nation
, the Council of the Federal Judiciary and the collegiate, unitary and district tribunals.
The politics of Mexico are dominated by three political parties: National Action Party
(PAN), the Party of the Democratic Revolution
(PRD) and Institutional Revolutionary Party
(PRI).
(IFE), the institution in charge of organizing and overseeing the federal electoral processes, but must obtain at least 2% of votes in the federal elections to keep their registry. Registered political parties receive public funding for their operation and can also obtain private funding within the limits prescribed by the law.
As of 2010 the following political parties are registered before the IFE and all have representatives at the Congress of the Union:
Political parties are allowed to form alliances or coalitions to nominate candidates for any particular election. The coalition must present itself with a particular name and logo. Proportional representation (plurinominal) seats are assigned to the coalition based on the percentage of votes obtained in the elections, and then the coalition re-assigns them to the constituent political parties. Once each party in the coalition has been assigned plurinominal seats, they do not necessarily continue to work as a coalition in government.
Throughout the 20th century, PRI had an almost hegemonic power at the state and federal level, which slowly began to recede in the late 1980s. Even though since the 1940s, PAN had won a couple of seats in the Congress, and in 1947 the first presidential municipality (in Quiroga, Michoacán
), it wasn't until 1989, that the first non-PRI governor of a state was elected (at Baja California
). It was in 1997, that PRI lost its absolute majority at the Congress of the Union, and in 2000 the first non-PRI president was elected since 1929.
in Mexico serves also as the voting card, so all citizens are automatically registered for all elections; that is, no pre-registration is necessary for every election. All elections are direct; that is, no electoral college is constituted for any of the elections at the federal, state or municipal level. Only when an incumbent president is absolutely absent (either through resignation, impeachment or death), the Congress of the Union constitutes itself acts as an electoral college to elect an interim president by absolute majority.
Presidential elections are scheduled every six years, except in the exceptional case of absolute absence of the president. Legislative elections are scheduled every six years for the Senate, to be fully renewed in elections held concurrently with the presidential elections; and every three years for the Chamber of Deputies. Elections are usually held on the first Sunday of July. State governors are also elected every six years, whereas the legislatures are renewed every three years. State elections need not be concurrent with federal elections. Federal elections are organized and supervised by the autonomous public Federal Electoral Institute
, whereas state and municipal elections are organized and supervised by electoral institutes constituted by each state of the federation. Elections within the Federal District are also organized by a local electoral institute.
A strongly ingrained concept in Mexican political life is "no reelection." The theory was implemented after Porfirio Díaz
managed to monopolize the presidency for over 25 years. Presently, Mexican presidents are limited to a single six-year term, and no one who has held the office even on a caretaker basis is allowed to hold the office again. Deputies and senators are not allowed to immediately succeed themselves.
(PRD), the Labour Party (PT) and Convergence
(CV) formed a coalition called Coalition for the Good of All
. The Institutional Revolutionary Party
(PRI) and the Ecologist Green Party
(PVEM) formed a coalition called Alliance for Mexico
.
The presidential elections were the most competitive in the history of the country in which the difference in the ballot count between the winner and the first runner up was less than one percent point, and in which neither candidate got absolute majority in a system in which a second round of voting has not been instituted. Felipe Calderón
got the greatest number of votes according to the preliminary computation (PREP) and the ballot recount. Andrés Manuel López Obrador
contested the results and demanded a vote-per-vote recount, which was denied by the Federal Electoral Tribunal, based on the argument that inconsistencies could not be proved for all electoral circumscriptions, but order a partial recount of votes of those that did show inconsistencies which represented 9.2% of the total, after which the results were not significantly altered. The Federal Electoral Tribunal declared Felipe Calderón the winner of the elections on September 5, and president elect. He took office on December 1, and his term will end on November 30, 2012.
plurality candidates (FPP) of coalitions represent the parties of which they are members. Proportional representation
(PR) seats assigned to coalitions were further reassigned to their constituent parties in whatever manner and number they agreed upon. Parties that formed a coalition for the general elections may continue to work together but they do not form a unified political bloc at the Congress; parliamentary groups are identified by parties and not by coalitions.
The 64 Senate first-past-the-post (FPP) seats are assigned to the pair of senators of the same party (who run together) that obtain the majority of votes per state and the Federal District. The 32 first minority (FM) seats are assigned to the first runner-up
per party and the Federal District. Finally, 32 proportional representation (PR) seats are assigned according to national votes to the party or coalition in relation to the total number of votes obtained nationally. PR seats are assigned to the coalition who then reassigns them to its constituent parties in whatever manner and number they had originally agreed upon, and may or may not work as a bloc in the Senate.
The elections in each state are done at different times, depending on the state, and are not necessarily held at the same time with the federal elections. Currently, even though the PRI is the third political force in the Congress of the Union, in terms of number of seats, it is still the first political force in terms of the number of states governed by it. As of 2010:
In 1929, all factions and generals of the Mexican Revolution
were united into a single party, the National Revolutionary Party (NRP), with the aim of stabilizing the country and ending internal conflicts. During the following administrations, since 1928, many of the revolutionary ideals were put into effect, among them the free distribution of land to peasants and farmers, the nationalization of the oil companies, the birth and rapid growth of the Social Security Institute as well as that of Labor Unions, and the protection of national industries. The party was later renamed the Mexican Revolution Party and finally the Institutional Revolutionary Party
. The social institutions created by the party itself provided it with the necessary strength to stay in power. In time, the system gradually became, as some political scientists have labeled it, an "electoral authoritarianism", in that the party resorted to any means necessary, except that of the dissolution of the constitutional and electoral system itself, to remain in power. In fact, Mexico was considered a bastion of continued constitutional government in times where coup d'état
s and military dictatorships were the norm in Latin America
, in that the institutions were renovated electorally, even if only in appearance and with little participation of the opposition parties at the local level.
The first cracks in the system, even though they were merely symbolic, were the 1970s reforms to the electoral system and the composition of the Congress of the Union which for the first time incorporated proportional representation seats allowing opposition parties to obtain seats, though limited in number, in the Chamber of Deputies. As minority parties became involved in the system, they gradually demanded more changes, and a full democratic representation. Even though in the 1960s, a couple (of more than two thousand) municipalities were governed by opposition parties, the first state government to be won by an opposition party was Baja California
, in 1989.
The presidential elections
held in 1988 marked a watershed in Mexican politics, as they were the first serious threat to the party in power by an opposition candidate, Cuauhtémoc Cárdenas
, a defector from the ruling Institutional Revolutionary Party
(PRI) and son of former President Lazaro Cardenas
, who was nominated by a broad coalition of leftist parties. He officially received 31.1 percent of the vote, against 50.4 percent for Carlos Salinas de Gortari, the PRI candidate, and 17 percent for Manuel Clouthier
of the National Action Party
(PAN). It was widely said that Cardenas had won the election, but that the then government-controlled electoral commission had altered the results after the infamous "glitch in the system" (se cayó el sistema, as it was reported). In the concurrent elections, the PRI came within 11 seats of losing the majority of Chamber of Deputies
, and opposition parties captured 4 of the 64 Senate
seats - the first time that the PRI had failed to hold every seat in the Senate. Capitalizing on the popularity of President Salinas, however, the PRI rebounded in the mid-term congressional elections of 1991
, winning 320 seats.
Subsequent changes included the creation of the Federal Electoral Institute in the 1990s and the inclusion of proportional representation and first minority seats in the Senate. The presidential election of 1994
was judged to be the first relatively free election in modern Mexican history. Ernesto Zedillo
of the PRI won with 50.2 percent of the vote, against 26.7 percent for Diego Fernández de Cevallos
of PAN and 17.1 percent for Cardenas, who this time represented the Party of the Democratic Revolution
(PRD). Although the opposition campaign was hurt by the desire of the Mexican electorate for stability, following the assassination of Luis Donaldo Colosio
, the intended PRI candidate, and the recent outbreak of hostilities in the state of Chiapas
, Zedillo's share of the vote was the lowest official percentage for any PRI presidential candidate up to that time.
In the 1997 mid-term elections
, no party held majority in the Chamber of Deputies, and in 2000 the first opposition party president was sworn in office since 1929. Vicente Fox
won the election with 43% of the vote, followed by PRI candidate Francisco Labastida
with 36%, and Cuauhtémoc Cárdenas
of the Party of the Democratic Revolution
(PRD) with 17%.
Numerous electoral reforms implemented after 1989 aided in the opening of the Mexican political system, and opposition parties made historic gains in elections at all levels. Many of the current electoral concerns have shifted from outright fraud to campaign fairness issues. During 1995-96 the political parties negotiated constitutional amendments to address these issues. Implementing legislation included major points of consensus that had been worked out with the opposition parties. The thrust of the new laws has public financing predominate over private contributions to political parties, tightens procedures for auditing the political parties, and strengthens the authority and independence of electoral institutions. The court system also was given greatly expanded authority to hear civil rights cases on electoral matters brought by individuals or groups. In short, the extensive reform efforts have "leveled the playing field" for the parties.
The 2006 elections
saw the PRI fall to third place behind both the PAN and the PRD. Roberto Madrazo
, the presidential candidate, polled only 22.3 percent of the vote, and the party ended up with only 121 seats in the Chamber of Deputies, a loss of more than half of what the party had obtained in 2003, and 38 Senate seats, a loss of 22. Nevertheless, at the state level, more states are still governed by PRI than by the rest of the parties.
Federation
A federation , also known as a federal state, is a type of sovereign state characterized by a union of partially self-governing states or regions united by a central government...
presidential
Presidential system
A presidential system is a system of government where an executive branch exists and presides separately from the legislature, to which it is not responsible and which cannot, in normal circumstances, dismiss it....
representative democratic
Representative democracy
Representative democracy is a form of government founded on the principle of elected individuals representing the people, as opposed to autocracy and direct democracy...
republic
Republic
A republic is a form of government in which the people, or some significant portion of them, have supreme control over the government and where offices of state are elected or chosen by elected people. In modern times, a common simplified definition of a republic is a government where the head of...
whose government is based on a congressional system, whereby the president of Mexico
President of Mexico
The President of the United Mexican States is the head of state and government of Mexico. Under the Constitution, the president is also the Supreme Commander of the Mexican armed forces...
is both head of state
Head of State
A head of state is the individual that serves as the chief public representative of a monarchy, republic, federation, commonwealth or other kind of state. His or her role generally includes legitimizing the state and exercising the political powers, functions, and duties granted to the head of...
and head of government
Head of government
Head of government is the chief officer of the executive branch of a government, often presiding over a cabinet. In a parliamentary system, the head of government is often styled prime minister, chief minister, premier, etc...
, and of a multi-party system
Multi-party system
A multi-party system is a system in which multiple political parties have the capacity to gain control of government separately or in coalition, e.g.The Conservative-Liberal Democrat coalition in the United Kingdom formed in 2010. The effective number of parties in a multi-party system is normally...
. The federal government
Federal government of Mexico
The federal government of Mexico is the national government of the United Mexican States, the central government established by the Constitution of the United Mexican States to share sovereignty over the United Mexican States with the governments of the 31 individual Mexican states and to represent...
represents the United Mexican States and is divided into three branches: executive, legislative and judicial, as established by the Political Constitution of the United Mexican States
Constitution of Mexico
The Political Constitution of the United Mexican States is the current constitution of Mexico. It was drafted in Santiago de Querétaro, in the State of Querétaro, by a constitutional convention, during the Mexican Revolution. It was approved by the Constitutional Congress on February 5, 1917...
, published in 1917. The constituent states
State governments of Mexico
State governments of Mexico are those sovereign governments formed in each Mexican state.Structured in accordance with the constitution of each state, state governments in Mexico are modeled on the federal system, with three branches of government — executive, legislative, and judicial, and are...
of the federation must also have a republican form of government based on a congressional system as established by their respective constitutions.
The executive power
Executive Power
Executive Power is Vince Flynn's fifth novel, and the fourth to feature Mitch Rapp, an American agent that works for the CIA as an operative for a covert counter terrorism unit called the "Orion Team."-Plot summary:...
is exercised by the executive branch, which is headed by the President, advised by a cabinet of secretaries that are independent of the legislature. Legislative power is vested upon the Congress of the Union
Congress of Mexico
The Congress of the Union is the legislative branch of the Mexican government...
, a two-chamber legislature comprising the Senate
Senate of Mexico
The Senate of the Republic, constitutionally Chamber of Senators of the Honorable Congress of the Union After a series of reforms during the 1990s, it is now made up of 128 senators:...
and the Chamber of Deputies
Chamber of Deputies of Mexico
The Chamber of Deputies is the lower house of the Congress of the Union, Mexico's bicameral legislature. The structure and responsibilities of both chambers of Congress are defined in Articles 50 to 70 of the current constitution.-Composition:The Chamber of Deputies is composed of one federal...
. Judicial power is exercised by the judiciary, consisting of the Supreme Court of Justice of the Nation
Supreme Court of Justice of the Nation
The Supreme Court of Justice of the Nation is the highest federal court in the United Mexican States. It consists of a President of the Supreme Court and ten Ministers who are confirmed by the Senate from a list proposed by the President of the Republic.Justices of the SCJN serve for fifteen...
, the Council of the Federal Judiciary and the collegiate, unitary and district tribunals.
The politics of Mexico are dominated by three political parties: National Action Party
National Action Party (Mexico)
The National Action Party , is one of the three main political parties in Mexico. The party's political platform is generally considered Centre-Right in the Mexican political spectrum. Since 2000, the President of Mexico has been a member of this party; both houses have PAN pluralities, but the...
(PAN), the Party of the Democratic Revolution
Party of the Democratic Revolution
The Party of the Democratic Revolution is a democratic socialist party in Mexico and one of 2 Mexican affiliates of the Socialist International...
(PRD) and Institutional Revolutionary Party
Institutional Revolutionary Party
The Institutional Revolutionary Party is a Mexican political party that held power in the country—under a succession of names—for more than 70 years. The PRI is a member of the Socialist International, as is the rival Party of the Democratic Revolution , making Mexico one of the few...
(PRI).
Political parties
Constitutionally, political parties in Mexico must promote the participation of the people in the democratic life of the country, contribute in the representation of the nation and citizens, and be the access through which citizens can participate in public office, through whatever programs, principles and ideals they postulate. All political parties must be registered before the Federal Electoral InstituteFederal Electoral Institute
The Federal Electoral Institute is an autonomous, public organization responsible for organizing federal elections in Mexico, that is, those related to the election of the President of the United Mexican States and to the election of the members of the Lower and Upper Chambers that constitute the ...
(IFE), the institution in charge of organizing and overseeing the federal electoral processes, but must obtain at least 2% of votes in the federal elections to keep their registry. Registered political parties receive public funding for their operation and can also obtain private funding within the limits prescribed by the law.
As of 2010 the following political parties are registered before the IFE and all have representatives at the Congress of the Union:
- Institutional Revolutionary PartyInstitutional Revolutionary PartyThe Institutional Revolutionary Party is a Mexican political party that held power in the country—under a succession of names—for more than 70 years. The PRI is a member of the Socialist International, as is the rival Party of the Democratic Revolution , making Mexico one of the few...
(Partido Revolucionario Institucional, PRI), founded in 1929; - National Action PartyNational Action Party (Mexico)The National Action Party , is one of the three main political parties in Mexico. The party's political platform is generally considered Centre-Right in the Mexican political spectrum. Since 2000, the President of Mexico has been a member of this party; both houses have PAN pluralities, but the...
(Partido Acción Nacional, PAN), founded in 1939; - Party of the Democratic RevolutionParty of the Democratic RevolutionThe Party of the Democratic Revolution is a democratic socialist party in Mexico and one of 2 Mexican affiliates of the Socialist International...
(Partido de la Revolución Democrática, PRD), founded in 1989; - Labor PartyLabor Party (Mexico)The Labor Party is a nationally recognized political party in Mexico. It was founded on December 8, 1990. The party is currently led by Alberto Anaya....
(Partido del Trabajo, PT), founded in 1990; - Green Ecological PartyEcologist Green Party of MexicoThe Ecologist Green Party of Mexico is one of the six political parties to have representation in the Mexican Congress. The party's congressional strength currently stands at 17 deputies and five senators .-Elections 2000:...
(Partido Verde Ecologista de México, PVEM), founded in 1986, but lost its registry on two consecutive elections; it has retained its registry since 1993; - Convergence PartyConvergence (Mexico)Convergence is a political party in Mexico. It was previously known as Convergence for Democracy but the party assembly decided, in August 2002, to adopt the shorter form of its name.Convergence was founded as a "national political grouping" in 1997...
(Convergencia, CV), founded in 1997; - New AllianceNew Alliance Party (Mexico)The New Alliance Party is one of the newest political parties in Mexico.Its creation was proposed by the Sindicato Nacional de Trabajadores de la Educación , the largest trade union in Latin America, led by Elba Esther Gordillo, the controversial former general secretary of the Institutional...
(Nueva Alianza, PNA or PANAL), founded in 2005;
Political parties are allowed to form alliances or coalitions to nominate candidates for any particular election. The coalition must present itself with a particular name and logo. Proportional representation (plurinominal) seats are assigned to the coalition based on the percentage of votes obtained in the elections, and then the coalition re-assigns them to the constituent political parties. Once each party in the coalition has been assigned plurinominal seats, they do not necessarily continue to work as a coalition in government.
Throughout the 20th century, PRI had an almost hegemonic power at the state and federal level, which slowly began to recede in the late 1980s. Even though since the 1940s, PAN had won a couple of seats in the Congress, and in 1947 the first presidential municipality (in Quiroga, Michoacán
Michoacán
Michoacán officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Michoacán de Ocampo is one of the 31 states which, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided in 113 municipalities and its capital city is Morelia...
), it wasn't until 1989, that the first non-PRI governor of a state was elected (at Baja California
Baja California
Baja California officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Baja California is one of the 31 states which, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is both the northernmost and westernmost state of Mexico. Before becoming a state in 1953, the area was known as the North...
). It was in 1997, that PRI lost its absolute majority at the Congress of the Union, and in 2000 the first non-PRI president was elected since 1929.
Elections and political composition of the institutions
Suffrage is universal, free, secret and direct for all Mexican citizens 18 and older, and is compulsory (but not enforced). The identity documentIdentity document
An identity document is any document which may be used to verify aspects of a person's personal identity. If issued in the form of a small, mostly standard-sized card, it is usually called an identity card...
in Mexico serves also as the voting card, so all citizens are automatically registered for all elections; that is, no pre-registration is necessary for every election. All elections are direct; that is, no electoral college is constituted for any of the elections at the federal, state or municipal level. Only when an incumbent president is absolutely absent (either through resignation, impeachment or death), the Congress of the Union constitutes itself acts as an electoral college to elect an interim president by absolute majority.
Presidential elections are scheduled every six years, except in the exceptional case of absolute absence of the president. Legislative elections are scheduled every six years for the Senate, to be fully renewed in elections held concurrently with the presidential elections; and every three years for the Chamber of Deputies. Elections are usually held on the first Sunday of July. State governors are also elected every six years, whereas the legislatures are renewed every three years. State elections need not be concurrent with federal elections. Federal elections are organized and supervised by the autonomous public Federal Electoral Institute
Federal Electoral Institute
The Federal Electoral Institute is an autonomous, public organization responsible for organizing federal elections in Mexico, that is, those related to the election of the President of the United Mexican States and to the election of the members of the Lower and Upper Chambers that constitute the ...
, whereas state and municipal elections are organized and supervised by electoral institutes constituted by each state of the federation. Elections within the Federal District are also organized by a local electoral institute.
A strongly ingrained concept in Mexican political life is "no reelection." The theory was implemented after Porfirio Díaz
Porfirio Díaz
José de la Cruz Porfirio Díaz Mori was a Mexican-American War volunteer and French intervention hero, an accomplished general and the President of Mexico continuously from 1876 to 1911, with the exception of a brief term in 1876 when he left Juan N...
managed to monopolize the presidency for over 25 years. Presently, Mexican presidents are limited to a single six-year term, and no one who has held the office even on a caretaker basis is allowed to hold the office again. Deputies and senators are not allowed to immediately succeed themselves.
Federal elections
The most recent federal presidential elections were held on July 2, 2006 concurrent with the full renovation of both chambers of the Congress of the Union. In these elections the Party of the Democratic RevolutionParty of the Democratic Revolution
The Party of the Democratic Revolution is a democratic socialist party in Mexico and one of 2 Mexican affiliates of the Socialist International...
(PRD), the Labour Party (PT) and Convergence
Convergence (Mexico)
Convergence is a political party in Mexico. It was previously known as Convergence for Democracy but the party assembly decided, in August 2002, to adopt the shorter form of its name.Convergence was founded as a "national political grouping" in 1997...
(CV) formed a coalition called Coalition for the Good of All
Coalition for the Good of All
The Coalition for the Good of All was a left-wing coalition created by the Party of the Democratic Revolution , Convergence and the Labor Party to support Andrés Manuel López Obrador as a candidate for the presidency of Mexico in the general election of 2006...
. The Institutional Revolutionary Party
Institutional Revolutionary Party
The Institutional Revolutionary Party is a Mexican political party that held power in the country—under a succession of names—for more than 70 years. The PRI is a member of the Socialist International, as is the rival Party of the Democratic Revolution , making Mexico one of the few...
(PRI) and the Ecologist Green Party
Ecologist Green Party of Mexico
The Ecologist Green Party of Mexico is one of the six political parties to have representation in the Mexican Congress. The party's congressional strength currently stands at 17 deputies and five senators .-Elections 2000:...
(PVEM) formed a coalition called Alliance for Mexico
Alliance for Mexico
The Alliance for Mexico is the name of two different multi-party electoral alliances in Mexico; one from 2000 and the other from 2006.-2000 elections:...
.
Presidential elections
Felipe Calderón
Felipe de Jesús Calderón Hinojosa is the current President of Mexico. He assumed office on December 1, 2006, and was elected for a single six-year term through 2012...
got the greatest number of votes according to the preliminary computation (PREP) and the ballot recount. Andrés Manuel López Obrador
Andrés Manuel López Obrador
Andrés Manuel López Obrador , also known as AMLO or El Peje, is a Mexican politician who held the position of Head of Government of the Federal District from 2000 to 2005, before resigning in July 2005 to contend the 2006 presidential election, representing the unsuccessful Coalition for the Good...
contested the results and demanded a vote-per-vote recount, which was denied by the Federal Electoral Tribunal, based on the argument that inconsistencies could not be proved for all electoral circumscriptions, but order a partial recount of votes of those that did show inconsistencies which represented 9.2% of the total, after which the results were not significantly altered. The Federal Electoral Tribunal declared Felipe Calderón the winner of the elections on September 5, and president elect. He took office on December 1, and his term will end on November 30, 2012.
Congressional elections
The concurrent congressional elections were not contested by any party. Both chambers were completely renewed and no party obtained absolute majority. All deputies and senators took office on September 1. First-past-the-postFirst-past-the-post
First-past-the-post voting refers to an election won by the candidate with the most votes. The winning potato candidate does not necessarily receive an absolute majority of all votes cast.-Overview:...
plurality candidates (FPP) of coalitions represent the parties of which they are members. Proportional representation
Proportional representation
Proportional representation is a concept in voting systems used to elect an assembly or council. PR means that the number of seats won by a party or group of candidates is proportionate to the number of votes received. For example, under a PR voting system if 30% of voters support a particular...
(PR) seats assigned to coalitions were further reassigned to their constituent parties in whatever manner and number they agreed upon. Parties that formed a coalition for the general elections may continue to work together but they do not form a unified political bloc at the Congress; parliamentary groups are identified by parties and not by coalitions.
The 64 Senate first-past-the-post (FPP) seats are assigned to the pair of senators of the same party (who run together) that obtain the majority of votes per state and the Federal District. The 32 first minority (FM) seats are assigned to the first runner-up
Runner-up
Runner-up is a term used to denote a participant which finishes in second place in any of a variety of competitive endeavors, most notably sporting events and beauty pageants; in the latter instance, the term is applied to more than one of the highest-ranked non-winning contestants, the...
per party and the Federal District. Finally, 32 proportional representation (PR) seats are assigned according to national votes to the party or coalition in relation to the total number of votes obtained nationally. PR seats are assigned to the coalition who then reassigns them to its constituent parties in whatever manner and number they had originally agreed upon, and may or may not work as a bloc in the Senate.
State elections
- PRI governs 20 states: AguascalientesAguascalientesAguascalientes is one of the 31 states which, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided in 11 municipalities and its capital city is Aguascalientes....
, CampecheCampecheCampeche is one of the 31 states which, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. Located in Southeast Mexico, it is bordered by the states of Yucatán to the north east, Quintana Roo to the east, and Tabasco to the south west...
, Chihuahua, CoahuilaCoahuilaCoahuila, formally Coahuila de Zaragoza , officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Coahuila de Zaragoza is one of the 31 states which, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico...
, ColimaColimaColima is one of the 31 states which, with the Federal District, make up the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It shares its name with its capital and main city, Colima....
, DurangoDurangoDurango officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Durango is one of the 31 states which, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. The state is located in Northwest Mexico. With a population of 1,632,934, it has Mexico's second-lowest population density, after Baja...
, Hidalgo, México, NayaritNayaritNayarit officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Nayarit is one of the 31 states which, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided in 20 municipalities and its capital city is Tepic.It is located in Western Mexico...
, Nuevo LeónNuevo LeónNuevo León It is located in Northeastern Mexico. It is bordered by the states of Tamaulipas to the north and east, San Luis Potosí to the south, and Coahuila to the west. To the north, Nuevo León has a 15 kilometer stretch of the U.S.-Mexico border adjacent to the U.S...
, PueblaPueblaPuebla officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Puebla is one of the 31 states which, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided in 217 municipalities and its capital city is Puebla....
, QuerétaroQuerétaroQuerétaro officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Querétaro de Arteaga is one of the 31 states which, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided into 18 municipalities and its capital city is Santiago de Querétaro....
, Quintana RooQuintana RooQuintana Roo officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Quintana Roo is one of the 31 states which, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided in 10 municipalities and its capital city is Chetumal....
, San Luis PotosíSan Luis PotosíSan Luis Potosí officially Estado Libre y Soberano de San Luis Potosí is one of the 31 states which, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided in 58 municipalities and its capital city is San Luis Potosí....
, SinaloaSinaloaSinaloa officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Sinaloa is one of the 31 states which, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided in 18 municipalities and its capital city is Culiacán Rosales....
, TabascoTabascoTabasco officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Tabasco is one of the 31 states which, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided in 17 municipalities and its capital city is Villahermosa....
, TamaulipasTamaulipasTamaulipas officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Tamaulipas is one of the 31 states which, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided in 43 municipalities and its capital city is Ciudad Victoria. The capital city was named after Guadalupe Victoria, the...
, Veracruz, YucatánYucatánYucatán officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Yucatán is one of the 31 states which, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided in 106 municipalities and its capital city is Mérida....
and ZacatecasZacatecasZacatecas officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Zacatecas is one of the 31 states which, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided in 58 municipalities and its capital city is Zacatecas....
. - PAN governs 7 estates: Baja CaliforniaBaja CaliforniaBaja California officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Baja California is one of the 31 states which, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is both the northernmost and westernmost state of Mexico. Before becoming a state in 1953, the area was known as the North...
, Baja California surBaja California SurBaja California Sur , is one of the 31 states which, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. Before becoming a state on October 8, 1974, the area was known as the South Territory of Baja California. It has an area of , or 3.57% of the land mass of Mexico and comprises...
, GuanajuatoGuanajuatoGuanajuato officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Guanajuato is one of the 31 states which, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided in 46 municipalities and its capital city is Guanajuato....
, JaliscoJaliscoJalisco officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Jalisco is one of the 31 states which, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is located in Western Mexico and divided in 125 municipalities and its capital city is Guadalajara.It is one of the more important states...
, MorelosMorelosMorelos officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Morelos is one of the 31 states which, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided in 33 municipalities and its capital city is Cuernavaca....
, SonoraSonoraSonora officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Sonora is one of the 31 states which, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided into 72 municipalities; the capital city is Hermosillo....
and TlaxcalaTlaxcalaTlaxcala officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Tlaxcala is one of the 31 states which along with the Federal District comprise the 32 federative entities of Mexico. It is divided into 60 municipalities and its capital city is Tlaxcala....
. - PRD governs 3 states and the Federal District (Mexico City): ChiapasChiapasChiapas officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Chiapas is one of the 31 states that, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided in 118 municipalities and its capital city is Tuxtla Gutierrez. Other important cites in Chiapas include San Cristóbal de las...
, Distrito Federal, GuerreroGuerreroGuerrero officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Guerrero is one of the 31 states which, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided in 81 municipalities and its capital city is Chilpancingo....
and MichoacánMichoacánMichoacán officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Michoacán de Ocampo is one of the 31 states which, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided in 113 municipalities and its capital city is Morelia...
. - Convergencia governs a state: OaxacaOaxacaOaxaca , , officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Oaxaca is one of the 31 states which, along with the Federal District, comprise the 32 federative entities of Mexico. It is divided into 571 municipalities; of which 418 are governed by the system of customs and traditions...
.
Historical political development
Mexican Revolution
The Mexican Revolution was a major armed struggle that started in 1910, with an uprising led by Francisco I. Madero against longtime autocrat Porfirio Díaz. The Revolution was characterized by several socialist, liberal, anarchist, populist, and agrarianist movements. Over time the Revolution...
were united into a single party, the National Revolutionary Party (NRP), with the aim of stabilizing the country and ending internal conflicts. During the following administrations, since 1928, many of the revolutionary ideals were put into effect, among them the free distribution of land to peasants and farmers, the nationalization of the oil companies, the birth and rapid growth of the Social Security Institute as well as that of Labor Unions, and the protection of national industries. The party was later renamed the Mexican Revolution Party and finally the Institutional Revolutionary Party
Institutional Revolutionary Party
The Institutional Revolutionary Party is a Mexican political party that held power in the country—under a succession of names—for more than 70 years. The PRI is a member of the Socialist International, as is the rival Party of the Democratic Revolution , making Mexico one of the few...
. The social institutions created by the party itself provided it with the necessary strength to stay in power. In time, the system gradually became, as some political scientists have labeled it, an "electoral authoritarianism", in that the party resorted to any means necessary, except that of the dissolution of the constitutional and electoral system itself, to remain in power. In fact, Mexico was considered a bastion of continued constitutional government in times where coup d'état
Coup d'état
A coup d'état state, literally: strike/blow of state)—also known as a coup, putsch, and overthrow—is the sudden, extrajudicial deposition of a government, usually by a small group of the existing state establishment—typically the military—to replace the deposed government with another body; either...
s and military dictatorships were the norm in Latin America
Latin America
Latin America is a region of the Americas where Romance languages – particularly Spanish and Portuguese, and variably French – are primarily spoken. Latin America has an area of approximately 21,069,500 km² , almost 3.9% of the Earth's surface or 14.1% of its land surface area...
, in that the institutions were renovated electorally, even if only in appearance and with little participation of the opposition parties at the local level.
The first cracks in the system, even though they were merely symbolic, were the 1970s reforms to the electoral system and the composition of the Congress of the Union which for the first time incorporated proportional representation seats allowing opposition parties to obtain seats, though limited in number, in the Chamber of Deputies. As minority parties became involved in the system, they gradually demanded more changes, and a full democratic representation. Even though in the 1960s, a couple (of more than two thousand) municipalities were governed by opposition parties, the first state government to be won by an opposition party was Baja California
Baja California
Baja California officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Baja California is one of the 31 states which, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is both the northernmost and westernmost state of Mexico. Before becoming a state in 1953, the area was known as the North...
, in 1989.
The presidential elections
Mexican general election, 1988
General elections were held in Mexico on July 6, 1988. The presidential elections were won by Carlos Salinas de Gortari, who received 50.7% of the vote, the lowest for a winning candidate since direct elections were introduced for the presidency in 1917...
held in 1988 marked a watershed in Mexican politics, as they were the first serious threat to the party in power by an opposition candidate, Cuauhtémoc Cárdenas
Cuauhtémoc Cárdenas
Cuauhtémoc Cárdenas Solórzano is a prominent Mexican politician. He was a former Head of Government of the Federal District and a founder of the Party of the Democratic Revolution .-Biography:...
, a defector from the ruling Institutional Revolutionary Party
Institutional Revolutionary Party
The Institutional Revolutionary Party is a Mexican political party that held power in the country—under a succession of names—for more than 70 years. The PRI is a member of the Socialist International, as is the rival Party of the Democratic Revolution , making Mexico one of the few...
(PRI) and son of former President Lazaro Cardenas
Lázaro Cárdenas
Lázaro Cárdenas del Río was President of Mexico from 1934 to 1940.-Early life:Lázaro Cárdenas was born on May 21, 1895 in a lower-middle class family in the village of Jiquilpan, Michoacán. He supported his family from age 16 after the death of his father...
, who was nominated by a broad coalition of leftist parties. He officially received 31.1 percent of the vote, against 50.4 percent for Carlos Salinas de Gortari, the PRI candidate, and 17 percent for Manuel Clouthier
Manuel Clouthier
Manuel de Jesús Clouthier del Rincón, also known as Maquío was a Mexican businessman and politician affiliated to the conservative National Action Party...
of the National Action Party
National Action Party (Mexico)
The National Action Party , is one of the three main political parties in Mexico. The party's political platform is generally considered Centre-Right in the Mexican political spectrum. Since 2000, the President of Mexico has been a member of this party; both houses have PAN pluralities, but the...
(PAN). It was widely said that Cardenas had won the election, but that the then government-controlled electoral commission had altered the results after the infamous "glitch in the system" (se cayó el sistema, as it was reported). In the concurrent elections, the PRI came within 11 seats of losing the majority of Chamber of Deputies
Chamber of Deputies of Mexico
The Chamber of Deputies is the lower house of the Congress of the Union, Mexico's bicameral legislature. The structure and responsibilities of both chambers of Congress are defined in Articles 50 to 70 of the current constitution.-Composition:The Chamber of Deputies is composed of one federal...
, and opposition parties captured 4 of the 64 Senate
Senate of Mexico
The Senate of the Republic, constitutionally Chamber of Senators of the Honorable Congress of the Union After a series of reforms during the 1990s, it is now made up of 128 senators:...
seats - the first time that the PRI had failed to hold every seat in the Senate. Capitalizing on the popularity of President Salinas, however, the PRI rebounded in the mid-term congressional elections of 1991
Mexican legislative election, 1991
Legislative elections were held in Mexico on 18 August 1991. The Institutional Revolutionary Party won 320 of the 500 seats in the Chamber of Deputies and 61 of the 64 seats in the Senate. Voter turnout was 61% in the Chamber election and 62% in the Senate election.-Senate:-Chamber of Deputies:...
, winning 320 seats.
Subsequent changes included the creation of the Federal Electoral Institute in the 1990s and the inclusion of proportional representation and first minority seats in the Senate. The presidential election of 1994
Mexican general election, 1994
General elections were held in Mexico on 21 August 1994. The presidential elections resulted in a victory for Ernesto Zedillo of the Institutional Revolutionary Party, whilst the PRI won 300 of the 500 seats in the Chamber of Deputies and 95 of the 128 seats in the Senate...
was judged to be the first relatively free election in modern Mexican history. Ernesto Zedillo
Ernesto Zedillo
Ernesto Zedillo Ponce de León is a Mexican economist and politician. He served as President of Mexico from December 1, 1994 to November 30, 2000, as the last of the uninterrupted seventy year line of Mexican presidents from the Institutional Revolutionary Party...
of the PRI won with 50.2 percent of the vote, against 26.7 percent for Diego Fernández de Cevallos
Diego Fernández de Cevallos
Diego Fernández de Cevallos Ramos is a Mexican politician affiliated to the conservative National Action Party . He was a presidential candidate in the 1994 election and President of the Mexican Senate.-Life and career:...
of PAN and 17.1 percent for Cardenas, who this time represented the Party of the Democratic Revolution
Party of the Democratic Revolution
The Party of the Democratic Revolution is a democratic socialist party in Mexico and one of 2 Mexican affiliates of the Socialist International...
(PRD). Although the opposition campaign was hurt by the desire of the Mexican electorate for stability, following the assassination of Luis Donaldo Colosio
Luis Donaldo Colosio
Luis Donaldo Colosio Murrieta was a Mexican politician, and PRI presidential candidate, who was assassinated at a campaign rally in Tijuana during the Mexican Presidential campaign of 1994.-Political history:...
, the intended PRI candidate, and the recent outbreak of hostilities in the state of Chiapas
Chiapas
Chiapas officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Chiapas is one of the 31 states that, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided in 118 municipalities and its capital city is Tuxtla Gutierrez. Other important cites in Chiapas include San Cristóbal de las...
, Zedillo's share of the vote was the lowest official percentage for any PRI presidential candidate up to that time.
In the 1997 mid-term elections
Mexican legislative election, 1997
Legislative elections were held in Mexico on 6 June 1997. The Institutional Revolutionary Party won 239 of the 500 seats in the Chamber of Deputies, the first time it had failed to win a majority...
, no party held majority in the Chamber of Deputies, and in 2000 the first opposition party president was sworn in office since 1929. Vicente Fox
Vicente Fox
Vicente Fox Quesada is a Mexican former politician who served as President of Mexico from 1 December 2000 to 30 November 2006 and currently serves as co-President of the Centrist Democrat International, an international organization of Christian democratic political parties.Fox was elected...
won the election with 43% of the vote, followed by PRI candidate Francisco Labastida
Francisco Labastida
Francisco Labastida Ochoa is a Mexican economist and politician affiliated to the Institutional Revolutionary Party , who became the first presidential candidate of his party to lose a presidential election, which he did in the 2000 presidential election to Vicente Fox.He was born to Gloria Ochoa...
with 36%, and Cuauhtémoc Cárdenas
Cuauhtémoc Cárdenas
Cuauhtémoc Cárdenas Solórzano is a prominent Mexican politician. He was a former Head of Government of the Federal District and a founder of the Party of the Democratic Revolution .-Biography:...
of the Party of the Democratic Revolution
Party of the Democratic Revolution
The Party of the Democratic Revolution is a democratic socialist party in Mexico and one of 2 Mexican affiliates of the Socialist International...
(PRD) with 17%.
Numerous electoral reforms implemented after 1989 aided in the opening of the Mexican political system, and opposition parties made historic gains in elections at all levels. Many of the current electoral concerns have shifted from outright fraud to campaign fairness issues. During 1995-96 the political parties negotiated constitutional amendments to address these issues. Implementing legislation included major points of consensus that had been worked out with the opposition parties. The thrust of the new laws has public financing predominate over private contributions to political parties, tightens procedures for auditing the political parties, and strengthens the authority and independence of electoral institutions. The court system also was given greatly expanded authority to hear civil rights cases on electoral matters brought by individuals or groups. In short, the extensive reform efforts have "leveled the playing field" for the parties.
The 2006 elections
2006 Mexican elections
A number of elections on the federal and local level took place in Mexico during 2006.-Federal election:A general election was held on Sunday, July 2, 2006...
saw the PRI fall to third place behind both the PAN and the PRD. Roberto Madrazo
Roberto Madrazo
Roberto Madrazo Pintado is a Mexican politician affiliated with the Institutional Revolutionary Party . He was the candidate of the alliance between his party and the Ecologist Green Party of Mexico in the 2006 Mexican presidential election.Madrazo was born in Villahermosa, Tabasco to Carlos A....
, the presidential candidate, polled only 22.3 percent of the vote, and the party ended up with only 121 seats in the Chamber of Deputies, a loss of more than half of what the party had obtained in 2003, and 38 Senate seats, a loss of 22. Nevertheless, at the state level, more states are still governed by PRI than by the rest of the parties.
See also
- State governments of MexicoState governments of MexicoState governments of Mexico are those sovereign governments formed in each Mexican state.Structured in accordance with the constitution of each state, state governments in Mexico are modeled on the federal system, with three branches of government — executive, legislative, and judicial, and are...
- Federal government of MexicoFederal government of MexicoThe federal government of Mexico is the national government of the United Mexican States, the central government established by the Constitution of the United Mexican States to share sovereignty over the United Mexican States with the governments of the 31 individual Mexican states and to represent...
- Powers of the Union (Mexico)