Mexico

cabildos

town councils established during the colonial period that served as the basis for the independence movement

caciques

political bosses who control local government and are relatively autonomous from the federal government. Co-opting these individuals has been a main concern in the centralization of political authority in Mexico. 

Felipe Calderon Hinojosa

The second non-PRI president elected since the 1920s. member of PAN and committed to a pro-business, market-oriented economic platform.

Lazaro Cardenas

president of Mexico from 1934-1940. responsible for institutionalizing the corporatist form of government and bringing labor, agricultural workers, and industry under the control of the state

caudillos

political strongmen during the 1800s who frequently controlled their own armies and dominated local politics. Their presence made centralized political authority difficult to establish during the 19th century and led to decades of political instability.

Conservatives

loose-knit political party during the 1800s that represented the interests of the agricultural sector while being opposed to industrialization and democratic reforms

Constitution of 1917

The Constitution of the Mexican Revolution which promoted radical agrarian reform and workers’ rights. It would become the legal basis for Lazaro Cardenas to redistribute land and nationalize Mexico’s oil industry.

corporatism

An ideology derived from medieval Catholic thought that views the polity as an organic whole and seeks to minimize social conflict by organizing competing interests through central government. In its institutional form, the government organizes and directs urban and rural labor unions as well as professional organizations.

criollos

individuals of pure-blooded Spanish heritage born in Mexico. The economic and political elite tend to be from this racial class.

Democratic Revolutionary Party (PRD)

a leftist political party formed after the 1988 presidential election by defectors from the PRI in order to offer an electoral alternative to the dominant party

dinosaurios

a faction of the ruling PRI party in the last 2 decades of the 20th century. Its members want to maintain corporatist forms of economic and political organization

ejidos

communal farms that originated in pre-Columbian indigenous societies and were promoted in the 1917 constitution. Lazaro Cardenas established a number of them during the late 1930s as a way of distributing land among indigenous populations and poor farmers

Vincente Fox

Victor of the 2000 presidential election from the PAN and a former businessman. The 1st candidate from an opposition party to win the presidency since the Mexican Revolution.

import-substituting industrialization (ISI)

The dominant economic policy of Mexico from the 1930s to the early 1980s, designed to industrialize the nation. According to this general economic strategy, high import tariffs are imposed to stimulate domestic production of consumer goods

Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI)

The dominant ruling party of Mexico since the 1920s. Although it originated as a center-left party, it has drifted toward the center-right since the 1980s. 

Benito Juarez

a liberal reformer in the mid-1800s who sought to promote land reform, centralize political authority, and modernize Mexico

La Reforma

a period in Mexican history during which liberal political forces predominated over their conservative rivals and began implementing economic and political reforms designed to bring Mexico closer to the policies and forms of government of the US and Northern Europe. This represented the 1st time since the end of colonialism that a consistent gov plan appeared, even though this era was beset by civil war and a foreign occupation

Liberals

loose-knit political party during the 1800s that represented urban interests and promoted increased trade ties with Northern Europe and the US

Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna

the most important caudillo in Mexico during the 19th century, who intermittently served as president

Mestizos

individuals of mixed Spanish an indigenous heritage.

Mexican Miracle

period from 1940-1980 wherein rapid industrialization promoted high levels of economic growth and improved living standards. gave rise to a new middle class with rising expectations that were restricted by the gov’s inability to satisfy these demands during the last 2 decades of the 20th century

Mexican Revolution

the period from 1910-1920 wherein a major civil war among various factions eventually led to a set of radical social programs, namely labor rights and land reform, being included in the Constitution of 1917 and eventually implemented under Lazaro Cardenas during the 1930s

National Action Party (PAN)

a center-right party established in the mid-1900s as a challenge to the PRI dominance. won some critical local elections during the 1980s and 1990s that pushed Mexico toward greater political liberalization

neoliberalism

a policy that emphasizes free trade, privatization of industry, an a reduction in government intervention in the economy. pursued by Salinas and Zedillo during the 1980s and 1990s

North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA)

an international treaty that lowered trade barriers among Mexico, the US, and Canda. centerpiece of Pres Salinas’s neoliberal economic strategy.

pan o palo

“bread or club” use of political patronage to buy political support + the use of coercion

Porfiriato

period from 1876-1910 during which the caudillo and dictatorial President blank Diaz ruled Mexico. first time since colonial days that Mexico was unified under central rule for a significant period; also a time of strong economic growth that gave rise to new social classes and eventually the Mexican Revolution

Carlos Salinas de Gortari

Mexican president form 1988-1994. reversed decades of corporatist and ISI policies in favor of a neoliberal economic agenda. called for political liberalization at the end of the 20th century

tecnicos

faction within the ruling PRI that rose to prominence in the 1980s by promoting neoliberal economic reforms.

Tlatelolco

site of a massacre in 1968 where more than 100 protestors were killed by state police. signaled that the long-standing legitimacy of the PRI’s corporatist rule was wearing thin, especially among students and the middle class

Virgin of Guadalupe

symbol of Mexico’s unique national identity that blends European Catholicism with indigenous images.

Emiliano Zapata

the leader of a revolutionary army during the Mexican Revolution. demanded greater rights for indigenous rural workers in southern Mexico, including a substantial land reform that eventually became a centerpiece of the 1917 constitution

Zapatista National Liberation Army (ELZN)

guerrilla army that appeared in the southern Mexican state of Chiapas in 1994 following the implementation of NAFTA. Like their earlier revolutionary namesake, demanded land reform, economic justrice, and freer political representation for the poor indigenous communities

Ernest Zedillo

president of Mexico from 1994-2000. oversaw an extension of neoliberal reforms and promoted greater political liberalization, including the first-ever presidential primary election in Mexican history.