comp gov: mexico

Camarillas

patron-client networks rooted heavily in agrarian Mexico[

Chamber of Deputies

the lower house of the Congress of the Union, the bicameral parliament of Mexico; the other chamber, the upper house, is the Senate[

Constitution of 1917

Mexico's governing document, establishing a federal system with a supreme national executive, legislature, and judiciary[

Ejidos

agricultural collective land grants given to peasants by the Cardenas government[

El dedazo

translates as “the point”; metaphor from Mexico describing the nomination process of a new PRI candidate (who would become the expected presidential winner during PRI dominance until 2000) by the outgoing PRI president[

Federal Electoral Institute (INE – Instituto Nacional Electoral)

an autonomous, public organization in Mexico responsible for organizing federal elections in Mexico; it was formally established in 1990 as a result of a series of constitutional reforms[

Haciendas

privately owned land that the Cardenas government seized and redistributed to peasants in the form of ejido land grants[

Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI- Partido Revolucionario Institucional)

the dominant political party in Mexico, founded in 1929, and held uninterrupted power from 1929 to 2000. During its time in power, the PRI became a symbol of corruption, repression, economic mismanagement, and electoral fraud.[

Maquiladora Zones

areas of Mexico’s manufacturing industry mostly located in northern Mexico; factories established to assemble parts imported from the United States for assembly in Mexico made more possible due to NAFTA. They contributed to greater economic development in the north than in the south.[

Mestizo

a blend of European and Amerindian (Amerindians are more likely to live in marginalized rural areas and to live in poverty)[

Mexican Miracle

high GDP growth that was sustained for much of the period from the 1940s through the 1970s as a result of high energy prices and economic reforms[

Mexican Revolution

major armed struggle, lasting roughly from 1910 to 1920, its outbreak resulting from the failure of the 31-year-long regime of Profirio Diaz.[

National Action Party (PAN- Partido Accion Nacional)

conservative political party in Mexico founded in 1938; the PAN candidate Vincente Fox was elected president in 2000[

National Regeneration Movement (MORENA -Movimiento de Regeneracion Nacional)

a left-wing national party formed in 2011; this is the political party of the Incumbent president Andres Manual Lopez Obrador[

North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA)

a free-trade agreement enacted in 1994 that involves the United States, Canada, and Mexico[

Parallel voting

describes a mixed electoral system where voters in effect participate in two separate elections for a single chamber using different systems, and where the results in one election have little or no impact on the results of the other (usually refers to the semi-proportional system, which combines the first-past-the-post voting with party-list proportional representation)[

Party of the Democratic Revolution (PRD- Partido de la Revolucion Democratica)

a left of center party, formed in 1988. It has long controlled the government of the capital city, Mexico City.[

PEMEX

Mexico's state-owned national oil exploration and refining company[

Senate of the Republic

upper house of Mexico’s bicameral Congress[

Sexenio

the one six-year term of a Mexican president[

Televisa

Mexico's most watched television network and largest media conglomerate; it was accused of covering then-candidate Enrique Pena Nieto favorably during the 2012 election cycle in an attempt to help the PRI win power again[

Tlatelolco Massacre

when Mexican Armed Forces opened fire on demonstrators on October 2, 1968 following a summer of increasingly large protests in Mexico City against the costs of the 1968 Olympics held in Mexico City as well as corruption and the oppression of the poor[

Yo Soy #132

a protest movement during the 2012 election cycle that accused media company Televisa of using its networks to help PRI candidates get elected[

Zapatista Uprising

an event on January 1, 1994, where a far left, libertarian-socialist political and militant group (the Zapatistas) revolted in the state of Chiapas (where the group is based) to protest NAFTA’s enactment. During the Rebellion, the rebels attacked civic centers such as city halls and were met by violent police force.[