Comp Gov Mexico

I. Rise of the PRI

A. Before the PRI

1. Colonial system brought Catholicism and a class system based on race (modern Mexico is 60% mestizo and 30% indigenous/Amerindian).

2. Mexican Revolution was caused by repressive dictator Porfirio Díaz, who promoted FDI but [created] inequality; peasants revolted: chaos resulted in a million deaths.

3. Effects: Mexican Constitution of 1917 — liberal constitution still used, created federal state, gave rights to poor. Religion: anti-clerical laws after religious rebellion, seized church property, limited role in politics.

B. Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI) — non-ideological rule from 1929–2000.

1. Political System — "Perfect Dictatorship," an illiberal democracy

   • a) Sexenio — president limited to one 6-year term to prevent dictatorship; most early presidents were generals.

   • b) El Dedazo — "tap of the finger": [the president] chose [his] successor and appointed all other government positions (patron-clientelism).

   • c) Corporatist system — few interest groups with exclusive access and control by the government to form policy; peasants, unions, and middle-class business were single peak associations.

2. Economic System — "Mexican Miracle"

   • a) Redistributed land in the form of ejidos — farms owned by the government that would be leased and subsidized to poor farmers.

   • b) Nationalized industries, especially oil industry (PEMEX) — major export.

   • c) Import substitution industrialization (ISI) — develop national industry through protectionism: tariffs, state ownership, subsidies/investment.

   • d) High growth from oil growth and low inflation, but corruption and rapid urbanization.

Economic Crisis (1970–1994)

A. Causes of Crisis: Government became reliant on oil revenues, but the oil crash led to nationalizing banks and borrowing from the IMF and World Bank.

B. Economic Liberalization

1. IMF demanded structural adjustment — reform policies (privatization, ending subsidies) to improve the economy and help repayment; downside is loss of sovereignty and hurting the poor through budget cuts.

2. New generation of technocratic leadership (Presidents De la Madrid and Salinas, 82–94) embraced neoliberal reforms, decreased power of unions, privatized much of the ejidos land, joined the WTO in 1986.

3. NAFTA (1994) — agreement of free trade of goods with the US and Canada.

• a) Effects: helped growth but unequally; growth in northern regions but pain for farmers in the south with decreasing subsidies; vulnerability — economic collapse in 1994 and US bailout.

• b) Zapatista Uprising in 1994 — leftist rebel indigenous group rose up in Chiapas for more rights for Amerindians and against inequality.

Questions & Answers — M.1–2

Q1. Describe three pillars of legitimacy of the PRI regime.

1. Stability — 1920s → sexenio → 6-year term only; power would transfer to [the next] people; (note: the previous president wanted [to stay] in charge).

2. Protectionism — ISI, subsidies, government wants to grow the economy, nationalization → 1930s, "FDR of Mexico" → natural resources owned by Mexico's government.

3. Corporatism — mutualism.

Q2. Compare the policies of import substitution and structural adjustment in their positive/negative effects on development.

• ISI: nationalize major industries → protectionism.

• Structural adjustment: → investment in [the economy] → economic liberalization; FDI; tariffs ↓, etc.

Q3. Describe three reasons why the PRI regime fell from power.

1. Political reform.

2. Lack of stability / trust → [loss of] certainty/order → massacre [Tlatelolco].

3. [left blank on the page]

Q4. Describe the process of democratization in Mexico since 2000. What evidence demonstrates that liberalism has improved?

• They transferred power through elections, not violence or foreign [intervention]. This shows that they're more… (sentence trails off on the page)

M.3–4 Mexican Government StructureII. Executive Branch

A. President

1. How elected: Direct plurality (no run-off) for a sexenio — one six-year term.

2. Role: Head of government and state.

3. Powers: military, veto, international [affairs], run government, appointments, cabinet, introduce legislation.

4. Informal power — through the party can dominate other branches and states (especially in the PRI era).

5. Impeachment: indictment by lower house for a crime, trial by upper house.

B. Cabinet — appointed by the president, confirmed by the Senate; heads of departments (most important is the Interior — law and order); increasingly technocratic.

C. Bureaucracy/Civil Service — hierarchy of non-political workers in government departments who implement policy.

1. Large — local/state/federal/parastatal, unions, with moderate salary (middle class — but also can be bribed).

2. Patron-client system — connections within political hierarchies which guide promotion and loyalty (patrons give jobs, clients give loyalty).

II. Legislative Branch — Congress of the Union (symmetrical legislature)

A. Senate (upper house)

1. Represents the 31 states and 1 Federal District (Mexico City) (note in margin: 2024).

2. Each state elects 3 senators: two (together in a party) through FPTP plurality and one for the first minority.

3. 32 senators are elected through proportional representation (128 total).

4. Six-year term, recently allowed two terms.

B. Chamber of Deputies (lower house)

1. 300 "Majority Deputies" elected through single-member districts.

2. 200 "Party Deputies" elected through party-list PR, 2% minimum threshold.

3. Three-year term, recently allowed four terms.

C. Policy Making

1. Both houses have similar levels of power (symmetrical) but slightly different roles — e.g., Chamber levies taxes, Senate approves appointments.

2. President and bureaucracy have played the central role because of the power of the PRI and patron-clientelism; legislature is dominated by a single party/coalition.

3. Civil society influencing policy is becoming more pluralist (used to be very corporatist).

III. Judiciary

A. Civil law system: longer and more clearly defined, based on statutes not precedent, with an easier amendment process (many recent changes).

B. Court system problems with lack of rule of law: corruption, limited experience with civil rights, and crime.

C. Reforms

1. Transitioning to become an adversarial, transparent system, presumption of innocence, with stronger judicial review (Supreme Court has had [this] since 1994).

2. Morena has pushed judicial reforms that make all judges elected, rather than the previous system in which Supreme Court justices were appointed by the president, confirmed by the Senate, for 15-year terms.

3. Concerns about the politicization and decrease of independence of the courts.

IV. State and Local Government

A. Federalism — constitutional division of power between central and regional government (explain difference with unitary; why diverse countries choose federalism).

B. Government: Governors elected to a 6-year term by their states; local legislatures mostly have mixed electoral systems and are unicameral; elections were a great source of democratization.

C. Advantages: autonomy to create laws to accommodate its local population (e.g., ethnic minorities or abortion policy); helps increase political legitimacy and efficacy.

D. Disadvantages: can lead to inefficiencies and inconsistencies in policy, increasing cleavages.

E. Though a federal structure, Mexico was very centralized until the decline in the power of the PRI (Morena now controls a majority of states); most finances are controlled by the central government.

V. Other Institutions

A. Military

1. Had strong policy-making power under early caudillos; now is clearly underneath the civilian government (no coups) but was involved in putting down leftist protesters; growing political and economic role under AMLO.

2. Has been used within the country for domestic law enforcement (drugs and uprisings like the Zapatista), but [causes] collateral damage and human rights violations.

B. Parastatals — autonomous (or semi-) government-owned industries.

1. Change over time: until 1980, a major part of the economy (over a thousand: investment, electricity, farm subsidies, etc.), and the unions had significant political influence. Most have been privatized because of economic liberalization, but there still are some (fewer than 200).

2. Pemex — national oil company; government owns all mineral rights; inefficient and dropping production; source of about 20–25% of government revenue; the PRI's 2014 constitutional change allowed foreign investment and competition, but [this was] recently reversed by AMLO (wants to bolster it to use for social services).

Questions & Answers — M.3–4

Q1. Describe two similarities between Mexico's political system and the US's.

• Single executive

• Bicameral legislature

• Impeachments, etc.

Q2. Describe two differences between Mexico's political system and the US's.

• Single-member and proportional representation are both used [in Mexico].

• [Pena] Nieto had to work with other parties [no single-party majority].

Q3. Describe two reforms (not covered above) that have helped Mexico's democratic consolidation.

• Ending el dedazo → allowed free elections.

Q4. Describe challenges to Mexican rule of law and judicial independence.
[not answered on the page — question circled for review]

Q5. How has federalism supported democratization in Mexico?

• [Created] state-level resistance to the PRI.

• Autonomy → differing state laws, etc.

Q6. Describe two factors (not covered above) that have undermined Mexico's democratic consolidation.

• Military role in [the] political perspective.

M.5 Politics and ElectionsI. Elections

A. Types of Elections: Local and state; President (primaries for party selection, no run-off); Legislature (mixed electoral system).

B. Party System — multiparty but historically 3-party dominant; have to work together for lawmaking or create more formal coalitions (permanent party alliances).

C. INE — monitors elections for fraud; publicly funded (partially); spending monitored; ensures equal party media coverage; voter ID cards.

D. Laws: Voting is mandated (but not enforced); requires 50% of candidates be women → helps gender equality.

II. Political Parties

A. PAN (National Action Party)

1. Ideology: right-center, neoliberal — privatization and pro-globalization; socially conservative (pro-Catholic).

2. Recent Presidents:

   • a) Fox — experienced some checks on his power because he did not have a majority in Congress; worked with the PRI for economic liberalization and democratization, and [for the] relationship with the US.

   • b) Calderón — contested election with Obrador (PRD), massive protests, accused fraud; continued liberalization but main policy was militarization of the drug war.

B. PRI (Institutional Revolutionary Party)

1. Ideology: traditionally party of power, now centrist with limited neoliberalism; internal differences between Politicos(politicians) vs Técnicos (technocrats).

2. Recent President — Peña Nieto (PRI):"Pact for Mexico" to do structural reforms working with other parties — competition for PEMEX, taxes, education, reelection for legislators. Unpopular because of slow economic growth, crime, and corruption.

C. Morena

1. Ideology: leftist, social programs, nationalization, protectionism, nationalism.

2. Recent President — López Obrador:won a majority with a coalition majority in Congress with a mandate to end the era of neoliberal policies; Sheinbaum has continued AMLO's economic and political policies.

3. Populism — political philosophy that supports the interests and rights of the common people over elites; ideology can be from left or right, and sometimes is illiberal in the way it empowers an individual leader.

D. Other parties: PRD (Democratic Revolutionary Party) — leftist party superseded by Morena; Labor (coalition with Morena); Green; indigenous.

Questions & Answers — M.5

Q1. Describe two election laws and their impact on Mexico's democracy.

1. 50% of candidates are women → leads to equal representation → tied to Sheinbaum.

2. INE creation → free and fair elections → liberal democracy.

Q2. Define "neoliberalism" and give an example of an economic liberalization policy in Mexico.

• Government intervention is limited and [the] economy → privatization.

• → PAN wanted to implement [it]; PRI [was] against.

Q3. Draw an economic ideological spectrum and put the parties and leaders on it.

Copy

LEFT  --------------------------------------------------->  RIGHT
Morena                            PRI                    PAN
(AMLO, Sheinbaum)              (centrist)             (Fox, Calderón)

Q4. How can populism positively or negatively affect democracy?

• Positive: it empowers the people and gives them the feeling that their voice matters, etc.

• Negative: can cause political polarization; people like being seen but ignore problems; can [lead to] illiberal democracy.

Public Policy — Legal, Economic, Social, Environmental

(Page header was cut off in the photo; content follows "II. Public policy.")

II. Public Policy

A. Legal Reform

1. Past: non-independence (in the PRI era), high conviction rates, inquisitorial system(the court investigates the facts of the case instead of being impartial), written trials.

2. Reforms: constitutional amendment for an adversarial system (with presumption of innocence), public and oral trials, judicial review, and greater independence.

3. Corruption — with the decline in rule of law, the fundamental flaw in Mexico's democracy. New agencies, constitutional amendments, and civil society groups have been working to combat it.

B. Economic Policy

1. Informal economy: sector of the economy that is not taxed or regulated; leads to low tax revenues (13.6% of GDP); government is trying to reform the tax code to tax consumption (VAT).

2. Labor reform: Peña Nieto introduced reforms to make it easier for hiring, firing, pensions, severance caps, and to reduce the power of unions (e.g., the teachers' union).

C. Social Policy

1. Anti-poverty — "Prospera": conditional cash transfers and financial services have been replaced by universal benefits; poverty rate still very high but dropping under Morena.

2. Health: mostly private, but the government has pledged to build universal healthcare; lowest in the OECD in spending and outcomes.

3. Federalism has caused variation in abortion and LGBT policies (more liberal in Mexico City, less in more conservative and religious states).

D. Environmental Policy

1. Problems: from lax environmental regulation of maquiladoras (an example of MNCs decreasing sovereignty); air pollution, especially in Mexico City.

2. Policies: signed onto international climate change agreements; mostly ineffective car emissions regulations; but not a top priority, especially as PEMEX is still seen as a source of national pride and potential for funding social programs.

Questions & Answers — Public Policy

Q1. What are challenges to rule of law in Mexico?
[not answered on the page — question circled for review]

Q2. How can social welfare policies affect the legitimacy of a government?

• People feel seen / taken care of; it makes them feel like the government is actually helping the people.

• People feel like the government is able to productively/correctly help the people.

Q3. How can environmental and development policies come into conflict?
[not answered on the page]

M.7–8 Mexican Public Policy — Border, Emigration, DrugsI. The Border

A. NAFTA

1. Development

   • a. Started with trade with the US/Canada; trade barriers broken down among most goods; Mexico decreased agricultural subsidies (the US did not); allowed American trucks to freely cross the border.

   • b. Maquiladora zones — areas set up for tax-free factories for foreign export; resulted in low wages.

2. Positives: increase in FDI; economic growth (but lower than most Latin American countries); increased exports ($300b increase, 80% of Mexico's exports); decline in prices for consumer goods (40% of imports from the US).

3. Negatives: farmers lost jobs; maquiladora workers were exploited; inequality; environmental damage; economic vulnerability (3x drop from the Great Recession); drugs and guns → violence/drug cartels.

B. Emigration

1. Who and why — usually southern farmers (often Amerindians) displaced due to NAFTA, poor economic growth → no money because [of] farming [small] land.

2. Effects — remittances from America ($25b / 2.5% of GDP); 11 million undocumented workers in the US; societal/cultural effects → social cleavage.

C. Drugs

1. History

   • a. Colombian connection — Mexico was the middleman in the Colombian drug trade but gradually took over much of manufacturing, transportation, and distribution.

   • b. Fall of PRI — the PRI had some implicit connections with drug cartels; PAN started a war on drugs targeting cartels and drug lords (especially under Calderón, 2006); Peña Nieto and AMLO have mostly continued militarization of the conflict.

2. Effects → democratic backsliding

   • a. Corruption and rule of law — corruption accounts for up to 10% of GDP, at all levels of government; murder of politicians and journalists; only 2% of murders lead to convictions; vigilante groups.

   • b. Federal law enforcement — centralization of law enforcement because it is seen as less corrupt; human rights violations and violence → social cleavage.

   • c. Deaths and human rights — hundreds of thousands have died since 2006.

Questions & Answers — M.7–8

Q1. How has globalization affected sovereignty and legitimacy in Mexico?
[not answered on the page]

Q2. Overall, has globalization brought more positive or negative impact on Mexico?

• Negative → [the country has had to] continue selling [out] due to [decline]; the rural economy in Mexico dropped drastically, loss of jobs.

• Diseases like HIV/AIDS; human trafficking [has] increased.

• Foreign investment = income inequality.

Q3. How has the drug trade affected Mexico's democracy?
[not answered on the page]

Handwritten Review Page — "Mexico Theme 1 Comparison"

(Lined paper, student's own summary notes / "Notes Review")

Mexico Theme 1 comparison

Political liberalization

• → refers to [an] increase [in] democratic processes.

★ INE — decrease [in] fraud → free/fair elect[ions].

• → 2000 → change in regime.

• Unlikely to transition to authoritarianism → Morena is problematic.

Political system (Nigeria +) [i.e., comparison cases]

• → prez → checks/balances.

• → electoral + party system.

• → gender quota = 50% candidates [are] women.

• → federalism = central v. regional.

• → 3 senate seats [per state].

Econ[omic] lib[eralization] + globalization

• → less government control of [the] economy.

★ Corporatism vs pluralism = ? IDK

Master List of Questions (all modules)

Notes on transcription

• Words in [square brackets] were added by me for readability where the original is abbreviated or elliptical.

• Several handwritten answers trail off mid-sentence on the page (e.g., "This shows that they're more…", "people like being seen but ignore problems"). These are reproduced as written rather than completed.

• Blank question boxes are genuinely empty on the photographed pages — they are the best candidates for exam revision.

• A few handwritten words are only partly legible (e.g., "certainty/order" in the PRI-collapse answer); these are marked as approximate.