The disputed presidential elections of 2006 moved the PRI to third place of preferences. While there was a deep polarization between the parties of left & right, & errors in the PRI's campaign, it is also possible to find another cause in the process of choosing the candidate Roberto Madrazo. This paper reconstructs the nomination process of 2005, as well as the historical & short-term conditions that made it possible, the internal confrontations & recomposition of interests of political groups in the PRI, which allowed, for the first time in the history of this party, to make its leader a presidential candidate. Adapted from the source document.
One of the most important changes in Mexico's democratization process has been the relation among different powers, & between the President & state governments. The later have gained high levels of autonomy due both to administrative & financial decentralizing processes undertaken by the federal executive since the 80s & to the coming to power of governors from political parties other than the PRI. This process, along with political parties' alternation in the Presidency has allowed governors to group themselves & propose measures aimed at modifying the current distribution format of the federal budget. But while this entails a restraint to former unchecked presidential powers (presidentialism), it does not imply an actual democratic development, since governors sometimes seek only to strengthen local groups & leaderships that put at risk the federal center, who is responsible of guaranteeing the country's balance. Adapted from the source document.
Some observers consider that the Zedillo administration was highly committed to democracy, that in its exercise of politics it developed a program clearly designed to create the conditions needed for alternation. In fact, it was characterized by a surprising lack of political experience that restrained the presidency as an institution, & it only reacted to the problems that it had to face. Zedillo deliberately cancelled the political faculties of the presidency to show formal respect for the Constitution. At the end, his reluctance to act led to the emergence of multiple actors & interests that threatened political stability. The political/party alternation that was achieved in the 2000 election was more the result of the advancement of pluralism, which had begun at least 10 years previous, than of his presidential activity. 3 Tables. Adapted from the source document.
The study of the process preceding the July 2002 political shift in Mexico's government has been mainly focused on electoral issues. Therefore, several institutions of the political system that played a key role during the transition to democracy remain largely unknown, including governorships & the federal Congress, whose functioning experienced relevant changes & had an unprecedented bearing on the process. This paper explores the new political role of state governments, which was not due to a constitutional change, but rather was the result of two features of the process of change itself, namely, the expansion of pluralism & the gradual restraint of presidentialism. The author argues that the process of change prompted reactions from state governors that varied according to their PAN or PRD affiliation -- when they were still opposition -- or to their PRI origins -- the party still in power. The new institutional arrangement created before the political shift, in the midst of the electoral race, had an impact on the last PRI administration, but it also shaped a new relationship with the first democratic government, as it dismantled the foundations of ancient subordination. A secondary outcome of political change restructuring was the growth of local autonomies, whose manifestation varied according to governors' party membership. PRI governors were the major beneficiaries, as PAN governors -- the opposition -- focused their activities on administrative issues, while the former profited from a party network developed since the regime's inception. A positive upshot of this change for Mexico was that the president's bearing on politics management shrank. However, by putting the party's control in the hands of governors, a decisive element was transferred to a non-homogeneous & also conservative sector, deeply identified with the authoritarian regime. Having accomplished the political shift, the threat now is the likely re-emergence of ancient cacicazgos & the growth of a practice aimed at blocking federal government policies. 4 Tables. Adapted from the source document.
