Mexico’s Political History: From Revolution to Alternation, 1910-2006

Mexico’s Political History: From Revolution to Alternation, 1910-2006

Order Code RS22368
January 26, 2006
CRS Report for Congress
Received through the CRS Web
Mexico’s Political History:
From Revolution to Alternation, 1910-2006
K. Larry Storrs
Specialist in Latin American Affairs
Foreign Affairs, Defense, and Trade Division
Summary
This brief overview of Mexico’s political history from 1910 to 2006, with emphasis
on electoral reforms and elections, demonstrates that Mexico has evolved from long-
term domination by a single party to alternation and effective competition among the
three major parties. This report sets the stage for the approaching July 2006 elections.
Mexico’s Early History
With a history dating to the Aztec indigenous culture and Spanish colonial rule,
Mexico achieved independence in 1821. In the subsequent period, the country suffered
many divisive and autocratic influences, although there was a period of reform under
Benito Juarez’s two phases of presidential rule (1858-1862, 1867-1872). One major
dictator was Antonio Lopez de Santa Ana (1833-1855), under whom the country lost vast
northern territories to the United States — Texas in 1836, and the southwest region of the
United States in 1846-1848 in the Mexican-American War. Another dictator was the
Archduke Maxmillian of Austria (1864-67) who was imposed by Napoleon III of France
as the Emporer of Mexico. Still another dictator was Porfirio Diaz (1877-1911), who
attempted to modernize the country by encouraging foreign investment. Toward the end
of his reign, he faced mounting social discontent that culminated in the turbulent Mexican
Revolution that ousted Diaz and established a new order.
Mexico’s 1910 Revolution and the Dominant Role of the PRI
The Mexican Revolution was launched in 1910, with various goals being espoused
by the diverse revolutionary groups. These goals, including effective democracy with no
re-election, land reform for the peasants, labor reform for the workers, promotion of
indigenous rights, anti-clerical regulation, and control of foreign investment were
eventually incorporated into the Constitution of 1917. After a period of conflict and
uncertainty, under Presidents Madero, Carranza, Obregon, and Calles, the revolutionary
movement was consolidated under President Lázaro Cárdenas (1934-1940), who came
to personify the leftist wing of the movement when he distributed more land to peasant
Congressional Research Service ˜ The Library of Congress

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collectives than any previous president and when he nationalized the foreign oil
companies in 1938.1
The Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI), originally known by another name, was
founded in 1929 to represent the forces that had triumphed in the Mexican Revolution,
and to provide continuity and stability to a country that had been beset with division and
violence. Generally supported by the popular sectors as an advocate of reform and an
instrument of stability, the party governed Mexico with nearly complete dominance from
the days of the Mexican Revolution until 2000, espousing Mexican nationalism, and
drawing support from the three sectors of the party — the workers, the peasantry, and the
employees of the state. Favoring a generally leftist foreign policy (support for Cuba under
Castro and Nicaragua under the Sandinistas) and heavy involvement of the state in the
economy, the PRI was considered to be a left-of-center political party until the 1980s.
The National Action Party (PAN) was founded in 1939, mostly as a conservative
reaction to the PRI, and it has run candidates in most presidential, congressional, and
many local elections. It is the conservative party in Mexico, favoring free enterprise and
policies more favorable to the Catholic Church. It stressed clean and transparent
government, but it had little success in winning elections until the 1980s.
Stability and Industrialization, 1940s Through 1970s
From the 1940s through the 1970s, Mexico generally experienced stability and
strong economic growth while undergoing industrialization, although there were some
periods of political unrest. In 1968 there were student uprisings and repression, and in the
1970s there were state supported efforts to repress revolutionary movements. These
movements were aligned with guerrilla movements that were active throughout the
hemisphere, contributing in many countries, but not in Mexico, to the emergence of
military dictatorships.
During this three decade period, Mexico was governed by a string of PRI presidents
who were elected for six-year terms with 74% to 98% of the vote. President Manuel
Avila Camacho (1940-1946) sought to control the revolutionary fervor of the Cárdenas
presidency and oversaw the creation of the Mexican social security system. President
Miguel Alemán (1946-1952) represented the conservative wing of the party and pursued
pro-business industrialization policies while largely ignoring the agricultural situation.
President Adolfo Ruiz Cortines (1952-1958) sought to promote a “balanced revolution”
between the policies of Cárdenas and Alemán. President Adolfo López Mateos (1958-
1964) espoused a more leftist approach, but ordered action against rebellious railroad
workers to ensure stability and economic growth. President Gustavo Diaz Ordaz (1964-
1970) adopted pro-business policies and was responsible for ordering action against
students in 1968 on the eve of the Olympic Games in Mexico. President Luis Echeverría
(1970-1976) took a more leftist turn in foreign and domestic policy and alienated Mexican
businessmen and foreign investors, and economic difficulties culminated with the
devaluation of the peso in 1976. President José López Portillo (1976-1982) initially
1 For more on Mexico’s political history, see the State Department’s Background Notes on
Mexico, and Daniel Levy and Gabriel Szekely, Mexico: Paradoxes of Stability and Change
(Boulder: Westview Press, 1987).

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regained the confidence of business sectors and initiated political reforms, but in the face
of economic difficulties, he nationalized the banks in 1982, and was forced to negotiate
a rescue package in 1982 to deal with an international debt situation that had become
unmanageable.
Throughout this period, the PRI’s presidential candidates who were named by the
president in power were assured of victory, and they were elected with overwhelming
majorities. At the same time, the PRI completely controlled the 64-seat Senate, and it
generally controlled 80 to 90 % of the 300-seat Chamber of Deputies. Congress had little
role in policy-making, and it nearly always approved the measures sent by the President.
In short, the party of the Mexican Revolution was completely dominant.
The first of the major electoral reforms came in 1977 when an additional 100 seats
were added to the Chamber of Deputies and assigned on the basis of proportional
representation to all parties with fewer than 60 deputies. As a result of this reform, the
PRI’s control of the Chamber of Deputies after the 1979 elections slipped to 74%, still
clearly an adequate majority to approve legislation.
Economic and Political Reform, 1982-2000
From 1980 to 2000, Mexico underwent a major reform in the economic and political
spheres, with economic policy shifting to more free market policies, and electoral reforms
laying the basis for increasingly democratic and pluralistic elections.
Miguel de la Madrid (1982-1988). Miguel de la Madrid of the PRI was elected
President in 1982 with only 70% of the vote, as opposition candidates from the right and
left seemed to be gaining some strength. Under his administration, a number of economic
reforms were begun, including opening the economy to more foreign investment, and
privatizing many inefficient state enterprises. With the PAN gaining strength and winning
a number of municipalities, the demand for additional electoral reforms was mounting as
well.
Another major electoral reform followed in 1986 when still another 100 seats were
added to the Chamber of Deputies, and 200 of the 500 seats were distributed almost
entirely to the smaller parties on the basis of proportional representation. Despite the
reform, there still were widespread demonstrations and allegations of fraud in a number
of elections, particularly in the gubernatorial elections in 1986.
Carlos Salinas de Gotari (1988-1994). Carlos Salinas de Gotari of the PRI was
elected President in 1988, with only 50% of the vote, against Cuauhtemoc Cárdenas, the
candidate of the leftist coalition who received 31% of the vote, according to official, but
highly disputed results. Cuauhtemoc Cárdenas was the son of leftist President Lázaro
Cárdenas (1934-1940) and he and other PRI members had broken with the PRI and
formed a coalition with other leftist parties largely because they objected to the economic
reforms espoused by Miguel de la Madrid and Carlos Salinas de Gotari. Arguing that the
election had been stolen, the leftist coalition continued to protest for some time, but later
accepted the reality of Salinas’ presidency.
The continuing public doubts about the validity of the elections forced Salinas to
accept a number of electoral reforms. In 1990, the new Federal Code of Electoral

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Institutions and procedures created a Federal Electoral Tribunal with more autonomy to
adjudicate complaints, and a Federal Electoral Institute (IFE) to conduct the elections,
using a new voter registry and ID cards. In 1993, the law enhanced the Federal Electoral
Tribunal’s impartiality, and set a maximum of 315 seats in the Chamber going to any one
party. It expanded the size of the Senate to four seats per state, and specified that one seat
would go to the second place party in each state. It set limits on campaign spending, and
facilitated access to the media.
President Salinas continued and expanded the economic reforms as the economy was
opened to trade and investment and state enterprises were privatized, and the anti-clerical
posture was softened. After negotiations and legislative approval in 1990-1993, the
country entered into the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) with the
United States and Canada, prompting more cooperative relations with neighboring
countries on a whole range of trilateral, bilateral and border issues.
In 1994, during an election year and Salinas’ last year in office, the country faced a
number of serious challenges. In January the Zapatista guerrillas attacked in Chiapas,
demanding democracy, social reform, and modification of NAFTA. In March, the PRI’s
presidential candidate, Luis Donaldo Colosio, was assassinated, raising questions about
intra-party conflict. In March and April, two billionaires were kidnapped, highlighting
personal safety and police concerns. In September, the PRI Secretary General was
assassinated and the President’s brother, Raul Salinas, was subsequently charged and
convicted of involvement in the murder.
In this context, with the demand for more democracy mounting, another electoral
reform was enacted in 1994. The central feature of this reform was to give majority
control of IFE’s General Council to six non-partisan “citizen counselors” elected by a two
thirds vote in the Chamber of Deputies. Other reforms provided for independent audits
of the electoral registry, penalties for improper use of state resources and other electoral
crimes, more equitable access to the media, some campaign spending limits, expanded
rights for domestic election observers, and the invitation of “international visitors” to
observe the August 1994 election.
Ernesto Zedillo (1994-2000). Ernesto Zedillo of the PRI was elected President
in 1994 with 50% of the vote, while Fernandez de Cevallos of the PAN came in second
with 27% of the vote. Cuauhtemoc Cárdenas of the Party of the Democratic Revolution
(PRD) created in 1990 from elements that supported his candidacy in 1988, came in third
with 17% of the vote. Seeming to vote for continuity over untested opposition, voters
gave the PRI a nationwide victory, including the Governorship in Chiapas, dominance in
the Federal District’s Legislative Assembly, 60% control of the Chamber of Deputies, and
74% control of the Senate.
President Zedillo continued Salinas’ free market policies, but was forced to
implement a number of austerity measures to emerge from the very serious 1994-1995
peso devaluation crisis. In other areas, he initiated reform of the police and contained
conflict in Chiapas, and he strengthened democracy by relinquishing the prerogative to
name the PRI’s presidential candidate. By early 2000, Mexico had experienced four years
of economic recovery, although living standards were still below 1995 levels and there
was widespread poverty and inequality in the country.

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In the period of the austerity measures, the PRI suffered a number of electoral
defeats, prompting further electoral reforms. The 1996 electoral reform made the IFE
independent by removing the Minister of Government from the General Council and by
electing an independent as President, by increasing the number of citizen counselors and
by giving political party representatives only the right to speak but not to vote. It also
provided significant public financing, with 30% distributed equally among the parties, and
70% distributed according to previous electoral returns. The reform also provided more
equitable access to media, provided for supposedly fraud-proof electoral identification and
voter registry, and established the direct election of the Mayor of the Mexico City Federal
District.
The mid-term legislative elections of 1997 were a watershed event in Mexico’s
evolution toward full democracy. The PRI lost its majority in the Chamber of Deputies,
its two-thirds majority in the Senate, and it lost the first election of the Mayor of the
important Mexico City Federal District to two-time presidential candidate Cuauhtemoc
Cardenas of the PRD. While some domestic observer groups criticized electoral results
in rural areas, the elections demonstrated that the opposition would have a new role in
Mexico. Opposition parties had a majority in the Chamber of Deputies if they held
together, the PRD controlled the Federal District, and 5 of 32 governor-level positions
were held by opposition figures.
In the Congress, opposition parties held together to demand control of more
committees, particularly in the Chamber of Deputies. With their stronger position, they
succeeded in increasing social and local government funding in budget debates, and in
demanding more transparency in government practices, including an audit of the bank
protection agency responsible for rescuing the banks in the 1994-1995 crisis, and in
creating a committee in the Chamber of Deputies to monitor any misuse of state resources
in the 2000 election.
Alternation in the Presidency: Vicente Fox, 2000-2006
If the 1997 election was a historic event, the 2000 election was even more historic,
ending the PRI’s 71 years of control of the Presidency. Opposition candidate Vicente Fox
of the Alliance for Change (an alliance of the PAN and the Green Ecological Party of
Mexico or PVEM) was elected President with 42% of the vote over Francisco Labastida
of the PRI with 36% and Cuauhtemoc Cardenas of the Alliance for Mexico (an alliance
of the PRD and other leftist parties) with 17% of the vote.2 In the congressional
elections, no party or coalition had a majority in either chamber, although Fox’s coalition
initially had the largest bloc in the Chamber, and the PRI had the largest bloc in the
Senate, with the result that significant negotiation and coalition building was required for
passage of legislation. In the Mexico City election, the PRD and the Alliance for Mexico
regained control of the Federal District, and the Legislative Assembly was divided
between the Alliance for Mexico and the Alliance for Change. In the gubernatorial
elections, the PAN won in both Guanajuato and Morelos.
2 See CRS Report RS20611, Mexico’s Presidential, Legislative, and Local Elections of July 2,
2000, by K. Larry Storrs.

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Vicente Fox of the conservative Alliance for Change coalition was inaugurated as
President on December 1, 2000, promising to promote free market policies, to strengthen
democracy and the rule of law, to fight corruption and crime, and to end the conflictive
situation in the state of Chiapas. However, the slowdown in the United States following
the September 2001 terrorist attacks affected Mexico adversely, and the economy
contracted 0.8% in 2001, and grew only 0.9% in 2002 and 1.3% in 2003, giving the
government limited funding for promised health and education programs. In the July
2003 elections to renew the Chamber of Deputies, the PAN lost seats, putting it in a
weaker position to support Fox’s program, while the PRI and PRD delegations increased.3
Although the country’s economic performance improved in recent years (4.4% growth in
2004 and 3.5% growth in 2005), without a majority in Congress, the President has been
unable to obtain approval of major legislation, including a proposed tax reform and a
proposed energy reform that would permit greater private participation in the hydrocarbon
and electricity sectors, although Congress did pass a social security reform in July 2004.4
In other areas, President Fox has attempted to professionalize the police under a new
public security ministry to deal with widespread public concerns with security and police
corruption, and he has undertaken vigorous efforts against illicit drug traffickers. In late
March 2004, he proposed a judicial reform that would make the criminal justice system
more efficient, transparent, and public, but the Mexican Congress did not complete action
on the proposal. In December 2004, he followed up with a series of proposed human
rights reforms to discourage torture and to strengthen the rights of defendants in Mexico.
In the foreign policy area, he promoted warm relations with the United States but was
disappointed by the failure of the United States to enact comprehensive immigration
reform following high level bilateral talks between the countries.5 In 2002 and 2003,
Mexico held a temporary seat on the U.N. Security Council and expressed support for
continuing diplomatic efforts under United Nations auspices to achieve the disarmament
of Iraq, leading to expressions of disappointment from the Bush Administration. In
March 2005, Presidents Fox and Bush met in Waco, Texas, along with Prime Minister
Martin of Canada, and launched the trilateral “Security and Prosperity Partnership (SPP)
of North America.”
In the last year of Fox’s term, with presidential elections approaching in July 2006,
Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador of the leftist PRD is leading in the polls against Felipe
Calderon for the PAN, and Roberto Madrazo for the PRI in what is expected to be a tight
three man race with an uncertain outcome.
3 For more detail on the 2003 elections, see CRS Report RS21561, Mexico’s Congress and July
2003 Elections, by K. Larry Storrs.
4 For one assessment, see Carol Wise and Manuel Pastor, Jr., “The Lost Sexenio: Vicente Fox and
the New Politics of Economic Reform in Mexico,” Latin American Politics and Society, Vol. 47,
No. 4, Winter 2005, pp. 135-160.
5 See CRS Report RL32735, Mexico-United States Dialogue on Migration and Border Issues,
2001-2006, by K. Larry Storrs.