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1
Historical roots of the Mexican political
system
Rodolfo Hernandez Guerrero
University of Texas at Dallas
Mexican politics
Government 4396
Spring 1998
2
Introduction To identify the historical genesis of
political institutions, political behavior and political decision processes in the Mexican political system
To recognize the contradictions between theory and practice in the Mexican political reality
3
Topics of Discussion The Spanish heritage Nineteenth-century political
heritage The Revolutionary heritage: social
violence and reform Interface with the United States Conclusion
4
The Spanish heritage
Racial heritage. A highly stratified society: peninsulares, criollos, mestizos, indigenas
Religious heritage: Catholicism. Substitution of faith. The official religion.
Contractual relationship between the Catholic church and the Spanish authorities
5
The Spanish heritage
Corporatism. Fueros (e.g. Catholic church, military)
Bureaucracy Personalization of power:
Viceroy=Presidency Centralization of power Authoritarian political institutions
6
Nineteenth-Century political heritage
Liberalism versus Conservatism: Constitution of 1857
Sense of the existence of the State Separation of the Catholic church
and the State The Porfiriato. Positivism. cientificos.
Peace, order and progress Pattern for civil-military relations
(until 1940s)
7
Nineteenth-Century political heritage
Capitalism Absolute centralized power in the
Presidency Paternalismo Sense of unity as a Nation: railroad Conflict of classes
8
The Revolutionary heritage
Nationalism: Mexicanization Socialism: social justice (Emiliano
Zapata and Francisco Villa) Charro leadership Strong figure of ejido (communal
property of land) Constitution of 1917 (articles 3, 27,
and 123)
9
The Revolutionary heritage
Institutionalization of the Revolution: PNR=PRM=PRI
Political legitimization through corporatism: CTM and CNC
10
Interface with the United States
Liberalism Democracy The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo US President Woodrow Wilson and
his ambassador Henry Lane Wilson
The results: a strong sense of Nationalism
11
Conclusion Mexico, as both a colony and an
independent nation, established patterns that have contributed heavily to the development of its political system
Permanent conflict of social class This conflict is resolved by a sort of
quasi-official relationship between groups or institutions and the state (corporatism)
12
Conclusion Mexicanization strengthened Mexican
values and culture as well as political nationalism
The revolution, contrary to its original principles, left Mexico with a heritage of strong, authoritarian leadership. It established the importance of constitutionalism, even if many of the constitution’s liberal provisions were never enforced
13
Conclusion Mexico’s long, troublesome
relationship with the United States has implications for its political evolution and the functioning of its model. The level of the United States’s economic influence in Mexico and the United States seizure of more than half of Mexico’s national territory, prompted Mexican nationalism and anti-Americanism
14
Real politics Can Mexico keep its sense of nationalism
in the era of market globalization? Why? (Hint: identify the weaknesses and strengthens of each possibility)
If you were a Mexican official trade negotiator, How would you synthesize your nationalistic agenda and the principles of a free trade agreement? (Hint: think of sovereignty and the ideological principles of social justice of the Mexican revolution)
15
Structure of Mexican
government
“All important decisions are formally initiated by the
president, and the president both claims and receives full
credit for the decision, whether or not the idea for the decision was originally
his.”
Susan K. Purcell
16
The structure of government
Every political system devises a set of structures and institutions to facilitate political decision making.
Mexico evolved a political system that formally resembles that of the United States but centralizes much greater authority in the executive branch.
17
Structure of government
The powers of the executive branch combined with the dominance of a leadership group represented by a single party -the PRI and its antecedents- has led to a government dominated by the executive, largely in the person of the president
18
The executive branch
Twenty one Secretaries:
Attorney General of the Republic
Attorney General of Justice for the Federal District
Secretariat of the Comptroller General
Secretariat of Fishing Department of the
Federal District Secretariat of Agrarian
Reform
Paraestatales: PEMEX Federal Commission of
Electricity (CFE) National Bank of
Foreign Commerce National Company of
Public Commodities (CONASUPO)
SIDERMEX National Finance Bank
(Nacional Financiera)
19
Executive branch
Secretaries: Secretariat of
Agriculture and Hydraulic Resources
Secretariat of Tourism Mexican Institute of
Social Security Secretariat of
Communications and Transportation
Secretariat of Foreign Relations
Secretariat of Government
Paraestatales: Others focus on utilities,
communications, transportation, minerals, fertilizers, and so on.
20
Executive branch
Secretaries: Secretariat of Energy,
Mines and Government Industries
Secretariat of Health and Welfare
Secretariat of Commerce and Industrial Development
Secretariat of Labor and Social Welfare
Secretariat of National Defense
Secretaries: Secretariat of the Navy Secretariat of Social
Development Secretariat of Public
Education Secretariat of the
Treasury and Public Credit
21
Executive branch The agencies of greatest standing in the
executive branch are those with long histories:
In the 1920s, 1930s, and 1940s, the Secretariat of National Defense (SDN) carried far more weight than it does today, because it was a source of presidential leadership
In the 1950s and 1960s, the Secretariat of Government, an agency devoted to internal affairs, replaced the SDN, as a source of presidential leadership and as a major voice in policy decisions.
22
Executive branch Hierarchical decision-making structure Pressure is put on channels of access
to the presidency The president’s private secretary, who
functions as a chief of staff and whose position is essentially a cabinet-level appointment, has the complete confidence of the president: crucial role in the decision-making process
23
Executive branch
Echeverria and Lopez Portillo’s cases vs Salinas’s case:
Strong and clear message Publicity Media control Carisma e.g. Solidaridad and liberalization of
economy: Social liberalism
24
Executive branch
Challenges of the Zedillo administration:
Pluralism Interest groups more proactive than
reactive Delegation of authority (Federation - State -
Municipal levels) But at the same time, Mexican people want
their president to be decisive, energetic, and even “authoritarian” in behavior
25
The legislative branch: bicameral
Chamber of Deputies
500 deputies, three hundred represent districts and two hundred represent parties
They serve three year terms and are elected concurrently
Senate 128 senators, who
serve six year periods
One half of the chamber standing for election every three years
By 2000 year all Senators will be elected concurrently
26
The legislative branch
The role of the Congress The meaning of non re-election Forum where public policy can be
debated, even if that forum is limited in scope
Constitutional amendments as a measure of legitimacy
Social and political mobility and leadership fluidity
27
The Judicial branch
The Mexican judicial system is structurally patterned after the found in the United States
It has local, state, and national levels, a court of appeals and a supreme court
Supreme Court consists of eleven justices who may serve terms of up to 15 years
28
The Judicial branch
They are appointed by the president with two-thirds approval of the Senate
District and circuit court judges are chosen by a six-member Council of the Federal Jucidiary
Challenge: corruption The case of the Attorney general
from the opposition
29
Conclusion
Decision making in Mexico is controlled through the executive branch, centralized in the person of the president
The decision-making process listens to demands more through informal internal channels than through formal public channels
The degree of centralization of decision-making power in the president and the executive branch affects the whole government process. Not only does a president have a huge reservoir of political authority, but most Mexicans expect --indeed, react positively to-- his exercise of his powers
30
Conclusion
The reliance on informal channels of influence favors certain groups over others. Business interests have been more successful than labor or peasants in having their point of view heard
The powers exercised by the executive since the revolution have left Mexico with weak legislative and judicial institutions
The competition for careers in the executive is more intense than in other branches