Breakup of the PRI Hegemony or One-Party State

Background:

Three Causes (text’s three factors, p. 69):

1. Economic:

·         Inability of the PRI to provide prosperity and stability after the sunset of the Mexican Miracle

·         Failure to provide prosperity and economic stability led progressive (i.e., leftist, social reform) factions in the party to struggle for intra-party power and, after lack of success, form new parties or new factions (e.g., EZLN Zapatistas)

·         Emergence of Cuauhtemoc Cardenas, then AMLO, as perennial opposition candidates

·         Economically responsible PRI leaders turned to neo-liberal technocrats or tecnicos (de la Madrid, Salinas de Gotari, Zedillo) rather that politicos (the Secretaries of Interior) as presidential candidates: harder on the poor and on the welfare trappings of the welfare state

2. PRI Legitimacy:

·         PRI “cohesion” was strained as factions/camarillas and corporatist cooperation faltered (see above)

·         Customary, acceptable PRI corruption was challenged after 1968 Tlatelolco Massacre

·         Unopposed candidacy of Lopez Portillo in 1976

·         Poor handling of new Oil Wealth; “Plundering Abundance”; Corruption of PEMEX

·         Poor response to Mexico City Earthquake in 1985

·         Fraudulent election of Salinas de Gotari in 1988

3. “Cosmetic” Electoral Reforms  (see also chapter 7, pp. 130ff.

·         1946 Election Law institutionalized PRI hegemony (pp. 130-31)

·         1963 Election Law introduced party “deputies”—first appearance of proportional representation; expanded in 1973 Election Law by Echeverria after Tlatelolco (pp. 131-132)

·          1977 LFOPPE—Lopez Portillo’s reform attempt after running unopposed for president; added 100 proportional representation seats to lower chamber (increased to 200 PR seats in 1986 Amendment); added “governability clause” to assure continued PRI dominance (pp. 132-134)

·         1983 Amendment to Article 115 of Constitution increased authority and responsibility of states and local governments (decentralization) (p. 75)

·         1990 COFIPE—Salinas de Gotari: established independent federal election agency (IFE) (amended in 1993 law); modified first governability clause (modified in 1993); increased size of senate from 64 to 128 via “party lists” (PR) system. (pp. 134-36)

Exiguous and other Events:

·         1968 Mexico City (Tlatelolco) Massacre

·         Mid-70s Oil discovered in Gulf of Mexico

·         1980s Foreign Debt Crisis

·         1985 Mexico City Earthquake

·         NAFTA