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