Mexican History and Politics

15). As such, the PRI has earned the bill of having become the coarseest-lasting authoritarian regime of the 20th century(The Nation, 2000, p. 3). The PRI's genius, explains The Economist, has been to "cultivate faithfulness use repression plainly as a last resort. It indulgent political dissent by permitting and even financing it"(2000, p. 25). Thus, for 71 years, there has been only peerless political institution of both significance in Mexico: the presidency.

Now, amidst the recent defeat of the PRI by the PAN, a new phase of Mexican politics is here, one that whitethorn be characterized by genuine party competition, fair and aboveboard elections, and ultimately, true land. In the July 2 elections, after a protract struggle to forge institutions that could assure a relatively livid vote, Mexicans finally had a chance to "kick the bums out"; Vicente obscure received 16 million votes against the PRI's Francisco Labastida's 13 million. The Party of the elective Revolution (PRD) candidate took 6 million votes. The significance of Fox's triumph (as well as the PRD's impressive stand) is immense; the PRI maintained it's tried-and-true use of bribing and intimidating and ballot-box stuffing throughout these most recent elections (The Nation, 2000, p. 3).

The lion's deal out of Mexico's success can be attributed to Vicente Fox and the Mexican people. Fox, using political savvy and positive campaigning, managed

However, it is of chief importance to note that an able comparison amidst the political institutions of Great Britain and Mexico is hard to come by. Mexico's new political sympathies is just four months old, and the ramifications and nuances of that government are delicate to embrace so early in the game. Great Britain's parliamentary democracy is hardly in its infancy. Both governments do (thankfully) share one indomitable characteristic: democracy.

It is understood that true democracy is difficult to establish in any environment, however, both Great Britain and Mexico feature committed themselves to the democratic process, with different agendas. In Great Britain, the address is to define a true majority rule. In Mexico, the go is to make the democracy work, and develop an inclusionary relationship between the constituency and the choose officials. Time, as always, willing determine how successful each solid fuzee is in these endeavors.

For Mexicans, this means finally getting what has been denied to them so long: a functioning federal government. As The Economist explained in 1995, Mexico's government has maintained up to now only a "technically federal structure"- when in actuality the "president has govern as an absolute monarch"(p. 39). Today, with the long-standing PRI in a call down of rapid decline, the Mexican government is experiencing a true federalist revival. The Mexican Congress, newly divided along shifting party lines (with no one party holding a pure majority), will necessarily struggle to find a center. The PRI is naturally losing ground at the Congressional level, but the PAN is not the only party that has positioned itself as "opposition"(The Economist, 2000, p. 18).

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