Mexican Government

Robert Alfaro

Bert Perez

Period 5

AP Comparative Government

The National Congress

Two house system: the Senate ( 128 members), Chamber of Deputies (500 members)

Elections: The Senate- 96 members are elected by popular vote, 32 members are allocated on each party’s popular vote (6 year terms).

Chamber of Deputies- 300 members are elected by popular vote, 200 members are allocated on each party’s popular vote (3 year terms).

Head of State

Chief of State: Felipe de Jesus Calderon Hinojosa Election: Elected by popular vote for one 6 year term and is limited to

that one term. Powers: powers are limited by the Constitution but has possessed a

broad range of unwritten but generally recognized “metaconstitutional” powers.

Judicial Branch

Supreme Court Magistrates are selected ,for life, by the President with consent of the Senate. Other justices are appointed by the Supreme court Magistrates for 6 years.

Supreme court has both original and appellate jurisdiction in four divisions: administrative, civil, labor, and penal.

Jury is not commonly used, but a person convicted by a local judge can appeal to a federal judge (Writ of Amparo).

Political Recruitment Since the 1970’s, the political elite of Mexico have been chosen based on

kinship ties. More members either live or were born in Mexico City. Postgraduate education especially in foreign universities is also important.

Media Whoever was the dominant party influenced the media. One newspaper fought against this monopoly on newsprint and implemented

revolutionary ideas.

Cabinet Cabinet members are appointed by the president and has 18 members. The Attorney General is the only member that has to be approved by the

Senate.

Federal Info Mexico has 31 states and 1 federal district.

Has federalist structure but in practice they function in a manner called Political Centralism.

Legitimacy Mexico has to overcome problems with its criminal justice system and has

had problems with drug trafficking. With the United States of America being so close, Mexico is undoubtedly

influenced by American policies which have helped Mexico shape new policies.

Features of the Mexican Constitution

Has had four Constitutions, the fourth being the final one, which was created in 1917.

A unique feature of the Constitution is that the presidential term of the President is 6 years and assumes office the first of December and can only serve one term of office.

Historical evolution of Mexican politics

The civil war was brought to an end which brought a radical change to the 1857 Constitution.

Most peasants and urban workers were finally involved in politics and succeeded in their claims for land and higher wages during the Cardenas Era, when there was an unprecedented wave of strikes, protests and petitions.

Key Political Leaders and their Policies President Felipe de Jesus Calderón was inducted

into the presidency December 1, 2006 for a six year term. His father, Luis Calderón Vega, was the founder of the political party known as the Partido Acción Nacional (PAN).

Arturo Sarukhan is the ambassador to the US for Mexico and plays a key role in the fight against the narcotics dealers in Mexico.

Secretary of Government Fernando Francisco Gomez follows the PAN and also serves as one of the most highly respected lawyers in the nation.

Ethnic Cleavages The Mexican government has attempted to

suppress the illegal drug trafficking that plagues the nation and spills into the US. The constant military action has brought fear into the citizens and has lowered crime rates and increased the number of busted drug cartels.

Political Parties The Partido Acción Nacional (PAN) is a

conservative group that uses Christian democracy in their platform. Currently, it is the largest party in congress.

The Partido Revolucionario Institucional (PRI) was the most dominating party during the 20th century.

The Partido de la Revolución Democratica (PRD) is a splinter group of the PRI and holds a minimal threat to the other two powers present in the nation.

Role of Political Parties The political parties in Mexico are meant to serve

as a means of representation to the people and their political views. This holds true now but in the early and mid 1900’s, the PRI held power and manipulated votes.

CitizensThe Mexican citizens are satisfied with

their current government after being hoodwinked for almost a century by false promises and incorrect voter counts. The citizens, understandably, do not trust their government because of the history of the nation.

Many times, the political participation of citizens is minimal.

Interest Groups

Interest groups in Mexico are not as dominating as they are in the US.

The Partido del Trabajo is a labor union group formed in 1990. They stress reforms about unemployment laws and ways to provide the country with more jobs.

The Partido Verde Ecologistica has an environmental platform that appeals greatly to the whole nation.

The Nueva Alianza is a group consisting of teachers and administrators of education. It is backed by the National Teachers Union, the largest union in Latin America.

Many other minor interest groups are present in the varying political arenas and usually try to tip votes during political fixtures dealing with money.

Economic System Mexico is a capitalist nation, although they do not

follow a liassez faire economy. The government intervenes with the big businesses and large corporations and politics usually go hand in hand.

The state owns businesses that produce and export oil and petroleum as well as some minor agricultural vendors that have international business.

Economic System Cont. Foreign owned

businesses, called maquiladoras, are factory businesses that border the US states.

Privatization has become an integral part of Mexico’s struggle for economic modernization and economic structural reform.

What kind of World do we live in?

The topic of identifying Mexico as a third world country or a first world country is an ongoing debate.

Mexico’s growth rate of GDP is estimated 3.3% since 2007.

Supranational Organizations Mexico belongs to the League of Latin American

States, Asociación Latinoamericana de Integración, NAFTA, the Central American Bank for Economic Integration, the International Fund for Agricultural Development, the World Health Organization, the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Organization, the Unión Latina, the World Trade Organization, the North American Development Bank, the Pan American Health Organization, and the United Nations.

Public Policy Mexico’s policymakers have recently imposed

regulations to increase the number of law enforcement officers assigned to end the threat of drug trafficking and distribution.

Mexico has recently experimented with two major reforms aimed at strengthening a decentralized approach to development in order to end the rising poverty issue in the country.