Institutions- Political Parties and Public Policies

02/07/12

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Institutions: Party system

• Under PRI: “one party dominant” (contrast to China) • Means opposition parties were tolerated and held seats • But PRI maintained key positions and co-opted opposition• Now 3 party system (though even more represented in Congress) but

two party in most of the country: North and West—PAN vs PRI; South and West PRI vs PRD, Mexico City all three

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Institutions: PRI

• Inclusive party with no clear ideology• Founded in 1929, become increasing

indistinguishable from the state• Who supports: in last four elections, older,

less wealthy, less educated, union membership (weird- why?)

• Even with historic defeat in 2000 PRI is still a strong party—Until 2006, majority in Senate, largest plurality in CD, more than half of governorships; 2009 largest plurality again

PRI comeback - a blow for Presidential PAN http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/3052124.stm

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PRI CONTROL—many ways:

Electoral fraud: stuffing ballot boxes, disqualifying opposition party poll watchers, relocating polling places at the last minute to sites known only to PRI supporters, manipulating voter registration lists, padding them with nonexistent or non resident PRI supporters or “shaving off” those who were expected to vote for opposition, giving multiple voting credentials to PRI supporters, confiscating credentials of opposition voters, or buying them for material benefits, organizing carruseles (‘flying brigades”) of PRI supporters transported by truck or van to vote at several different polling places . Plus, they held majority representation in state and local government entities that controlled vote counting and certification—most common was to add votes for PRI (instead of taking away from opposition) so that sometimes total number of voters exceed total number of registered voters or even adults

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Control though system of corporatism:

Refers to a political or economic system in which power is given to civic assemblies that represent economic, industrial, agrarian, social, cultural, and professional groups. These civic assemblies are known as corporations. Corporations are unelected bodies with an internal hierarchy; their purpose is to exert control over the social and economic life of their respective areas. Thus, for example, a steel corporation would be a cartel composed of all the business leaders in the steel industry, coming together to discuss a common policy on prices and wages. When the political and economic power of a country rests in the hands of such groups, then a corporatist system is in place.

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•PRI organized society into 3 sectors: Labor, Peasant, Popular

•each sector rept by one “peak association” (1) Confederacion de Trabajadores de Mexico (CTM) for labor sector, (2) Confederacion National Campesino (CNC) for Peasants and the Confederacion National de Organizacions Populares (CNOP) for Popular

•Associations get a seat at the table for policy negations, subsidies, jobs for leaders

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Corporatism Pluralism

•Single “peak” assoc. reps a societal interest•Compulsory/universal membership•Central organization•Groups systematically involved in making and implementing policy•State grants “favored status”

•Multiple groups can rep. a single interest•Non-compulsory membership•Decentralized organization•Clear sep IG/govt•In competition among groups for policy not all groups equal

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Interest GroupsCorporatist system breaks down in 1990s—rising civil society

and opposition parties give alternatives economic crisis means less money for patronage, pork, electoral competition –IG SYSTEM now more pluralist

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Control through Patron Client system

• Patron Clientelism “camarilla” – System of cliques of personal connections

fueled by charismatic leaders– Patron-Client network extends from the

political-elites through a variety of vote-mobilizing organizations throughout the country

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PATRON CLIENT RELATIONS ILLUSTRATED

During the PRI's long rule millions of Mexicans lived in extreme poverty. During the 1990s over 17,000 people survived as pepenedores, garbage pickers who lived and worked in Mexico City's rat-infested garbage landfills. Journalist Alma Guillermoprieto describes how the PRI web of patron-client relationships extended all the way down to the lowly pepenedores. 2 She argues that garbage dump caciques were able to use patron-client relationships to provide services for the garbage pickers and, most important, to protect their jobs against government officials seeking to move them out of the dumps. One community of pepenedores was awarded a neighborhood of homes across the street from a dump, complete with a school and running water. With this extension of aid, the PRI secured the support of some of Mexico's most destitute voters.—

Decline of PRI

1. 1990’s Election Reform• Lost “incumbency advantages”2. Demographic changes- population has shifted

to urban areas (esp Mexico City)3. Economic Crisis of the 1980’s

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Campaign Finance Reform

• Before: no reporting of private donations and PRI used unlimited public funds

• 93-94: private contributions limited to $650,000• 96- private contributions further limited, public funds for

all parties• Yet problems still continue- PEMEX funneled $140 to PRI

in 2000 through one of its sectors (corporatist)• Since PRI- No buying tv or radio adds (instead rely on free

media time)12

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PAN

•Founded in 1939 in response to leftward drift of Cardenas; oldest opposition party •center-right, with strong elements of Christian socialism •Who supports: northern border states and north central states, NOT rural •Plagued by internal divisions

Victory for Fox 2003http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/813206.stm

PAN Platform

1. Expanding states rights, especially in the form of more revenue-sharing

2. Proportional Representation- both chambers of Congress3. Voting Reform bills4. Neoliberal economic policies (NAFTA)5. Yet some interesting ones…• Profit sharing b/w businesses and employees• National consumer protection agency

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In Aguascalientes on Saturday Jan 2006, Mr. Calderón (PAN candidate) reached out to farmers.

2009 Elections: Chamber of Deputies: - seats by party—PRI 241, PAN 147, PRD 72, PVEM 17, PT 9, AN 8, convergence 8,

Victory in 2006 elections (still no majority)

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Note you need 251 for a majority

2009 Elections: Chamber of Deputies: - seats by party—PRI 241, PAN 147, PRD 72, PVEM 17, PT 9, AN 8, convergence 8,

2006 Elections Chamber of Deputies - seats by party - PAN 206, PRD 127, PRI 103, PVEM 18,

CD 17, PT 16, other 13 (500 total) ;Senate: seats by party - PRI 33, PAN 52, PRD 26, , PVEM 6, CD 5, PT 5,

independent 1;2003 elections – Chamber of Deputies PRI: 224; PAN 149; PRD 97; PVEM 17;

PT 6; CD5; independents 2 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mexican_legislative_election,_2003

2000 elections –Chamber of Deputies: PAN and PVEM “Alliance for Change” 221; PRI: 211; PRD,

PT, PAS, CD PSN “Alliance for Mexico” 68 total 500Senate PAN and PVEM “Alliance for Change “51, PRI 60, PRD, PT, PAS, CD PSN

“Alliance for Mexico” 17 total 1281997 electionsChamber of Deputies: PRI 239; PRD 125; PAN 121; PT 7; PVEN 6 total 500

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Party of the Democratic Revolution (PRD

• formed: In 1980s a leftist faction in PRI, led by Cardenas, son of former president, left PRI and formed PRD

• Opposes neo-liberal reforms and neglect of poor Mexicans, calls for more nationalist and protectionist policies

• who supports: Mexico City and the rural south, urban working class

• Left has historically been weak due to internal divisions

• PRI also reduced revenue-sharing to state governments controlled by the PRD)

• Have also prosed a parliamentary system

March 2002 the PRD elected a new leader, Rosario Robles, the first woman to lead a major Mexican party. Robles is a former member of Congress and popular former mayor of Mexico City. A former student activist, she is an outspoken opponent to free-market policies

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Andrés Manuel López Obrador campaigning last week in Tehuantepec on a swing through Oaxaca State. NYT March 19, 2006

2006 election Platform: •He promises to cut the salaries of top government officials and the president himself. He vows to do away with lavish pensions for ex-presidents. He says he will slash wasteful government spending and root out corruption in the government and entities like the state-owned oil monopoly, Pemex. •He says that with the savings that will rack up, he will establish food subsidies for the elderly, monthly stipends for the disabled, free health care, free education through college, and aid for single mothers. He also pledges to cut the costs of electricity, natural gas and gasoline, all of which are relatively expensive in Mexico despite its oil reserves. •Mr. López Obrador also says he wants to renegotiate the free trade agreement with the United States to protect more farmers and workers in other weak sectors."The next president of Mexico will not be a puppet of anyone," he said here on Thursday, a veiled suggestion that Mr. Fox has been too closely allied with Washington. Then he added, "We are going to protect our markets as they do in the rest of the world."

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Social Capital:

• Refers to the institutions, relationships attitudes and values that govern interactions among people in society and contribute to economic and social development. It includes the shared values and rules for social conduct expressed in personal relationships, trust and a common sense of "civic" responsibility, which make a society more than just a collection of individuals.

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Public Policy

Many would-be migrants at the US border are intercepted http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/country_profiles/1210779.stm

courses.dce.harvard.edu/. ../archive_0.html

Economic Policy

1. 40’s-70’s Mexican Miracle• But Increasing gaps b/w rich and poor• Mixed economy- state provided financing resources more

than private banks• State owned companies- PEMEX (oil)• Growth 6-7%• Rural areas- 70% poverty• More subsidies spending than social programs

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1980’s-90’s Economic Crisis

1. Huge debt payments, had to reduce social spending further

2. Oil prices plummeted3. Real wages fell by 67%4. Peso devaluation of mid 90’s5. Nearly 50% poverty level, and 25% extreme poverty6. By 1987, Mexico was one of the most heavily indebted

countries in the world- 70% of GDP

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Fox and Calderon

• Neolibearlism- Privatization programs (Televisa)• Lowered taxes encouraged maquilladores (factories)• Oportunidades- safety net for job losses• Seguro Popular- goal is universal health coverage• Covers underemployed, rural workers, and unemployed• Low premiums, 20% don’t have to pay any premiums

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Lawlessness• epidemic of violent street crimes—

armed robberies, muggings, kidnappings, rapes and homicide

• Gov’t not dealing with it well• High percentage of violent crimes

related to operation of drug cartels A tunnel used to transport drugs to the US from Mexico

Drug Trafficking

• Fight began in 2005 with raid on La Palma maximum security prison

• Fox promised to get rid of corruption but the problem continued to grow during his presidency

• Calderon- stepped up war on drugs• Reliance on federal troops• Result- murder rate continues to spiral out of control

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Corruption• Flourished under long dominance of PRI•Democratization, increased transparency (FOIA now), improved judicial reforms may help—though drug trafficking complicates •Still a tough problem—hampers legitimacy: eg from BBC Feb 22 2005“Mexico has been shaken by the arrest of a senior member of President Vicente Fox's staff on suspicion of leaking information to drugs traffickers”

Police corruption impedes effective policy against traffickers from “Mexico fights spectre of narcopolitics” “http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/4247859.stm

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Human Rights Violations

The UN has criticized Mexico's handling of the Juarez murders (400 abductions/murders, rape, mass graves, since 1993; recent 7 and 10 year oldhttp://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/4584951.stm

• Though not as bad as some Latin Am nations, PRI did maintain control in part thru govt sponsored violence against protestors (1968)

• throughout the 1990s, Human Rights groups documented wide spread use of torture, summary executions and disappearances sponsored by govt

• Fox promises to improve, FOIA passed under his administration to make it easier to open archives on human rights violations

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Demand Justice for the Women and Girls of Ciudad Juárez and Chihuahua, MéxicoAmnesty International

                                                                  

A black cross and the word "justice" painted on a lamp post in Ciudad Juárez, Mexico in support of finding an end to the more than 370 murdered women in Juárez and Chihuahua

Immigration

• Fox- pushed for guest worker program, amnesty, increasing visas and movement in return for tighter Mexican border control

• Calderon has been highly critical of increasing US border security

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Migration• Internal: rural to urban, South to

North• External to US: dates back to Bracero

Program, Immigration Reform 1987 sanctions employers, both Fox and Bush pledge to address; Bush’s Guest Worker program

• Migration rate –4.57 -3.61 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2009 est.)

• country comparison to the world: 156

President Bush has said a deal on Mexican immigration is a priorityhttp://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/4183447.stm

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Today there are almost 11 million Mexicans living in the U.S. (about 10 percent of Mexico's total population, and four percent of the U.S. population). According to some estimates, the amount of foreign exchange sent to Mexico by Mexicans living outside the country has grown to almost $20 billion dollars annually, making it the largest single source of foreign exchange (even larger than revenue earned from oil exports). NYT March 2006

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More than 400 Mexicans died in 2005 trying to enter the United States (though in only two cases was the Border Patrol involved). That looms large in Mexican consciousness. Every Mexican knows someone who has crossed the border, if they haven't done so themselves. The harder and more dangerous it gets, the more Mexican public opinion may turn against the United States. The free movement of goods, but not of labour, across the border was always likely to cause problems Economist Jan 12, 2006

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Environment• Policy difficulties reflect priorities of

developing countries• Air pollution in Mexico City: 88% of the

days are above acceptable levels of air pollution for humans

• air pollution also has intensified along the border with the US because of the growing number of maquiladoras, as well as the increased truck traffic with the United States.

34A Mexican flag is barely visible in the smog-filled skies over Mexico City. (AP/Roberto Velazquez)

Mexico City pollution eroding residents’ sense of smell

Officials have taken steps to address the problem. In 1989, the city introduced “Hoy No Circula,” a program in which cars with license plates ending in certain numbers would be prohibited from driving on a given day of the week.

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Other Environmental ProblemsFrom the CIA Factbook

• scarcity of hazardous waste disposal facilities; • rural to urban migration; • natural fresh water resources scarce and polluted in north,

inaccessible and poor quality in center and extreme southeast;

• raw sewage and industrial effluents polluting rivers in urban areas;

• deforestation; widespread erosion; desertification; deteriorating agricultural lands

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political party An organized group that makes nominations and contests elections in the hope of influencing the personnel and policy of government.

single-member-plurality system (SMP) An electoral system in which the candidate with the most votes wins, even though that win may not represent 51% of the votes.

single-party system A party system in which there exists only one party and no political alternatives are legally tolerated. one-party-dominant system A party system in which there are political alternatives but a single political party dominates the political process as a result of the overwhelming support of the electorate.

two-party system A party system in which there are two credible contenders for power and either is capable of winning any election

two-party-plus system A party system in which there are two major contenders for power of approximately equal strength plus one or more minor parties able to win seats but not to control the government.