AP Comp Govt-Country Fact Sheet Kaela Moore Country Fact Sheet Directions Below is some key information you should know about each countries you studied in Comparative Politics. Use this chart to test yourself and see what you need to review

______Mexico______REVIEW SHEET

It is a federal republic like its North American neighbors, with 31 states dividing the Federal/Unitary varied geography, plus oneFederal District. Like U.S. states and Canadian provinces, much of the everyday law is left to the Mexican states' jurisdiction.

The constitution establishes three levels of government: the federalUnion, the state Presidential, governments and the municipal governments. Parliamentary, or System is classified as political centralism, meaning that there is a concentration of Mixed? decision making power at the federal level, although there are elections for local officials.

Head of State - President Head of Government – President Felipe Calderon. Felipe Calderon. There is a clear tradition of handpicking his Term is six years successor to president (ending with Vicente Head of State/Head of Head of state and other officials Fox in 2000) Government are elected as representatives of the people and must govern according to existing laws.

Name of Legislative Chamber of Deputies are elected for elected for a three year term, 300 of whom are Branch (Identify both elected in single-seat constituencies by plurality, with the remaining 200 members houses if applicable) elected by proportional representation in 5 multi-state, 40-seat constituencies. The Chamber of Senators has 128 members, elected for a six-year term, 96 of them in three-seat constituencies (corresponding to the nation's 31 states and one Federal District) and 32 by proportional representation on a nationwide basis. In the state constituencies, two seats are awarded to the plurality winner and one to the first runner-up.

The Chamber of Deputies, much like the United States House of Representatives, addresses all matters pertaining to the government's budget and public expenditures. Name of Judicial Supreme Court of Justice Branch Constitutionally independent, has the authority to strike down laws rendered unconstitutional Competitive examination for selecting most lower and appellate judges and law secretaries Judicial review

Bureaucracy/Cabinet The Cabinet of is a part of the executive branch of the Mexican government. It consists of eighteen Secretaries of State, the head of the federal executive legal office and the Attorney General.

1 AP Comp Govt-Country Fact Sheet Kaela Moore In addition to the legal Executive Cabinet there are other Cabinet-level administration offices that report directly to the President of the Republic. Officials from the legal and extended Cabinet are subordinate to the President Political Recruitment Sexenios- national political elite- recently has become more homogeneous in many ways. Drawn increasingly from the ranks of capitalinos - people born or raised in Mexico City, becoming more closed and inbred. Shows considerable fluidity, the massive turnover of officeholders every six years is proof of that. Other important The Electoral Tribunal of the Federal Judiciary is a venue within the judiciary institutions (complete of Mexico that specializes in electoral matters. only if applicable to the country) Media Mexico is the main “media power center” of Spanish speaking Latin America Freedom of Press- established in Constitution 1917 Restricts the press on matters of personal privacy, morality, and public health Tolerance varies according to the sensitivities of the president in office- on sensitive issues, there is minimal coverage. Receives more improved feedback then past years with the coming of 2 more major parties to compete against the former dominant one of PRI and more freedoms are being handed back to the country from the PRI’s reign.

Legitimacy Mexico’s government is much like the U.S. on paper but decision making is highly centralized. The state religion is Roman Catholic. Mexico’s system is limited pluralism, low popular mobilization, law making is left to state jurisdictions Crime & Drugs are a problem in Mexico. Police corruption is another problem in Mexico. Public polls are not taken seriously due to the fact that the crime rate is so high people don't feel the need to give their opinions until the crime problem is fixed in Mexico Features of the The Constitution of 1917, proclaimed on February 5, 1917, is considered by many Constitution to be one of the most radical and comprehensive constitutions in modern political history. he Mexican government is explicitly divided into the same three branches as the United States, legislative, executive, and judicial. 3. The President is extremely powerful as he/she has few restraints on his power and completely dominates the legislative and judicial branches

Historical Evolution of Until the 2000 election, Mexico was controlled by the PRI who ruled with Political Traditions corruption and force with many being killed. The PRI heavily used the patron-client system to obtain and keep power. This lasted until major economic turmoil came and more NGO’s showed up. After that the PRI started to lose power and new political organizations came and in the 2000 Vincent Fox of the PAN won shifting Mexico into a more democratic state.

Mexican politics have been dominated by wealthy landowners who own large estates (haciendas) 2 AP Comp Govt-Country Fact Sheet Kaela Moore The Mexican economy has experienced negative and positive swings. Negative turns have been partially due to a devaluation of the Peso, dependency on oil, and debt to Western creditors. More recently, however, Mexico’s economy has improved, which is likely due to its ability to renegotiate its debt with the U.S. and its participation in NAFTA. Key Political Leaders Cardenas (1930-1940) and their Policies Redistributed large amounts of land, and gave land to small farmers called “ejidos.” Reshaped Mexican presidency, establishing a six-year term with no possibility of reelection, removing the military from political control, and establishing government-sponsored peasant and labor organizations. Carlos Salinas (1988-1993) Mexico had been experiencing economic problems, and Salinas opened the Mexican economy to foreign trade and privatized nationalized industry in an attempt to modernize. This privatization causes a wider gap between the rich and the poor and, eventually, there was a revolt in Chiapas (Mexico’s most underdeveloped state). Ernesto Zedillo (1994-2000) His most lasting act of government was the creation of Progresa, a poverty-fighting program based on subsidizing the poorest families provided their children go to school, later renamed by president Vicente Fox In 2000 Zedillo recognized the electoral victory of opposition candidate Vicente Fox before midnight on election day, paving the way for what seemed an unlikely change of power. For this reason some PRI members consider him a traitor, despite an 11 points advantage for PAN, claiming that the election was too close to admit defeat so soon and that, in any event, the concession should have come from the PRI's candidate, Francisco Labastida, and not Zedillo. Ethnic Cleavages Mexico has a diverse population that includes descendants of Indian, Spanish, African, and Mestizo (mixed) races. The division of the North and South of Mexico are similar to America’s “North” and “South” and also reflects the economic cleavages of high and low class Urban and Rural cleavages also exist There is an amount of religious cleavages, however Roman Catholics make up 89% of the total population so it’s basically them against any other religion Political Parties National Action Party (PAN) (Identify/describe Outside viewers see them as a conservative group. They advocate free enterprise, platforms of 3) privatization, and trade agreements. Party of business interests and Catholic interests and values. Promotes laissez-faire economic policies and giving more power to regional governments. Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI) Described as a state party. Was the first political party in Mexico and members split in the mid 1900’s to form the two other prominent parties. It has been plagued by corruption, illegitimate democracies, scandals, and notably an economic crisis in the 1970’s. Its political ideology is right wing after most of its left wing members split to form the Party of the Democratic Revolution. Supports privatization. Party of the Democratic Revolution (RDP) Support Democratic Socialism which is (no clear cut definition, depends on situation) They are mostly left wing (Started by left wing members who left the IRP) Have held an unprecedented level of honesty and integrity which has given rise to their popularity recently. This party promotes social reforms, expansion of

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