CONTEMPORARY MEXICAN POLITICS EMILY EDMONDS-POLI and DAVID A. SHIRK ContempMexPolPBK.indd 1 10/16/08 12:23:29 PM #/.4%-0/2!29 -%8)#!.0/,)4)#3 CONTEMPORARY MEXIC AN POLITICS Emily Edmonds-Poli and David A. Shirk ROWMAN & LITTLEFIELD PUBLISHERS, INC. Lanham • Boulder • New York • Toronto • Plymouth, UK ROWMAN & LITTLEFIELD PUBLISHERS, INC. Published in the United States of America by Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc. A wholly owned subsidiary of The Rowman & Littlefield Publishing Group, Inc. 4501 Forbes Boulevard, Suite 200, Lanham, Maryland 20706 www.rowmanlittlefield.com Estover Road, Plymouth PL6 7PY, United Kingdom Copyright © 2009 by Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior permission of the publisher. British Library Cataloguing in Publication Information Available Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Edmonds, Emily. Contemporary Mexican politics / Emily Edmonds-Poli and David A. Shirk. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN-13: 978-0-7425-4048-4 (cloth : alk. paper) ISBN-10: 0-7425-4048-0 (cloth : alk. paper) ISBN-13: 978-0-7425-4049-1 (pbk. : alk. paper) ISBN-10: 0-7425-4049-9 (pbk. : alk. paper) 1. Mexico--Politics and government--2000- I. Shirk, David A., 1971- II. Title. F1236.7.E36 2009 320.972--dc22 2008031594 Printed in the United States of America ™ The paper used in this publication meets the minimum requirements of American National Standard for Information Sciences—Permanence of Paper for Printed Library Materials, ANSI/NISO Z39.48-1992. To Ann Craig and Wayne Cornelius, our teachers, mentors, and friends Contents List of Illustrations ix Preface xii List of Abbreviations xv Introduction 1 Part I: Mexican Political Development 1 Mexico’s Historical Foundations 7 2 The Mexican Revolution and Its Legacy 39 3 Postrevolutionary Mexican Politics, 1940–1968 65 4 Mexican Democratization, 1968 to the Present 93 Part II: Political Institutions, Culture, and Society 5 Government Structure and Processes 123 6 Political Parties and Elections in Mexico 151 7 Mexican Political Culture 185 8 Interest Representation: Workers, Women, and Indigenous People 207 Part III: Key Domestic Policy Issues 9 Mexico’s Political Economy 241 10 Poverty, Inequality, and Social Welfare Policy 269 — vii — viii Contents 11 The Rule of Law in Mexico 303 Part IV: Mexican Foreign Relations 12 Mexican Foreign Policy 327 13 U.S.-Mexico Relations 351 Conclusion 381 Index 387 About the Authors 399 Illustrations Figures Map of Mexico xviii 1.1 Representations of Mexico’s Major Indigenous Civilizations 10 1.2 Foreign Capital Investment in Mining and Industrial Companies, 1886–1907 33 1.3 Imports and Exports in Mexico, 1876 and 1909 (in pesos) 33 2.1 Land Redistribution in Mexico after 1916 59 4.1 Mexican Federal Elections, 1952–2006 111 7.1 Registered Voters and Voter Turnout in Mexican Presidential Elections, 1964–2006 195 7.2 Public Confidence in Key Institutions, 2000–2006 198 7.3 Public Approval and Disapproval Ratings for Presidents Vicente Fox and Felipe Calderón, 2000–2008 199 7.4 Public Opinion: Principal Problems in Mexico, Average 2000–2006 200 8.1 Female Representation in the Mexican Legislature, 1952–2009 221 9.1 Mexico’s Economic Models 243 10.1 Educational Enrollment in Mexico, 1990–2005 289 11.1 Number of Accused Criminals per 100,000 Persons, for Common and Federal Crimes, from 1926 to 2005 (Homicide, Assault, Robbery, and Rape) 306 12.1 Mexico’s Lost Territory 331 — ix — x Illustrations 13.1 International Extraditions between Mexico and the United States, 1980–2006 370 Tables 1.1 Early Mesoamerican Civilization 8 5.1 Executive Cabinet Ministries 127 5.2 Standing Congressional Committees 130 5.3 Seats in Mexican Chamber of Deputies, 1976–2009 133 6.1 Mexican Political Parties, 2000–Present 153 6.2 Party Representation in the Chamber of Deputies, 2000–2006 156 6.3 Party Representation in the Senate, 2000–2012 156 6.4 Federal Electoral Laws, 1917–1977 168 6.5 1990s Federal Electoral Reforms 171 7.1 Mexicans’ Trust in Their Political Institutions, July 2006 197 8.1 Wage Differentials between Men and Women in Mexico, 2004 216 8.2 Percentage Representation of Women in the National Executive Committees of the PAN, PRI, and PRD 220 10.1 Distribution of Family Income by Gini Index among Key Latin American and Caribbean Countries 272 10.2 Measurements of Poverty during the Fox Administration 274 10.3 Social Welfare Programs Operated by SEDESOL and the Secretary of Health 279 11.1 Perceived Advantages of Key Justice Sector Reforms 319 11.2 Introduction of Judicial Reforms in Key Mexican States through June 2007 320 12.1 Mexico’s Free Trade Agreements 341 12.2 Mexico’s Most Important Trade Partners, 2006 342 13.1 Significant U.S.-Mexican Border Cities (West to East) 372 Textboxes 1.1 The Virgin of Guadalupe 23 1.2 Benito Juárez 28 2.1 Mexico’s Soldaderas: Women in Revolution 43 2.2 The Cristero Rebellion 51 3.1 Herod’s Law 67 3.2 Corporatism 71 3.3 Clientelism 73 Illustrations xi 3.4 Centralization and Decentralization 76 4.1 1985 Earthquake 103 5.1 De Jure Powers of the Mexican President 125 5.2 Judicial Review and Activism in Contemporary Mexico 137 5.3 The Federal District 141 6.1 The 2006 Mexican Presidential Election 160 6.2 Mexico’s Unusual Green Party 167 7.1 Studying Political Culture: Chicken or Egg? 187 8.1 COCEI 227 8.2 Women in the EZLN 228 8.3 First Declaration from the Lacandon Forest 229 9.1 ISI: A Cure for Underdevelopment? 246 9.2 Neoliberalism 254 9.3 Backlash against the Washington Consensus 258 10.1 President Calderón and the Tortilla Conflict 281 11.1 Chihuahua’s First Oral Trial 317 13.1 Mexican Migration to the United States: Good or Bad? 355 13.2 NAFTA: What It Is . and Is Not 362 13.3 The Natural Resources and Environment of the Border Region 376 Preface he idea for this book grew out of our excitement about the political Tchanges taking place in Mexico during the short span of our professional careers, as well as our need to rethink the way we teach students about con- temporary Mexican politics. Mexican politics have long perplexed outside observers, since the formal rules rarely apply to how the game is played. Despite a series of nominally democratic constitutions promulgated in 1824, 1854, and 1917, autocratic forces—the political strongmen of the nineteenth century and the monopolistic ruling party formed in 1929—prevailed in Mexico until the end of the twentieth century. In this context, students and political observers often had to read between the lines to decipher the work- ings of Mexican politics. Today, while we can debate whether Mexico is a “true” democracy, there is widespread agreement that Mexican politics have become more democratic, more transparent, and even more interesting. The advent of free and fair elections—while not tantamount to democracy—has dramatically changed the nature and importance of candidate selection, elec- toral campaigns, governance, and many other aspects of Mexican politics. These changes require us to update the way we think about and study Mexico’s political system. In the past, studying Mexican politics required a greater focus on the personalities and agendas of Mexico’s leaders, as well as the norms and power dynamics that influenced political behavior. While these considerations are still important, the realities of contemporary Mexican politics now require observers to pay greater attention to the formal role and functioning of Mexico’s political institutions, and the evolving relationship between a democratic state and society. For example, since votes matter more — xii — Preface xiii than ever before, observers of Mexican politics must devote greater attention to the factors that affect voter attitudes and behavior, including campaigns, the media, political socialization, and other influences. Likewise, since there is now considerable “institutionalized uncertainty” about electoral and political outcomes, candidates and politicians have begun to interact differently with each other and with voters. Amid all of this, Mexico’s new democracy now faces major policy challenges that will greatly affect its longer-term consolida- tion, including promoting sustainable, equitable economic development and strengthening the rule of law. Hence our goal in writing this book was, quite simply, to produce a text that focuses students on the new structure, function, and policy aspects of contemporary Mexican politics. Since no other country has as powerful and direct an impact on the United States as Mexico, it is essential for U.S. citizens to understand these changing po- litical dynamics, as well as their bearing on key policy areas that affect the U.S.- Mexican relationship. Moreover, in many ways, contemporary Mexican politics now more closely resemble democratic politics in the United States. Today, Mexican politics exhibit such “American” political characteristics as negative campaigning, political fund-raising, candidate-centered campaigns, legislative logrolling, and carefully orchestrated constituent service appeals. Whether such practices will prove beneficial remains to be seen. But we feel strongly that to understand what is happening in Mexico, and in order to better shape our bina- tional relationship with Mexico, we must change the way we study and evaluate Mexican politics. This book is our small contribution to that end; it is up to the students and teachers who read it to make up the difference. Like other authors of a work of this nature, we stand on the shoulders of established giants across a wide range of disciplines who have made enormous contributions to the study of Mexican politics.