Mario Salgado

Comparative Political System

Presentation: Mexico
Mr. Petersmann


Mexicos Political Parties


Mexico has a multi-party system, which means that there are more than
two dominant political parties. In Mexico there are three large political parties the
PRI, the PAN, and the PRD. Other smaller political parties survive in isolation or
by forming local coalitions with any of the big three.
Mexico has a multi-party system, which means that there are more than
two dominant political parties. In Mexico there are three large political parties the
PRI, the PAN, and the PRD. Other smaller political parties survive in isolation or
by forming local coalitions with any of the big three. Following the 2003 election,
Mexico had six nationally recognized political parties. National recognition was
given to those parties that secured representation in Congress. In terms of their
congressional representation and share of the national vote, only the PRI, the
PAN and the PRD can be considered major parties. Under Mexican law, parties
are listed in the order in which they were first registered:

The following are the parties:

The National Action Party (Spanish: Partido Accin Nacional), known by
the acronym PAN, is a conservative and Christian Democratic party and one of
the three main political parties in Mexico. The party is led by Manuel Espino
Barrientos (2005). Mexican Roman Catholics, together with other conservatives
(mainly Manuel Gmez Morn), founded the PAN in 1939 after the cristero
insurgency lost the Cristero War
The Institutional Revolutionary Party (Spanish: Partido Revolucionario
Institucional or PRI) is a Mexican political party that wielded hegemonic power in
the country under a succession of names for more than 70 years. Originally, it
was known as the Partido Nacional Revolucionario (PNR or National
Revolutionary Party), then Partido de la Revolucion Mexicana (PRM or Party of
the Mexican Revolution). The evolution of the name may have been due to the
acronyms of the original names being the butt of jokes, such as PNR supposedly
signifying Plutarco Necesita Robar (Plutarco Needs to Rob).
The Party of the Democratic Revolution (in Spanish: Partido de la
Revolucin Democrtica, PRD) is one of the three main political parties in
Mexico. Founded in Mexico City on May 5, 1989 by Cuauhtmoc Crdenas
Solrzano, Heberto Castillo, Gilberto Rincn Gallardo, Porfirio Muoz Ledo,
other prominent PRI members and left-wing politicians. The party was originally
founded by including many smaller left-wing parties such as the Partido
Comunista Mexicano (PCM, Mexican Communist Party), Partido Socialista
Unificado de Mxico (PSUM, Unified Socialist Party of Mexico), and Partido
Mexicano Socialista (PMS, Mexican Socialist Party).
The Labor Party (Partido del Trabajo, abbreviated as "PT") is a nationally
recognized political party in Mexico. It was founded on December 8, 1990. The
party is currently led by Alberto Anaya.
The PT's roots lay in a network of community organizations formed by Maoist
activists. The party first participated in federal elections in 1991, but it failed to
win 1.5 percent of the vote (the amount necessary to be recognized as a national
party).
The Ecologist Green Party of Mexico (Spanish: Partido Verde Ecologista
de Mxico, known by the abbreviation PVEM) is one of the six political parties to
enjoy representation in the Mexican Congress. The party's congressional
strength currently stands at 17 deputies (out of 500) and five senators (out of
128). In the general election of 2000 it allied itself with the National Action Party
(PAN) to create the "Alliance for Change" (Alianza por el Cambio).

The Social Democratic and Peasant Alternative Party (in Spanish: Partido

Alternativa Socialdemcrata y Campesina) is a Mexican political party of recent
formation.The party started as an alliance between two political leaders: Ignacio
Irys and Patricia Mercado. However, most of its members come from four extinct
parties: the Social Democracy Party led by Gilberto Rincn Gallardo (which lost
its registration as an officially recognized party by barely 20,000 votes in the
2000 election), Mxico Posible, led by Patricia Mercado, Fuerza Ciudadana and
the Partido Campesino y Popular.
The New Alliance Party (in Spanish language Partido Nueva Alianza; PNA
or PANAL) is one of the newest political parties in Mexico.Its creation was
proposed by the Sindicato Nacional de Trabajadores de la Educacin (SNTE,
"National Union of Education Workers"), the largest trade union in Latin America,
lead by Elba Esther Gordillo, the controversial former general secretary of the
Institutional Revolutionary Party.

Constitutional Structure

Mexico is a federal republic that comprises 31 states and a Federal District,
which is the seat of the federal government. Each of the federal states is
administratively divided into several municipalities that form the basis of local
government.
The country derives its governmental structure from the constitution
adopted in 1917, which clearly delineates the separation of powers between the
executive, the legislature, and the judiciary. According to the constitution,
national sovereignty lies with the people of Mexico who are also constitutionally
guaranteed a set of personal freedoms and civil liberties.

Mexico's Parliament

Mexico's Parliament is divided into the Senate, which is the upper house,
and the Chamber of Deputies, which forms the lower house. Members of the
Senate are elected for a term of six years while those of the Chamber of
Deputies are elected for three. Members of both houses are barred from seeking
reelection for the immediate succeeding term. The Senate comprises of two
representatives from each of the 31 states and the Federal District while the
Chamber of Deputies consists of 400. Of the 400 deputies, three-fifths are
elected directly through relative majority while the rest are selected on the basis
of proportional representation of the total votes polled by all the political parties.
Office of President
The executive wing of power is in the hands of the President of Mexico who is
elected for a fixed six-year term with no provision for reelection. The constitution
empowers the President to select a cabinet and also to appoint high officials of
the state like the attorney general, ambassadors, high ranking military officers,
and the justices of the Supreme Court. The President also enjoys the power to
issue decrees that have the effect of law. For most of Mexico's modern history,
the President exercised greater control of the governmental system over the
other two branches especially during most of the 20th Century when Mexico was
effectively a one-party state. But since the late 20th century the legislature has
begun to exert greater power and influence.