Rules and Dominant Party Regimes

This chapter examines how rules have operated in two electoral authoritarian dominant party regimes, Malaysia under Mahathir (1981–2003) and Mexico under the Institutional Revolutionary Party (1929–2000). The nature of the party, one designed to participate in a competitive electoral process (even if unfair because it is tilted in favour of the ruling party), is an important factor in shaping the rules and how they worked. The fact that one is a parliamentary and the other a presidential system also provides scope to see how institutions affect rules and their performance.

Ética Social Y Nacionalismo En El Discurso Polí­tico Mexicano

ResumenLa identidad nacional es un constructo social que se ha derivado de los procesos históricos y sus valores, los cuales han creado una visión particular del ”ser nacional”. En esta construcción han interactuado múltiples factores; en el caso de México, el referente esencial que justificó las acciones gubernamentales se apegó a los hechos de la Revolución Mexicana de 1910, un icono de legitimidad para el Partido Revolucionario Institucional, partido polí­tico en el poder durante la mayor parte del siglo XX. En la presente investigación se analiza el discurso nacionalista emanado del ”mensaje polí­tico” de los informes del gobierno. Se considera en particular la temática referida al ”planteamiento de valores éticos y morales” en dos etapas fundamentales del desarrollo del paí­s: la posrevolucionaria y la neoliberal. En la investigación cobran relevancia los aspectos relacionados al ámbito axiológico y se presenta la evolución discursiva de este tema en cada etapa a lo largo de la historia contemporánea de México.Palabras clave: Nacionalismo, Partido Revolucionario Institucional (PRI), posrevolución, neoliberalismo, valores éticos. AbstractNational identity is a social construct that has derived from historical processes and their values, which have created a particular vision of what the ”national being” is. In this construction, multiple factors have interacted, and, in the case of Mexico, the essential referent, by which the government actions were justified, was attached to the event of the Mexican Revolution in 1910, a legitimacy icon for the Institutional Revolutionary Party, a political party in power for most of the 20th century. In the present research, the nationalist discourse, emanated from the ”political message of government speeches, is analyzed. Particular attention has been given to the subject matter referring to the ”expounding on ethical and moral values”, within two fundamental stages in the development of the country: the postrevolutionary and the neoliberal periods. In this work, the aspects related to the axiological sphere become important, ante the discourse evolution on this subject, within each stage throughout the contemporary history of Mexico, is presented.Keywords: Nationalism, Institutional Revolutionary Party, postrevolution, neoliberalism, ethical values. [1] Dr. en Educación por la Universidad La Salle México. Mtro. en Innovación Educativa por la Universidad la Salle México. Lic. en Teologí­a por la Universidad la Salle México[2] Dra. En Periodismo por la Universidad Complutense de Madrid. Mtra. en Periodismo por Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México.

Morena will perform well in Mexico’s 2021 elections

Significance The General Council rejected another organisation previously shortlisted as meeting the requirements for becoming a party: Free Mexico (ML), co-founded by former President Felipe Calderon (2006-12). Impacts The PES may obtain some seats through party lists, but as it will struggle to obtain 3% of the vote it is likely to be short-lived. Corruption investigations will weigh on support for the Institutional Revolutionary Party and the PAN. Voting intention polls suggest Morena will win most of the 15 gubernatorial races that will take place. If the INE’s ML decision is not overruled, the PAN will probably contest the 2024 national elections without a rival on the centre-right.

La dictadura como dominación política

ResumenEn este artículo que titulamos La dictadura como dominación política, explicamos en qué consiste y cómo se organiza el uso arbitrario del poder a través de la forma de gobierno que el constitucionalista y politólogo alemán Karl Loëwenstain denomina con el nombre genérico de autocracias. Se refiere al autoritarismo y al totalitarismo que comúnmente llamamos dictadura y que los griegos llamaron tiranía. En otros términos, ambos son dos modalidades de autocracia. Cuando estudiamos esta forma de dominación política nos encontramos con una gran diversidad, pese a que hay algunos rasgos comunes. Esta diversidad se advierte en la monarquía, la autocracia que más ha durado a lo largo de la historia, pero que ahora se encuentra confinada en pocos países de cultura musulmana. También consideramos a las dictaduras individualizadas cuando un individuo, sin pertenecer a una aristocracia, concentra todo el poder como si fuera un monarca absoluto. Este sujeto puede ser civil o militar. Luego explicamos en qué consisten las dictaduras militares, cívicomilitares y el poder militar. En estos regímenes, igualmente, encontramos diversas expresiones políticas e ideológicas. Finalmente tratamos sobre las dictaduras institucionalizadas cuya máxima expresión es el totalitarismo, una forma política de dominación que se inició en el siglo XX y continúa en algunos países como China, Corea del Norte y Cuba. En esta categoría, aunque con una concepción ideológica distinta, están el nacional socialismo alemán y el fascismoitaliano. A las dictaduras de inspiración marxista leninista y maoísta se les llama comunistas; a nuestro modo de ver, un concepto equivocado porque el comunismo es la fase final del socialismo, una sociedad sin clases y sin Estado porque desaparece la dominación, y como esto no existe, en la práctica deberían denominarse dictaduras socialistas, o dictaduras socializantes; también podrían llamarse dictaduras en el socialismo realmente existente. No solo el totalitarismo es una dictadura institucionalizada, también hay formas institucionalizadas autoritarias, como el caso del Partido Revolucionario Institucional (PRI) mexicano. Cabe notar que en el caso de los países asiáticos, sobre todo en China, se ha acentuado el culto a la personalidad, fenómeno que había disminuido luego de la reforma de Deng Xiaoping; en cambio, esto ha sido una tendencia constante en Corea del Norte. Ello determina que predomine la voluntad del líder sobre la institución,como ha sucedido en diversos casos en donde las dictaduras burocratizadas de partido único han sucumbido ante el poder de un líder máximo. Un hecho que no sucedió en México porque estaba prohibida la reelección presidencial que duraba siete años. Concluimos afirmando que muchas de estas formas de dominación política, que predominaron durante largos períodos de la historia, como por ejemplo las monarquías, sucumbieron por diversos movimientos de liberación que optaron por formas democráticas de gobierno. Pero también decimos al final del artículo que existe la dominación al interior de la democracia en un régimen económico capitalista que predomina en la globalización y que impera por medio del neoliberalismo.Palabras clave: Dominación, dictadura, autoritarismo, totalitarismo, liberación. AbstractIn this article, titled “The dictatorship as a political domination”, we explain what the arbitrary use of power consists of and how it is organized through the form of government, named by the German constitutionalist and political scientist Karl Loëwenstain with the generic term of “autocracies”. It refers to the authoritarianism and totalitarianism that we commonly call dictatorship and that the Greeks called tyranny. In other words, both are two modalities of autocracy. When we study this form of political domination, we find a great diversity, despite some common features. This diversity is evident in the monarchy, the autocracy that has lasted the longest throughout history but which is now confined to a few countries with a Muslim culture. We also consider individual dictatorships when an individual, without belonging to an aristocracy, concentrates all power as if he were an absolute monarch. This person can be civil or military. Then, we explainwhat military dictatorship, civic-military dictatorship and military power consist of. In these regimes, we also find diverse political and ideological expressions. Finally, we discussed the institutionalized dictatorships whose ultimate expression is totalitarianism, a political form of domination that began in the twentieth century and continues in some countries like China, North Korea and Cuba. In this category, although with a different ideological conception, are present the German National Socialism and Italian Fascism. Dictatorships with Marxist, Leninist and Maoist inspiration are called communists. In our point of view, this concept is wrong given the fact that communism is the final phase of socialism, a classless and stateless society due to the disappearance of domination. Hence, as this does not exist, they should be called socialist dictatorships, or socializing dictatorships. They could also be called dictatorships in the actual existing socialism. Totalitarianism is not the only institutionalized dictatorship; there are also other authoritarian institutionalized dictatorships such as the Mexican Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI).It is worth mentioning that in the case of Asian countries, especially in China, the cult of personality has been accentuated, a phenomenon that had decreased after the reform of Deng-Xiao-Pin, but which has been a constant trend in North Korea. This determines that the will of the leader predominates over the institution, as has happened in several cases where the bureaucratized one-party dictatorships have succumbed to the power of a maximum leader. This case did not happen in Mexico because of the prohibition of presidential re-election, which lasted seven years. In conclusion, we can agree that many of these forms of political domination, which predominated during long periods of history, such as monarchies, succumbed to various liberation movementsthat chose democratic forms of government. Nevertheless, we also mention at the end of the article that domination exists within democracy in the capitalist economic regime that predominatesin globalization, and that prevails through neoliberalism.Keywords: Domination, Dictatorship, Autoritarisms,Tatalitarism, Liberation

The Current Political Challenges to the Mexican Democratisation Process

This paper will attempt to answer what the current state of contemporary democracy in Mexico is after the return of the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI) to the presidency by analysing the role of Civil Society, Political Society and the Rule of Law from 2012 to 2018. This paper will also explore if the party’s return was indeed a step backwards in the process of Mexican democratisation, or whether it was simply another step on a long road in which the various political parties alternate power. In 2018, Mexico elected its new president for the next consecutive 6 years along with a fair number of congressional seats and local gubernatorial posts, an election that again put Mexican democracy through a difficult test.

Shifts in union politics may benefit Mexican workers

Subject Union politics. Significance Carlos Romero Deschamps, a prominent member of the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI), stepped down as leader of the Union of Oil Workers of the Mexican Republic (STPRM) on October 16 -- a position he had held since 1993. His resignation came one day after President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador (AMLO) said he should quit to face charges of illegal enrichment made by the Finance Ministry’s Financial Intelligence Unit. He is accused of laundering 74 million pesos (3.9 million dollars) and embezzling 36 million. Impacts Romero’s departure will not end corruption at Pemex; this requires specific measures to bolster corporate governance and accountability. Changes in the new Labour Law have the potential to improve competitiveness, but poor implementation may yet let it down. AMLO promises not to interfere with the unions or make use of them politically, but there are concerns that figures within Morena might.

Democracy and electoral reforms in Mexico

In Mexico, the electoral arena has experienced substantial transformations throughout the last decades. It has changed from an overwhelming stage of domination by the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI) to a competitive struggle between diverse political parties, where pre-electoral coalitions (PECS) and political alternation are a recurrent phenomenon. This paper seeks to explain the switch from an hegemonic party system (with authoritarian characteristics) to a democratic multi-party system, by stating that the Mexican Public Administration´s modernization, but especially the electoral reforms, have favored a phased configuration of a larger (and more competitive) number of parties and neutral electoral institutions. The argument is built upon the analysis of several documentary research, based on the 1977, 1986, 1990, 1996, and 2014 electoral reforms, federal and local electoral results, concluding with the Mexican political system´s development implications.

La Ley de Seguridad Interior en México: entre la razón de Estado y la justificación de los derechos humanos/ The Law of Internal Security in Mexico: between the reason of State and the justification of human rights

Presentamos un análisis cualitativo exploratorio-descriptivo desde la Ciencia Política acerca de la argumentación sostenida en las iniciativas de la Ley de Seguridad Interior (LSI) presentadas por el Partido Revolucionario Institucional (PRI), el Partido Acción Nacional (PAN) y el Partido de la Revolución Democrática (PRD). Dos conceptos operativos guían el análisis: razón de Estado y derechos humanos, presentes tanto en las justificaciones implícitas de quienes impulsan la Ley como en las de sus detractores, quienes la califican de violatoria de derechos humanos. En este último punto, nos concentramos en revisar dos acciones de inconstitucionalidad presentadas por la Comisión Nacional de los Derechos Humanos (CNDH) y por un grupo de legisladores de oposición que no votaron a favor de la LSI en la Sexagésima Tercera Legislatura. Nos interesa mostrar la colisión de argumentos entre la visión de Estado, que quiere legitimar jurídicamente la presencia del Ejército en las calles y la otra visión, que asume una justificación garantista de los derechos humanos. Abstract We present an exploratory qualitative analysis from the standpoint of Political Science about the argumentation sustained in the initiatives of the Internal Security Law (LSI) presented by the Institutional Revolutionary Party, the National Action Party and the Party of the Democratic Revolution. Two operative concepts guide the analysis: reason of State and human rights, both present in the implicit justifications of those who promote the law, and in those of its detractors, who qualify it as a violation of human rights. In this last point, we concentrate on reviewing two unconstitutionality actions presented by the National Commission of Human Rights and by a group of opposition legislators who did not vote in favor of the LSI in the Sixty-Third Legislature. We aim to show the collision of arguments between the vision of the State, which wants to legally legitimize the presence of the Army in the streets, and the other vision, which assumes a guaranteeing justification of human rights.

Strategic alliances: Red, green, or “watermelon” candidates in Mexican legislative elections

What role do small parties play in new democracies? Although some research has posited that these parties developed to promote policies that the major parties were not addressing, we argue that they are as opportunistic as their larger party competitors. To test our argument, we examine the legislative electoral alliances between the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI) and the Ecological Green Party of Mexico (PVEM) in single member districts from 2006 to 2015. In alliance districts, the parties distribute the districts between them: those in which the candidate is from the PRI and those in which the candidate is from the PVEM. There is then a second dynamic in these electoral alliances: Many of the PVEM candidates are former PRI politicians, whom we refer to as “watermelon” candidates, as they are green on the outside and red on the inside. We argue that the parties will select the alliance strategy that will be most electorally beneficial—running a PRI, PVEM, or watermelon candidate. We find that running a PRI or watermelon candidate increases the alliance’s probability of winning. Our findings have important implications for understanding Mexican party politics as well as the role of small parties and party competition in developing democracies.

AMLO’s candidate set to take Mexico City

Subject Mexico City elections. Significance On July 1, Mexico City will elect a new head of government, 16 borough mayors and 66 representatives to the Legislative Assembly. Claudia Sheinbaum of presidential frontrunner Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador (AMLO)’s National Regeneration Movement (MORENA) is leading the race for the governorship, pushing Alejandra Barrales of the incumbent Party of the Democratic Revolution (PRD) into second place. The Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI)’s Mikel Arriola, is running third. Impacts A Sheinbaum victory would bring some policy continuity with previous left-wing PRD governments. Contracts agreed during the current administration (particularly for refuse management and urban development) may be reviewed. Defeat in Mexico City would be devastating for the PRD, which is also in danger of losing Tabasco and Morelos to MORENA.