Democratic Government Vs Mexico Research Paper

The Spaniards made what we now know as Mexico into a racially segregated country, where the Europeans had priority in the casta. The white Caudillos were at the top of the pyramid, while the middle class, and then the Mexican Campesinos and the Mestizos were on the bottom. Each group of people worked against each other to try and distinguish themselves from another group. After Mexico gained its independence and the colonials went back to Spain, Mexico had to find a way to function as a country on their own. Society, let alone a democracy would not continue to work if all the racial groups continued to fight against each other. The different groups needed to learn to work together, which is what complicated Mexico forming a democracy. Colonial, racial, religious, and economic legacies served as roadblocks to Mexico’s independence and ability to establish a lasting democracy, because Mexicans could no longer compete against one another like they did under Spanish rule.

From the Institutional Revolutionary party (PRI) to the National Action Party (PAN) to the Party of Democratic Revolution (PRD), Mexico has had many political parties in the past and present but many have questioned the fact that how has PRI manage to stay in power and maintain its place as the dominant party in the past. In this short research paper I am going to be talking about Partido Revolucionario Institutional (PRI) and Mexico. I want to discuss the history of PRI and how it came about during and after the Mexican Revolution. I will also touch upon the party’s weaknesses and precursors that might have signaled its loss in the elections of 2000.

Mexican government considered the benefits that would accrue from a labor agreement and disregarded his initial concerns. After the signing of his agreement the recruitment stations were created. The braceros were recruited in Ciudad Juarez across from El Paso, Texas. The recruitment sites became crowded of Mexicans who were unemployed and wanted to go to the U.S. to work. Although the braceros that were chosen were those who had agricultural experience many other Mexicans who were unable to obtain a bracero permit bribed the officials into selecting them. Many individuals who were not able to obtain permits chose to enter the U.S. illegally. The number of illegals who entered the U.S during the tenure of the Bracer program was equal to or surpassed the number of braceros. Upon recruitment, the braceros were fingerprinted and issued a work permit. Upon arrival to the United States, the braceros were taken into processing centers where they were searched for marijuana, weapons or any contrabands and sprayed with DDT to prevent any carrying disease (Calavita, 2010). Migrant workers were employed by groups and were housed in the same village to make it easier for the growers to pick up and drop off after a long day at work.

Cárdenas worked tirelessly to stop and permanently eliminate the corruption of government no matter the price; however he was not successful as after he left the presidential office, things went back to the old corrupt way of when Porfirio Diaz or Elias Calles were in the presidential office. Cárdenas started out by making Calles leave the country and sending him into exile. Cárdenas then went onto reorganizing his political party “Partido de la Revolución Mexicana (PRM) ” into four sectors that better represented the people of Mexico: the army, the peasants, the industrial workers, and the bureaucracy. After his departure his party turned into the Revolutionary Institutional Party (PRI) and the PRI went onto

Before the the military group took over the government in 1976, a few events lead to societies disconnect. In 1973 the argentine economy was not in good shape due to inflation and high petroleum prices. With Peron back in power, the argentine people had lots of optimism

During the 19th century and first half of the 20th century, Argentina was one of the fastest growing economies in the world. Exceptionally, Argentine had abundant resources and relatively equal income distribution. For a time, the peso was one of the strongest currencies in the world and its GDP per capita exceeded the European countries (Falcoff 2000). However, the troubled democracy and the decline of its moderate economy were created under the regime of General Peron (1946-55). When Juan Peron entered the political scene, he began to build political support among urban workers, middle class, and manufacturers. As a result, he won the 1946 elections with a 54% majority. Peron was re-elected with 67% of the vote and created the Peronist Party,

On the other hand, governments changed quickly during the whole century in an alternance of the reformists (Liberal Revolution Party, 1855), who bet for federalism, laicism, equality before the law and civil rights (Constitution of 1857), and conservators (Conservators Party, 1849), who opted to supporting landowners and bourgeois to increase Mexico’s production and its economic relevance in the international context (Alcántara, 2008), but who ban any kind of liberty to protect catholicism (“peaceful” dictatorship of Porfirio Díaz from 1876-1911).

Peron support populist ideas that supported the middle class. Peronism had three main principles: economic independence, political sovereignty, and social justice. Anyone who opposed the government was put in prison. Although Peron supported the middle class, he was disliked by the bourgeois who were the higher middle class. Peron’s wife, Eva, died to cancer and Peron lost many of his supporters. (“Timeline: Argentina”) The first group to oppose Peron was the Navy. This caused a war between the Navy and the Army because the Army was still loyal to Peron. Three days after the fighting, the Army turned against Peron along with the Air Force and Peron was exiled to Paraguay in 1955. During the time Peron was exiled, terrorism arose rapidly and Hector Campora was elected as the new president. Campora only ruled in name and everyone knew that Peron was behind all the decisions that Campora made even though Peron was exiled. Peron came back in 1973 and alleviates the economic and social problems but the problems were still prevalent. After Peron’s death, terrorism escalated rapidly and the military general Galtieri took control of Argentina for the Juntas which was the military dictatorship at the

Mexico has a representational democracy; the people of Mexico elect a new president every six years. From 1884 to 1911 Mexico was ruled by Porfirio Diaz who acted more as a dictator than a president. Elections were useless since Diaz intimidated all competition, it wasn’t until a revolution in 1911 that he was removed from power. After Diaz’s rule, there were no longer re-elections in order to avoid another dictatorship. A liberal democracy is one where the elections are fair and all people have a voice; but Mexico’s elections are far from fair and the people are scared to speak out. In theory, Mexico is a liberal democracy, but in practice it is far from it.

Prior to gaining independence, Mexico was a thriving colony that was beginning to find its footing in international trade, but inner conflicts within the government structure which had been increasing dramatically, caused a great divide among citizens. Fueled by the disagreement between staying under the tight restrictions of Spain’s bourbon reforms or creating their own nation to which Mexico would govern itself, a ‘tug-of-war’ ignited as each side argued for their respective policies to be put in place. Mexico gaining their independence in 1821 was the main cause which created the standoff between centralism (eventually conservatism) and federalism (soon evolved to liberalism) as the two main contenders for government policies.

Power is known to have two basic dimensions, geopolitical (military strength) and geo-economic (economic capacity) and they often overlap. Governmental bureaucracies advance security interests, in capitalist societies, economic interests usually represent the goals of private sectors. “While national interests are often cloaked in the uplifting idiom of moral purpose, it is the quest for geopolitical and geo-economic advantage, not idealism, that provides the driving force behind foreign policy and international behavior”. (Smith. 2013. Pg. 15) The relationship of U.S. and Mexico has several distinctive features such as interdependence, complexity, and asymmetry. The United States is and will continue to be bigger, stronger, and richer than

Politics has had significant impacts on states. Depending on the state, they can be positive or negative. The politics of Mexico can be represented by three authors: Seeing Like a State by James Scott, Transitions to Democracy by Dankwart Rustow, and End of the Transition Paradigm by Thomas Carothers - all exemplify the politics of the country of Mexico.

Mexico has not had many leaders or presidents partly because of the corrupt that has been prevalent in their nation. Unlike America who has a strict two term policy, there is no such enforced rule in Mexico. The first ruler of the 20th century was Porfirio Diaz who ruled from 1877 until 1910. His 34 year term was a strict violation of the Mexican constitution. This upset many people which caused the rise of revolutionary leaders such as Francisco “Pancho” Villa and Emiliano Zapata whose main intentions where to change the La encomienda system. They were striving for a more modern system that would benefit the people who worked the land instead of keeping the money for the land owners.

Seventy-two years later and the effects of Peronism are still present in the Argentinian society. The roots of Peronism can be traced back to Juan Peron, a military general and later on the President of Argentina. Him, along with his wife Eva Peron, left an imprint on the Argentinian society with their radical changes in politics involving government aid to the poor and the minority.

As I watch the airport recede below me, I think of how long it is going to take to get to Mexico City. I’m just thankful that airplanes have bathrooms, because I made sure to… “hydrate” myself... If airplanes didn’t have bathrooms… best not to imagine situations like those.