Political History
Mexico’s 1910–1920 uprising that overthrew Porfirio Díaz and produced the 1917 Constitution.
Mexican Revolution
Mexico’s head of state and government, elected for a single six-year term with no immediate reelection.
President
The minimum national vote share a party must receive to qualify for any proportional-representation seats in Congress.
2%
The party that held uninterrupted power from 1929 until 2000 and is still nicknamed “the official party.”
The PRI’s system of incorporating major social groups directly into the party rather than allowing independent organizations.
Corporatism
The 1917 document that established Mexico as a federal republic, included land reform (Article 27), and remains in force today.
Constitution of 1917
Mexico’s bicameral legislature; the lower house has 500 seats.
Congress
The electoral system used for the Chamber of Deputies that combines 300 single-member districts with 200 proportional-representation seats.
Mixed direct election and proportional representation
The center-right party that won the presidency in 2000, ending 71 years of PRI rule.
PAN
The main peasant organization formally incorporated into the PRI’s structure.
CNC or National Peasant Confederation
The year the ruling party was founded to institutionalize the gains of the Revolution.
1929
The highest court in Mexico, currently composed of 11 justices.
What is the Supreme Court of Justice of the Nation?
These 300 seats in the lower house are won by the candidate with the most votes in each district (first-past-the-post).
What are single-member (or relative-majority) districts?
The left-wing party founded after the 1988 fraud that later merged into the MORENA coalition.
PRD
The largest labor union historically aligned with and controlled by the PRI.
CTM or Confederation of Mexican Workers
Who was the cartel leader that just got killed? Bonus points for which cartel.
El Mencho and the cartel is jalisco new generation
This feature of Mexico’s constitution gives the president strong decree powers and control over the bureaucracy, making the executive the dominant branch.
What is “imperial presidency”
Unlike Germany’s compensatory MMP system, Mexico’s mixed system is this type—seats are allocated separately and there is no “top-up” adjustment.
What is a parallel (non-compensatory) mixed system?
The party that has dominated Mexican politics since 2018 under Presidents López Obrador and Sheinbaum.
MORENA
Through the CNC and CTM, the PRI used patronage (land, jobs, subsidies) in exchange for political loyalty—this relationship is called…
What is clientelism (or patron-client relationships)?
Why did the Bracero program end? Give years
Exploitation of workers 1942-1964
Mexico is constitutionally federal, but in practice power is highly centralized; these 32 subnational units still elect their own governors and legislatures.
States (or federal entities)
Mexico’s 2% threshold for proportional seats and the overall cap preventing any party from exceeding 300 seats in the 500-seat Chamber illustrate this AP concept: institutional rules designed to limit over-representation while still allowing some disproportionality from the district tier.
What are mechanical effects of electoral systems / seat caps in mixed systems?
The 2000 alternation of power is an example of this AP Comp Gov concept: a peaceful transfer from authoritarian to democratic rule.
What is democratization by election (or pacted transition / alternation in power)?
Mexico’s gradual shift after 2000 from PRI-controlled corporatist organizations (CNC/CTM) toward more independent unions and peasant groups exemplifies this broader AP Comp Gov process in transitioning regimes.