Clientelism, Legitimacy and Do Voters Have a Choice in Mexico?: - The Return of The PRI

Jespersen, Bitten Aldal

4. term

Development and International Relations, Master

2013

2013-12-18

53

I 71 år dominerede Partido Revolucionario Institucional (PRI) mexicansk politik. Mange oplevede et autoritært styre, vold og gentagne økonomiske chok, herunder nedkæmpelsen af studenterprotester under OL i 1968, den latinamerikanske økonomiske krise fra 1982 og devalueringen af den mexicanske peso i 1994. Disse begivenheder skabte en udbredt følelse af, at regeringen ikke repræsenterede befolkningen, og at PRI manglede legitimitet – altså offentlig accept af, at en regering har ret til at regere. I 2000 valgte vælgerne Vicente Fox fra Partido de Acción Nacional (PAN), tidligere præsident for Coca-Cola Mexico. Sloganet ¡Que se vayan! (Få dem ud) udtrykte ønsket om at afslutte PRI’s styre. Valget blev fejret som et skifte fra et etpartiherredømme til politisk pluralisme, og mange håbede, at Mexico var på vej mod et mere reelt demokrati med en legitimt valgt regering. Allerede efter tolv år med PAN i præsidentembedet vendte PRI tilbage i 2012, da Enrique Peña Nieto vandt med 38,15 % af stemmerne. Valget udløste store protester og spørgsmål om lovlighed og korruption. Med begreberne klientelisme (udveksling af tjenester, penge eller ydelser for politisk støtte), legitimitet (offentlig accept af autoritet) og social choice (hvordan individuelle præferencer bliver til kollektive beslutninger) undersøger afhandlingen: Hvad forklarer, at PRI genvandt præsidentembedet i 2012 trods tidligere legitimitetsproblemer?

For 71 years, the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI) dominated Mexican politics. Many people experienced authoritarian rule, violence, and repeated economic shocks, including the repression of student protesters during the 1968 Olympics, the Latin American economic crisis that began in 1982, and the 1994 devaluation of the Mexican peso. These events fueled a widespread sense that the government did not represent the public and that the PRI lacked legitimacy—the public belief that a government has the right to rule. In 2000, voters elected Vicente Fox of the National Action Party (PAN), a former president of Coca-Cola Mexico. The slogan ¡Que se vayan! (Get them out) captured the push to end PRI rule. The result was celebrated as a shift from one-party dominance to political pluralism, and many hoped Mexico was on a path toward a more genuine democracy led by a legitimately elected government. Yet after only twelve years of PAN presidencies, the PRI returned in 2012, when Enrique Peña Nieto won 38.15% of the popular vote. The election sparked large protests and questions about legality and corruption. Using the concepts of clientelism (exchanging favors, money, or services for political support), legitimacy (public acceptance of authority), and social choice (how individual preferences are aggregated into collective decisions), this thesis asks: What explains the PRI’s return to the presidency in 2012 despite its earlier legitimacy problems?

[This abstract was generated with the help of AI]

Mexico ; Legitimacy ; Clientelism ; PRI

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