Cleaning Up

A victory for pluralism

Mexicans like to think of their political system as a democracy, but to any one else it looks like a remarkably durable one-party government. For 54 years, the ruling Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI) has won every important election, when necessary manipulating the results to assure its victory. Last week a salutory triumph for pluralism unexpectedly broke that pattern. When the votes for elections held in five states were tallied, the National Action Party (PAN) had won nine municipal seats and five legislative seats in the northern states of Durango and Chihuahua. It was the best performance by any opposition party since the PRI was founded in 1929. Declared PAN President Abel Vicencio Tovar: "A change in the political structure of Mexico has begun."

The upset reflected popular discontent with the often cynical and lackluster PRI leadership. It was also a sign that Mexicans have become impatient with the stringent austerity measures that President Miguel de la Madrid imposed to restore health to Mexico's anemic economy. The peso lost more than three-quarters of its value last year; inflation is still running at 80% annually; and unemployment or underemployment has reached 35%. These problems tend to have more of an impact on Mexicans who live in the northern states, closer to the U.S. border. The PAN, a center-right party that generally favors private enterprise, had mounted a slick, expensive campaign. PAN officials took a cue from candidates north of the border by financing their campaign with contributions from small-and medium-size businesses, a new but legal departure from Mexican political custom.

Just as remarkable as PAN's victories was the fact that the PRI allowed them to occur. To his credit, President De la Madrid had instructed officials to keep the elections clean and to let the results stand. Said Heberto Castillo, head of the small leftist Mexican Workers' Party: "It is a positive note for the free play of democracy."

De la Madrid seemed to hold out the possibility of further opening up the political system, allowing other minority parties greater power. Welcome as that reform would be, it seemed unlikely to threaten the PRI's dominance of Mexican politics. Of the country's 23.6 million voters, approximately 74% supported the PRI in the last national election. Emboldened by their victories, PAN supporters have already set their sights on another state contest: the Sept. 4 elections for the governorship of Baja California Norte. This file is automatically generated by a robot program, so viewer discretion is required.