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MEXICAN PRESIDENTIAL SUCCESSION.
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Discusses system of transferring political power.... More...
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Paper Abstract:
Discusses system of transferring political power. How the Mexican "dedazo" system of selecting presidents functions. Siting president choosing his successor. The single party system PRI (Institutional Revolutionary Party). Refers to J. G. Castaneda's book "Perpetuating Power" that analyzes transfers of presidential power. Advantages and disadvantages of the Mexican political system. The Pendulum theory.

Paper Introduction:
The Mexican Presidential Succession After more than a century of rule by military strongmen, foreign invaders, and a series of revolutionary leaders who were assassinated one by one, a system of transferring political power was devised that has generally served Mexico well. Politics is a messy, contentious business, and no one has yet invented a perfect system that meets the needs of all segments of society, makes decisions effectively, and deals with its problems on a basis of justice and the rule of law. Mexico is no exception. But for more than 70 years its rather arcane process of selecting presidents, known as el dedazo (the laying on of the finger), provided domestic stability, stopping the endless cycle of violence. And although not

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This furtherstrengthened the regime in its power, making any potential rivalry to itseem the result of sour grapes. So all in all, the Mexican succession is a toss-up from the pointof view of the pendulum theory. But as was said at the outset, Mexico's one party rule was differentfrom the out-and-out dictatorships that sprang up like mushrooms during theTwentieth Century in Latin America. Summit of the Americas. Underlying the dedazo was the assumption that the party would alwaysvirtually automatically deliver the "election" to the anointed successor.Whether selected early on in the privacy of the sitting president's mind asa potential candidate, as de la Madrid chose Salinas, or by default ifcircumstance made the initial favorites unacceptable or indisposed, as wasthe case of Salina's hurried selection of Zedillo after the death ofColosio, the selected candidate was subject to the visissitudes of Mexico'spolitical rough-and-tumble even if patronized by the president and hisparty. (April 2 1). Since thepresident held near absolute power, having the ability to appoint stategovernors, legislators, party officials, and a great many governmentalbureaucrats, currying his favor became as symptomatic of this system as theambitious and ruthless courtiers who had surrounded the royal courts ofEurope for centuries. The story of Rosa Luz Alegria illustrates this well. But "from 1934 onward, and through the end of the century, Mexicowould experience 12 consecutive, pacific, scheduled transfers of power, afeat unequalled in its history" (Casteneda, 2 , x). From both the stability provided by dedazo and the fact that thewealthy elite had all the reins of power in their hands (since thepresident rarely acted against their interests), the economy of the countryprospered during most of the period between 194 and 198 . So in an illegal partisan maneuver we haveonly recently become used to in the shenanigans of the Bush forces inFlorida in the recent American presidential election, the plug was pulledon the main vote-counting computer until suitable results could befalsified (Casteneda, 2 , 79). But for more than 7 years its rather arcaneprocess of selecting presidents, known as el dedazo (the laying on of thefinger), provided domestic stability, stopping the endless cycle ofviolence. The essence of the dedazo system was the power of one man - thesitting president - to select his successor. Until the 1988 election just alluded to,there had been no serious challenge to the PRI's clearly authoritarianrule. Perpetuating Power: How Mexican PresidentsWere Chosen. It had means of accommodating socialpressure by its flexible combination of repression, negotiation, andcompromise, which contributed to its longevity. Initially marriedto President Echeverria's son, she separated from him and attached herselfto the campaign of her father-in-law's appointed successor Luis Lopez-Portillo, eventually solidifying her advantageous position by having anaffair with him (Casteneda, 2 , 37). G. On the negative side, the dedazo system encouraged all manner ofshameless self-serving behavior to achieve, or hold onto power. Carlos Salinas seemed to be a shoo-in for the presidency until theopposition of Cuauhtemoc Cardenas to the undemocratic aspects of the PRI,including the dedazo, began to strike a responsive public chord. The importance of this factor wasunderscored in the 198 s, when the dedazo system began to crumble as theeconomy collapsed. Availableonline at: www.nationalpost.com/features/summit2 1/quebec12.html The Mexican Presidential Succession After more than a century of rule by military strongmen, foreigninvaders, and a series of revolutionary leaders who were assassinated oneby one, a system of transferring political power was devised that hasgenerally served Mexico well. Mexico is no exception. As mentioned above, Mexico had a long string of disastrously unstablesuccessions of power until the advent of the PRI and its practice ofdedazo. New York: The New Press. (2 ). The actual votewas perfunctory and essentially meaningless, unless it was seen in its truenature, as a ratification by the voters of a decision they played no partin making, but which they nonetheless felt obligated to affirm. This scandal led to widespread publicoutrage and cleared the way for Zedillo's democratization of the partyconvention, and the eventual victory of Vicente Fox in 2 . Another fundamental disadvantage of the Mexican system of successionwas that by giving one man such personal power over the destiny of hisnation, in the dearth of clearly defined institutional controls over itpalace intrigue was greatly encouraged, since informal or personal avenuesto him might result in great benefits for the ambitious. Why was there relatively little opposition to this authoritariansystem during the more than 7 years it held sway in Mexico? And although not democratic in any real sense, it alwaysfunctioned elastically, absorbing social unrest like a sponge, andcompromising when forced to. Mexican politics is a snakepit of conspiracies, back-stabbing, anddishonesty that reduces the vital needs of millions of needy people to agame of seeking power for its its own sake, to satisfy the ambitions of theplayers rather than deal with issues of substance. And while Fox's victory isclearly a victory for democracy in the actual selection of a Mexicannational leader, he assumes great powers and has access to authoritarianmeans that are also markedly in excess of an American president, forexample. Translated by Padaic Arthur Smithies. For one thing,the single party system eventually known as the PRI (InstitutionalRevolutionary Party) wrapped itself in the patriotic mantle of therevolution. The PRIhad become so used to automatic victories and rigged elections that it wascaught with its proverbial pants down on election eve on July 6, 1988 whena journalist got ahold of a secret password and discovered that Cardenaswas achieving an unprecedented sweep of Mexico City and the capital area.If word had leaked while the polls were still open in the rest of thecountry it was clearly possible that a snowball effect could produce anunheard-of defeat for the PRI. It also displayed a genius for claiming to represent the mostdiverse and antagonistic segments of society, even though by the firsttransfer of power examined by Casteneda in 197 , the PRI was clearly beingrun in the interests of the ruling elite and not the masses of Mexico.Finally, since the president, who ruled in the name of the party, hadpowers far greater than any American president, he was generally able torepress, co-opt, or usurp the issues of any dissatisfied groups. The pendulum theory "that suggests Latin American governments swingfrom authoritarianism to democracy" (National Post Online, 2 1, 1) is bothcontradicted and supported by the history of the Mexican presidentialsuccession from 1934 to 2 . Casteneda's book enhances our understanding of the Mexican politicalsystem by analyzing the last several transfers of power from president topresident in great detail. References Castaneda, J. Politics is a messy, contentious business,and no one has yet invented a perfect system that meets the needs of allsegments of society, makes decisions effectively, and deals with itsproblems on a basis of justice and the rule of law. Yet in its ownunsystematic and erratic way, problems do get solved, and some progress isachieved. National Post Online. Once he had come to hisdecision, which he always did in private with a minimum of consultation,all factions of Mexican society dutifully followed along. The reader is a privileged observer in secretdiscussions and intrigues between the presidents, their cabinets, and theirrivals.

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