Mexico´s Transition to Democracy : And Problems of Consolidation

Abstract: Abstract This thesis deals with Mexico’s transition to democracy, and its problems of consolidation. Mexico has an authoritarian heritage which still, eight years after the historic election in 2000 and the coming of an electoral democracy, causes great problems in society. The thesis deals mainly with civil society, political society, and the rule of law. As a framework for the thesis, a transition model developed by Juan J. Linz and Alfred Stepan, called the “ five arenas” is used. As Mexico in year 2000 for the first time in 70 years had a change o regime, many Mexicans believed that this was the end to the corporatist style of the “old” system, and that many problems would disappear if Mexico would be democratic. However, this was not the case. Mexico has huge problems in consolidating its democracy, and new problems have developed. This thesis tries to identify the areas which have been important to the democratization process in Mexico, and how these areas function today. It does so from an historical perspective since much of today’s problems have roots in the past. The past is then connected to contemporary Mexico, dealing mostly with the period until 2006, when the winning party from the election in 2000 the PAN, confirmed their success when they won again in 2006, but with the smallest margin even in Mexican history. The poor electoral performance of the PAN was a result of unsuccesfull politics with many promises but little change. This thesis also identifies the lack of accountability as a key-term to explain some of the failures of society to implement democratic measures in all areas of society.