Mexico's Party Deputy System: The First Decade

Mexico's party deputy system, created in 1963, has just completed its first decade of existence; enough experience has now been accumulated to evaluate its impact on the Mexican political system. This essay will examine the system in its following aspects: origins, implementation, amendments, beneficiaries, and effects. Since 1929 the government party (currently called PRI, Partido Revolucionario Institucional, but having existed under other names) has so completely dominated the electoral scene at the national level that only in the Chamber of Deputies has the opposition been able to take some electoral posts. Even in the Chamber, opposition groups have only been able to acquire a few seats by winning a majority of votes (Table l). PRI's success has been attributed to its superior organization, appeal, finances, and relationship with the government. The high point of majority-elected opposition in the Chamber came in 1952 when nine opposition deputies represented 5.5 percent of the Chamber. Between 1946 and 1964, no opposition party, of whatever ideological stripe, achieved more than six seats in the Chamber (3.7 percent).