Ap comparative government

 Urban v. rural:  Mexico is more than 75% urban and the literacy rate is about 90%  Urban voters are less likely to support the PRI and they are generally more accepting of political change and economic reform  The PRI was originally created to control illiterate peasants who provided political support to the PRI in exchange for favors from politicos  Social Class:  There is a wide divide between the haves and have-nots in Mexico  The lowest 10% of the Mexican population made 1.6% of the countries wealth while the wealthiest 10% earned 35.6%  The average income from the top 10% of the Mexican population was $44,035, four times higher than the national average.  The poor therefore have lower health levels, lower education levels, shorter life expectancies, and higher infant mortality rates  Middle and upper class citizens are more likely to vote and to support the PAN  The inequities in income distribution are beginning to fall, which will inevitably change many of these issues  There has also been a rise in the use of the informal economy throughout the middle class

 Mestizo v Amerindian:  Mestizo’s tend to reside in higher social classes than Amerindians  Only 10% of the population knows and indigenous languages, while 30% of the population acknowledges themselves as Amerindian  North v South:  The Northern portion of Mexico is more populated and wealthier than the Southern part of Mexico  Northern Mexico is also more influenced by the United States than the South  More Amerindians live in the south and have, on average, 2 years less education than in the north

 Political participation in Mexico is traditionally centered on protest and revolution  Prior to these protest movements, Mexican citizens were largely under authoritarian rule  Citizen participation is increasing due to the use of legitimate, regular elections

 The patron-client system in Mexico operates through informal and personal connections  The use of the patron-client system was furthered by the agreement made by the PRI.  The agreement pushed caudillos to give up their fighting for power and established a system of sharing power  Each group within the patron-client system has formed a camarilla, or a hierarchical network, through which offices and other benefits were exchanged  Even with Mexico moving towards more legitimate governmental systems, the patron-client system is still very important

 Before the 1990’s, the PRI controlled elections at the local, state, and national levels  Voting rates were high, because the patron-client system required citizens to participate in order to receive economic and political favors  The voting system was very corrupt and ballot boxes were often stuffed  Competing parties to the PRI have existed since the 1930’s, but have had very little success until more recent elections  In modern elections voting rates have been over 60%

 Voting behavior is generally influenced by:  Region:  Northern voters and southern voters supported wildly different candidates in the 2006 election.  This highlights the regional differences and perspectives  The North supported PAN and the south support PRI  Education:  The higher the education level of the citizen, the more likely they are to vote  Income:  The higher the income of a citizen, the more likely they are to vote

 Despite PRI control, Mexico has always had a large number of groups who have refused to cooperate with the government  Mexico has a lively civil society, which has provided an atmosphere for public protests  These public protests, especially over the last 30 years, have led to great changes within the government  The government has practiced state-corporatism in order to prevent groups from successfully challenging government control  The PRI has divided interest groups into three sectors:  Labor, peasant, and middle class  These groups are often dominated by PRI run groups

 With the PAN party winning the 2006 election, business interests were benefitted  The PRI has traditionally forced negative business practices on entrepreneurs through state corporatism  The PAN has helped dissolve much of the old state corporatism system and has helped dissolve much of the patron-client system as well