Todays Politics of the Mexican Government essays

Todays Politics of the Mexican Government essays Even with the National Action Partys 61-year existence it was only able to gain the support required to win an election this past year (lcweb2, frd_7olY). The party had always, with the exception of two elections, been able to win second place to the Institutional Revolutionary Party. It took the character of Vicente Fox to win the popular vote and remove the long ruling PRI. Fox wasnt the only force helping to end the 71 year one party rule, the National Democratic Institute, which oversees the validity of elections in democratically struggling countries, watched carefully to see that the PRI did not continue its traditional election tampering. With the election of Fox, the Mexican people are expecting the new party to do what the former government couldnt. If Fox fails it could lead the country away from the path to democracy. Vicente Fox is a 58-year-old divorced father of four adopted children who had spent most of his adult life rising through the political ranks and fighting the PRI the whole way. He was not unaccustomed to fighting his way to success after his career with Mexicos Coca-Cola Corporation. He began at Coke as a route supervisor and within 10 years became the companys youngest president at age 32. Entering politics at 1987 he won a federal Congressmans seat just a year later. In the same year he began his protest of fraud in the presidential elections by taping the burning of electoral ballots. He lost his bid for the governor of his home state allegedly due to the PRIs election tampering but this only further set his mind on the presidency. Rather than depend on the support of those in the National Action Party, Fox established the Friends of Fox to raise the money and the support for his presidential run (ft, spc886). The Campaign was a tough one, Fox and Labastida, the PRI candidate, were considered to be in a dead heat right up to the elect...