Mexico is one of our two close neighbors and, clearly, the more troubled of the two. As such it demands we pay attention to what happens there.
Yesterday the voters of Mexico elected a new president, Enrique Pena Nieto. See an CNN article about him, with photo. He represents the PRI or Institutional Revolutionary Party, a party out of power for 12 years after ruling for 71 years.
The PRI was described during its long rule as the "perfect dictatorship," something of an exaggeration. A "perfect dictatorship" would win all elections, and twice in the last twelve years the PRI lost presidential elections. Now it appears to be back in power.
Polls have shown for some months that Pena Nieto was expected to win. The Mexican press has attributed this switch in voter sentiment to dissatisfaction with economic growth and the incumbent's inability to curb the violence of the drug wars. This violence has resulted in the deaths of tens of thousands of Mexicans.
As recent elections in Greece, France, and now Mexico have shown, it is difficult for incumbent parties to be reelected during an economic downturn. Perhaps that will also be the case in the U.S.
It isn't clear what the Mexican government could do to reduce drug violence. Perhaps stop trying to enforce the laws against drugs?
The violence of prohibition in the U.S. was dramatically reduced when we legalized alcohol sales. It seems unlikely, but not impossible, that Mexico would legalize narcotics.
During its long rule, the PRI was known for corruption, vote-buying, and ballot-rigging. On the other hand it managed to keep enough of Mexico's people happy to stay in power for a very long time.
One could argue the PRI understands the Mexican psyche better than the other parties which have run against it. The history of Mexican politics during the PRI's 71 years was one of issues being decided by factions within the PRI rather than within the legislature, which was largely a rubber stamp of PRI policies.
In this regard, Mexican politics resembled the politics of Japan which for most of the post-war period was ruled by one party. Within that ruling party various factions hashed out the issues of Japanese policy.
