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The objective of this paper is to analyze the relationship between the Mexican executive and legislative branches in foreign policy issues during the 2000-2006 period. While in quantitative terms there was not a significant change, the relationship between both branches was characterized by being conflictive. The key argument is that the confrontation between the Executive and the Legislative in foreign policy issues was due to the electoral interests of the key political actors. The paper is divided into three parts. The first one describes the theoretical and legal framework that explains the relationship between the Congress and the Executive in foreign policy matters. The second part analyzes this interaction from a quantitative perspective. Finally, the last part evaluates the relationship from a qualitative criterion, using the cases of the Mexican relationship towards the United States, Cuba and Venezuela. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper analyzes the finance policy through contestable extraordinary funds implemented by the Mexican Ministry of Public Education in the state public universities between 2001 and 2005. The results show that this allocation mechanism of public resources has been effective to reward their institutional consolidation. It has also improved their social returns and their contribution to the educational equity through a better quality higher education. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper tests some of the main fraud allegations of the 2006 presidential election in Mexico with the evidence from a statistical analysis of precinct-level data. First, I analyze the data flow from the quick count, the preliminary results (PREP) and the official district tally (cómputo distrital). Secondly, I analyze the size and distribution of errors in the polling-station acts and the partial recount. Lastly, I consider atypical precincts and the role of party representatives. My main conclusion is that, since most fraud allegations are not supported by the evidence, the presidential election outcome is statistically reliable. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The disputed presidential elections of 2006 moved the PRI to third place of preferences. While there was a deep polarization between the parties of left and right, and errors in the PRI's campaign, it is also possible to find another cause in the process of choosing the candidate Roberto Madrazo. This paper reconstructs the nomination process of 2005, as well as the historical and short-term conditions that made it possible, the internal confrontations and recomposition of interests of political groups in the PRI, which allowed, for the first time in the history of this party, to make its leader a presidential candidate. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI) dominated Mexican politics for over 70 years, but its fortunes have been sliding in the past two decades, capped by its loss of the presidency in 2000. The results for the PRI were even worse in 2006, with a third-place finish in the presidential race and significant losses in both houses of the legislature. This paper examines whether or not the PRI risks going from being a dominant party to a third party in a Mexican two-party system. The results suggest that the PRI has fallen behind, but that it may have a limited window to regroup based upon comparative regional advantage in the northern and southern states. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Previous studies of economic voting in Mexico have reached mixed conclusions about the role of economic performance on electoral behavior. In this paper, I argue that the effect of economic performance on voting is contingent upon two factors. First, even when voters perceive a weak economy and are dissatisfied with the incumbent, they differ on who the best replacement is. In the context of the 2006 campaign, López Obrador did not receive the support of many voters who thought the economy was weak because they perceived him as too large of a risk. Second, the impact of the economy is contingent upon its have a prominent place on the political agenda. The combination of high levels of economic vulnerability, the fall of the regime cleavage as an alternative motive for electoral choice, and the emphasis on economic issues in the campaign dialogue and advertising strategy of the major political parties in the 2006 election made economic issues especially salient. While the weak performance of the Mexican economy in 2001-2003 opened doors for the pan's challengers, the economic recovery in the second half of Fox's term thus proved sufficient to garner the narrow victory for Calderon. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explains why income did not shape vote choice in the Mexican 2006 election, despite the efforts by the left party to turn this race into a referendum on inequality and widespread poverty. Logistic models of a post-election survey indicate that "false consciousness" or the inability to understand the issues at stake do not distinguish poorer from wealthier voters. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]