From democracy for the elite towards democracy of the people?

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2021-08-16
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en
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Abstract
This thesis seeks to explain what were the causal mechanisms that led to the breakdown of Mexico’s single-party system in 2000. By triangulation of first and secondary sources this study shows that both institutional change and social interaction has opened the political arena for political opponents to challenge the hegemonic position of PRI. The combination of electoral reform increased opportunities for political competition, while a growth of autonomous civil society organisations, has forced PRI to change its unconstitutional behaviour. Within-case evidence was used to trace the process of party system change between the 1980s and 2000 and showed that due to economic liberalisation PRI’s influence on society via its corporatist organisations was lost. The clientelist practices that had been successful for about seven decades, could no longer be used to trade goods and benefits for votes and thus the balance of power began to change. While it had committed electoral fraud in the past if threatened to lose elections, the fraudulent election of 1988 caused increased dissatisfaction among society and hence the party lost its legitimacy.
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Faculteit der Managementwetenschappen
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