The Politics Of Mexico And China - 1737 Words

Mexico has been a democracy for close to 100 years, however, in practice, it is only now going through a democratic transition (ONSF). The dislodging of an authoritarian political party from presidency in 2000 made many optimistic about Mexico’s move towards democracy. Similarly, China, a fractured authoritarian state, has been showing increasing signs of democracy. Due to its economic and political trends, many argue that China is well on its way towards becoming a democracy. However, despite these trends, there is a problem in that the politics in both Mexico and China remain riddled with corruption. This complex issue raises the question of why corruption persists in both Mexico and China despite their movements towards democracy. This†¦show more content†¦For over 70 years, Mexico was controlled by the PRI, an authoritarian regime that led with co-option, inclusion, and corruption (ONFS). A key element of their power was patron-client relationships, in which burea ucrats delivered services in exchange for support; in other words, bureaucratic corruption was the norm. These relationships were allowed and perpetuated by weak governmental laws. Although the PRI is no longer the dominating political party, the PRI maintains enormous power at both state and local level (Carpenter). As a result, Mexico’s government has put in little effort toward improving the pseudo-democratic foundations upon which its ability to rule was established. Instead of reforming the structure of rule that promoted clientelism, they focused on keeping certain people out of office (Corruption in Mexico). Because of this lack of reform, structures that allow old style political machines are still effective, making corruption still common place. An example of a structural flaw in the Mexican government is the law that prevents re-election (ONFS). Although this practice was recently reformed, without a chance at re-election, political leaders often felt like they had nothing to lose and were more likely to take bribes in exchange for political favors (Agren). The source of the problem is that Mexico is still recovering from a system that was based on