Posted on 12/20/2001 3:40:48 AM PST by Brownie74
MEXICO CITY – Immediately after the presidential election defeat of the world's oldest ruling party, its collapse was predicted, its obituary written.
But far from expiring, as most political analysts confidently predicted, Mexico's Institutional Revolutionary Party clings to life and, some would say, even shows signs of a full recovery.
After the rival National Action Party (PAN) candidate Vicente Fox claimed the presidency with vows of sweeping change, the party that ruled Mexico for 71 years, known in Spanish as the PRI, began reinventing itself and quietly winning elections.
It has shown so much resilience that PAN Sen. Diego Fernández de Cevallo recently made this sobering prediction: "Fox may go down in history as the man able to make two miracles. The first one: He kicked the PRI out of Los Pinos," said Mr. Fernández, referring to the Mexican presidential residence. "The second one: He may welcome them back."
Most other aging political parties around the world vanish or see their political muscle so weakened that they become irrelevant, as is true of most Eastern European Communist parties that failed to modify their platforms.
In Mexico, the PRI may have lost Los Pinos, but its organization, deep-rooted infrastructure, and discipline remain intact, much like Chicago's old powerful Democratic Party. It remains the city's dominant political force decades after it established its ward machinery.
But PRI officials stress that their revival won't mean business as usual.
"Through the next few weeks, we will continue our process of renovating the direction of the party," said Rodolfo Echeverria, the PRI's secretary-general and a party president hopeful who recently delivered the same message in Washington. "We are committed to organizing it effectively so that at the end of the competition for the presidency the PRI will come out strong, and its new direction will be seen as legitimate by the people."
Yeah right!!
It looks to me that the Mexicans are truly learning about democratic politics.There is no such thing as a 100% honest and effective political party. The Mexican people will have to give PAN a little more time in office before throwing them out IMHO.
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