The Mexican Moment

Jose Luis Orozco is Senior Professor of International Politics at the National University of Mexico and a former Public Policy Scholar at the Woodrow Wilson Center.

The Institutionalized Revolutionary Party of Mexico dominated Mexican politics for seven decades. In that period the party developed a philosophy of state pragmatism that allowed it to incorporate every major element of society, including political opposition. The governments that held power under this strategy are notable for corruption and inefficiency. Now the opposition has gained power. The question is how persistent and powerful will the pragmatic tradition prove to be. Jose Luis Orozco gives his thoughts.