State and Society in Mexico: Must a Stable Polity Be Institutionalized?
- 1 January 1980
- journal article
- Published by Project MUSE in World Politics
- Vol. 32 (2) , 194-227
- https://doi.org/10.2307/2010021
Abstract
The Mexican state is based on a constantly renewed bargain among several ruling groups and interests representing a broad range of ideological tendencies and social bases. Mexican political stability rests primarilynotupon formal institutions, but upon the interaction of principles of political discipline (closely linked to the concept of authoritarianism) and political negotiation (associated with the concept of proto-democracy). The combination of repression and co-optation with just the “right” mix of responsiveness and compromise produces: (1) elites that are both linked to, and insulated from, their potential constituencies; (2) a pattern of political and administrative decision making called “policy incoherence”; and (3) avoidance of the crystallization of factional alliances, and their opposition to one another.Keywords
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