The fall of the dominant presidency: lawmaking under divided government in Mexico

Transition from authoritarianism to democracy involved the dismantling of the hegemonic party system. Through a long and complex process that gained momentum after the 1988 presidential elections, the political hegemony of a single party gave way to a competitive three-party system. This development changed the balance of power within Congress and the role of the executive branch in the policy-making process, even before the old hegemonic party lost the presidency of the Republic in 2000. Given the mixed-member system through which the Chamber of Deputies and the Senate are elected, divided government is likely to be the regular mode of operation of the Mexican democracy in the future. What has been the effect of divided government on the balance of power? The argument advanced in this article is that democratization undermined the conditions that made centralization of power in the presidency possible. Divided government turned Congress into an autonomous decision-making center. As a consequence, the source of policy change returned to Congress. To be true, the Mexican president still retains a significant influence on policy-making. However, the dominant presidency has certainly ceased to exist.