The Institutionalisation of Power

The Influence of Mexican Unions in the Legislative Process

Abstract

Existing studies such as those of Pastor and Wise (2005) argue that the democratic period in Mexico has been characterised by serious governability problems derived from divided governments. Nevertheless, the empirical data shows this period has been the most productive in the history of Mexico, but at the same time a series of relevant reforms have been rejected or watered down. This paper focuses on the role played by interest groups in the legislative process, especially labour unions; the hypothesis is that the more powerful the groups, the more likely the legislative process will reflect the interest of that group. To establish how powerful a union is it follows the work of Acemoglu and Robinson (2006) and established indicators to measure the concept “de facto political power” then it proceeds to compare this explanation vis-à-vis other hypotheses for the legislative result such as divided governments, fragmentation and polarisation of the party system.