La transición mexicana a la democracia: competitividad electoral en México, 1977–1997.

Abstract

This article addresses the political process encapsulated in the Mexican transition to democracy: the passage from non-competitive elections to competitive ones over a period of two decades. It presents a systematic analysis of the evolution of competitiveness in elections for federal deputies, mostly in the period 1977-1997, with added data on the federal, state and district levels. While tracing the rise in electoral competition, the study also focuses on the accompanying process: the transition from a hegemonic party system, in which competition was generally controlled from the central position of power, towards a real pluralism of party options at the national and sub-national levels.