The National Revolutionary Party

36.1.3: The National Revolutionary Party

The National Revolutionary Party held power consistently from 1929 to 2000 by settling disputes among different political interest groups within the framework of a single party machine.

Learning Objective

Describe the platform and political dominance of the National Revolutionary Party

Key Points

  • Political unrest, including continued violence after the armed phase of the Mexican Revolution, led to the foundation of the National Revolutionary Party, or PNR.
  • The PNR would undergo name changes over the years it remained in power. In 1938 its name was changed to Partido de la Revolucion Mexicana (PRM), and in 1946, the party was renamed Partido Revolucionario Institucional (PRI).
  • The party was split functionally into mass organizations that represented various interest groups. Settling disputes within the framework of a single political party helped prevent legislative gridlock and militarized rebellions, but only provided an illusion of democracy to its constituents.
  • Over time, the party became synonymous with political corruption and voter suppression, and the growth of opposition parties led to the PRI’s loss of the presidency in 2000.

Key Terms

National Revolutionary Party
The Mexican political party founded in 1929 that held executive power within the country for an uninterrupted 71 years. It underwent two name changes during its time in power: once in 1938, to Partido de la Revolucion Mexican (PRM), and again in 1946, to Partido Revolucionario Institucional (PRI).
Democratic Current
A movement within the PRI founded in 1986 that criticized the federal government for reducing spending on social programs to increase payments on foreign debt. PRI members who participated in the Democratic Current were expelled from the party and formed the National Democratic Front (FDN).

 

 

History

Although the armed phase of the Mexican Revolution ended in 1920, Mexico continued to experience political unrest in the years that followed. In 1928, president-elect Alvaro Obregon was assassinated, giving rise to a political crisis. This led to the founding of the National Revolutionary Party (in Spanish, Partdio Nacional Revolucionario, or PNR) the following year by sitting president Plutarco Elias Calles. Calles’ intention in founding the PNR was to end the violent power struggles taking place between factions of the Mexican Revolution and guarantee the peaceful transmission of power across presidential administrations. In the first years of the PNR’s existence, it was the only political machine in existence. In fact, from 1929 until 1982, the PNR won every presidential election by well over 70 percent of the vote.

Plutarco Elias Calles

Plutarco Elias Calles: Plutarco Elías Calles, president of Mexico (1924-28) and founder of the PNR in 1929.

In 1938, Lazaro Cardenas, the president of Mexico at the time, renamed the PNR to Partdio de la Revolucion Mexicana, or PRM. The PRM’s revised aim was to establish a socialist democracy of workers. In practice, however, this was never achieved, and the PRM was split functionally into many mass organizations that represented different interest groups. Settling disputes within the framework of a single political party helped to prevent legislative gridlock and militarized rebellions, which were common during the Mexican Revolution. For these reasons, its supporters maintained that the party itself was crucial to the modernization and stability of Mexico as a whole. In fact, the first four decades of PRM rule were dubbed the “Mexican Miracle” due to the economic growth that occurred as a result of import substitution, low inflation, and the implementation of successful national development plans. Between 1940 and 1970, Mexican GDP increased sixfold and peso-dollar parity was maintained. Party detractors, however, pointed to the lack of transparency and democratic processes, which ultimately made the lower levels of administration subordinate to the whims of the party machine.

 

Lázaro Cárdenas

Lázaro Cárdenas, president of Mexico (1934-40).

Corruption and Opposing Political Parties

As in previous regimes, the PRM retained its hold over the electorate due to massive electoral fraud. Toward the end of every president’s term, consultations with party leaders would take place and the PRM’s next candidate would be selected. In other words, the incumbent president would pick his successor. To support the party’s dominance in the executive branch of government, the PRM sought dominance at other levels as well. It held an overwhelming majority in the Chamber of Deputies as well as every seat in the Senate and every state governorship.

As a result, the PRM became a symbol over time of corruption, including voter suppression and violence. In 1986, Cuauhtemoc Cardenas, the former Governor of Michoacan and son of the former president Lazaro Cardenas, formed the Democratic Current, which criticized the federal government for reducing spending on social programs to increase payments on foreign debt. Members of the Democratic Current were expelled from the party, and in 1987, they formed the National Democratic Front, or Frente Democratico Nacional (FDN). In 1989, the left wing of the PRM, now called Partido Revolucionario Institucional, or PRI, went on to form its own party called the Party of the Democratic Revolution. The conservative National Action Party, likewise, grew after 1976 when it obtained support from the business sector in light of recurring economic crises. The growth of both these opposition parties resulted in the PRI losing the presidency in 2000.

Attributions