Mexico Politics Quotes

General Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna, and other military chieftains, have by force of arms, overthrown the federal institutions of Mexico, and dissolved the social compact which existed between Texas and the other members of the Mexican Confederacy

Mexico isn't a country of routine debates among presidential candidates.

The legislative and judicial powers are completely subordinated to the executive; the division of powers, the sovereignty of the States, the liberty of the common councils, and the rights of the citizens exist only in writing in our great charter; but, as a fact, it may almost be said that martial law constantly exists in Mexico

It would be a mistake to view Camacho as the beacon of democracy in Mexico. He has played by the PRI's rules for more than 15 years. As mayor of Mexico City, he was recognized as a political broker, not as an apostle of substantive political reform.

For Mexicans, corruption is not a deal breaker.

It would indeed be fortunate for Mexico if a new era of PRI presidencies were a sign of healthy rotation in power rather than a regrettable step backwards.

The Left discovered that its post-electoral strategy of constant confrontation was actually helping Felipe Calderon and his popularity instead of undermining it. So Marcelo Ebrard, the mayor of Mexico City, who's a very savvy politician, he changed course. He decided to actually govern instead of simply trying to bring the Calderon government down.

I think it's very important that the United States keeps out of the local electoral process in Mexico.

Rebellions which overthrow the governments of Mexico cannot be called revolutions. A revolution is a radical change, and if there is anything that has never been changed in Mexico it is the method of putting new public functionaries into office by rebellion.

The coalition is a model that has no place in a presidential regime such as in Mexico. It fits in parliamentary models, but Mexico has a presidential regime.

I think that in Mexico, we must change some practices that were built during the 72 years of predominance in Mexico. Former presidents would just hide away, run away or disappear. And I think it's key in a democracy that presidents face people, see eye to eye to citizens and work to keep on contributing to the - to Mexico.

Democracy exists in Mexico 354 days of the year. It is only missing on Election Day.

We begin the path toward defeating Mexico's real adversary, who represents authoritarianism and the worst antidemocratic practice, who represents a return to corruption as a system and impunity as conviction. That adversary is Pena Nieto and his party.

The Peña Nieto government is not going to investigate itself; there's no true autonomy in the investigative and justice branches of the government in Mexico. The recent Mexican crimes and scandals, is profoundly structural, and you'd have to change the way Mexico is run, create a truly independent special prosecutor's office, to even have a chance to get close to achieving justice. People, including the families and many others throughout Mexican society, aren't going to give up in fighting for just that kind of change.

When former President Carlos Salinas de Gortari passed the torch to Zedillo, he knew that economic difficulty lay ahead but believed that the Yale-trained economist's impeccable technical credentials would be enough to maintain Mexico's stability.

The principal concern of Mexico’s political elite today is how to build governing majorities and achieve consensus.

The understanding that the political and intellectual class of the United States has of Mexico is a country whose position is that of a back yard.

Ignoring party leaders in order to sway public opinion may work in countries where elected representatives are responsive to their constituencies. But in Mexico, members of the legislature cannot be reelected, so their destinies depend less on the will of the people than on party bosses.

The PRI is a modern party that is willing to recognize its defeat. We live in a moment of change, the winds of democracy are blowing across a good part of the world.