The changing politics of lobbying: private sector organizations in Mexico

Published date01 November 2014
Date01 November 2014
DOIhttp://doi.org/10.1002/pa.1456
Special Issue Paper
The changing politics of lobbying: private
sector organizations in Mexico
Barbara Hogenboom*
Centre for Latin American Research and Documentation, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
This article analyzes how the relations between Mexicos private sector, particularly that of business power groups
and interest groups, and the political elite changed as a result of processes of neo-liberalization and democratization
from the early 1980s through the presidency of Vicente Fox (20002006). The analysis provides several insights into
Mexicos developing interest group system during these years and particularly that of business interests. On the
one hand, the changes increased political pluralism, the number of groups operating, and their lobbying options
and helped move Mexico toward liberal democracy. On the other hand, with its major resources and political connec-
tions, big business was able to maintain, in fact enhance, its political status, whereas small business was less politically
successful. Moreover, many old political practices used by big business to inuence government persist as well as
skepticism among the public regarding democratic institutions. As a consequence, this article argues that despite
the new developments in political advocacy, the continuation of traditional political practices presents obstacles to
the development of interest group activity resulting in a plutocratic element to Mexicos emerging democracy.
Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
INTRODUCTION
The relations between private sector organizations
(PSOs) and the political elite is one of many things
that have changed in Mexican politics in the past
three decades. Historically, the political actions and
inuence of the private sector were limited and
controlled by the de facto state political party, the
InstitutionalRevolutionary Party (Partido Revolucio-
nario Institucional [PRI]).
1
Since the 1980s, however,
processes of neo-liberalization and democratization
have interacted with a much more vocal private sec-
tor that has seen its access to government increased
considerably and has come to operate more autono-
mously and professionally.
At the same time, these profound economic and
political changes have produced new tensions
between the political elite and the private sector. It
has also generated tensions within the private sector
itself, as business is far from an economic and
political monolith. The private business sector is
made up of traditional and modern companies
involved in a range of economic activities, operat-
ing in different localities, nanced by local, and
in many cases, international capital, and with a
variety of c haracteristics and interests. An important
division is that between the very large enterprises
and their entrepreneurs, and the rest. The evidence
shows that politicallythe changes of the past 30 years
resultedin greateropenness by the government to the
private sector but with a clear big business bias.
The purpose of this article is to assess how these
changing relations between PSOs and the political
elite since the late 1970s have affected the develop-
ment of Mexicos interest group system in general,
and especially the role of business groups, in
particular big business interests, and how these
developments have affected Mexicos emerging
liberal democratic system. As we will see, using
the criteria and benchmark of broad participation
by civil society, open access to the policy process,
and transparency of government actions as benet-
ing society as a whole and aiding in consolidating
liberal democracy by increasing the ability of the
citizenry to hold the government responsible for
its actions and inactions, since the 1970s, Mexico
has a very mixed record . In some ways, the country
has moved toward this benchmark, but as might
be expected, its interest group activity is still under-
pinned by deep-rooted aspects of Mexican political
*Correspondence to: Barbara Hogenboom,Centre for Latin Amer-
ican Researchand Documentation, Amsterdam,The Netherlands.
E-mail: B.B.Hogenboom@cedla.nl
1
The Partido Revolucionario Institucional took on its present
name in 1946. It was formerlynamed the National Revolutionary
Party (Partido Nacional Revolucionario) from 1929 to 1938 and
then the Partyof the Mexican Revolution(Partido de la Revolución
Mexicana) from1938 to 1946.
Journal of Public Affairs
Volume 14 Number 3 pp 296309 (2014)
Published online 21 March 2013 in Wiley Online Library
(www.wileyonlinelibrary.com) DOI: 10.1002/pa.1456
Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

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