Dwight Dyer

Mexico is living through an unprecedented period of political change, according to Adolfo Aguilar Zinser, co-coordinator of foreign affairs for President-elect Vicente Fox¹s transition team. As the country waits for the current administration to end and the first non-PRI administration in 71 years to begin, large questions loom over the political horizon: What policies will the new government pursue? How will the opposition -- which has a majority in both houses of Congress -- react? Which social forces will shape the creation of a governing coalition?

Whatever the answers to these questions may be, the one constant will be "change." The Fox administration has pledged to renew the methods of government, to revise the way society and the government interact, and to alter the way the country relates to its neighbors and the world at large < it will be "the Administration of Change."

Adolfo Aguilar Zinser

Aguilar, who was the first person to be elected to the Mexican Senate as an independent and became an advisor to Fox during the election last year, began his talk with an overview of the monumental change effected by the general elections of July 2nd, 2000. As opposed to other "transitions to democracy" in Latin America, the Mexican transition was not the result of "pacts" among authoritarian rulers and opposition leaders. Difficulties in overcoming coordination problems between and within opposition parties precluded the formation of a common strategy. Thus, negotiations leading toward a common candidacy broke down over the method to choose the presidential candidate, even after an electoral platform had been painstakingly discussed and agreed upon.

The ruling PRI, banking on these divisions to disrupt a successful challenge to its dominance, did not prepare for the possibility of handing over power. Even after the presidential race got under way, Aguilar says, the governing elite didn¹t recognize signs of danger, in order to maintain internal party stability and unity. Most in the PRI seemed to believe that "the system" (the unique symbiosis between ruling party and the State apparatus) would take care of itself < and were sadly surprised when it did not.

What produced this historic event? Aguilar credits the Fox campaign's focus on "change." Vicente Fox managed to craft a successful bid building on the general population's dissatisfaction with years of economic hardship and its hopes for a better tomorrow.

His campaign was able to overcome media attacks that played on people's fears of political and economic instability and that sought to discredit Fox as an uncultured, rough-shod man unworthy of trust,

Change is coming to Mexican politics and society in two fundamental ways. First is "out with the old," according to Aguilar. Losing the presidency means that the ruling party will no longer be able to use (and abuse) public resources to garner votes. The traditional practice of bending the law to suit the President's wishes will no longer be tolerated and arbitrary control of government posts to satisfy personal ambitions and group interests will be abolished. Finally, the collapse of the state-party system implies the end of a political culture of "negotiation of rights," where the few rule the many in predictable, yet unfair ways.

Then comes the "in with the new." Aguilar conceives this process as a two-pronged phenomenon. First, it entails the activation of civic associations. Given the end of the culture of "negotiation of rights," social demands will have to find new channels to be satisfied. Aguilar hopes this process will invigorate the fledgling pluralism of Mexican politics.

One source will be the governmental agenda. The Fox administration is expected to provide guidance during the period in which political parties are reorganizing and society is learning to flex its muscles. This is no small task, as there are no antecedents of successful democratic "governability" in Mexican political history.

Aguilar then sketched the main points of the administration¹s agenda. The political strategy the new administration will favor will be one of consensus-building, where compromise, dialogue, mutual understanding, and recognition of plurality will take pride of place.

First, the foundations of the reform will rest on the development of the rule of law. The main objectives here are transparency of government actions and the end of impunity. Governmental corruption will most probably not be fully eradicated, but it will be punishable. This will be accomplished through a restructuring of the main bureaucracies dealing with internal politics and the administration of justice. Also, the Fox administration will propose the creation of a "Truth Commission" under legislative control to investigate the crimes and excesses of the country's authoritarian past as a basis for a more transparent future.

Second, as regards economic reform, the new administration will focus on job creation and income redistribution by assisting small to medium producers. Third, social policy will privilege education, to help create the conditions for the insertion of a young and growing population into the economy. Next, new forms of grassroots political participation will be encouraged to enhance the checks and balances necessary in a democracy. Also, environmental concerns will be addressed, to avoid a disaster of cataclysmic proportions.

Lastly, the administration plans to reconfigure the country's foreign relations and its role in world affairs. According to Aguilar, there are a series of issues that must be addressed as "international responsibilities." These include human rights protection, environmental degradation, organized crime, international drug trafficking, and economic development. In his view, national sovereignty cannot be separated from respect for basic human rights. In order to guarantee them, Mexico will promote respect for international law, multilateralism, and the participation of civil society for monitoring and sanctioning purposes. The Fox administration will actively promote democratic principles and international monitoring of human rights across the globe.

In regards to Mexico's relations with the United States, the incoming administration conceives these to be "between friends, sometimes wary of each other, but still friends." He stressed the "juxtaposition of both societies," and the inevitability of ever closer relations between the two countries. Therefore the administration will promote long-term goals to work out differences between the countries, as opposed to a pursuit of short-term interests.