Governments without Majority in Mexico: 1997-2006

Abstract

As a contribution to the study of Congress in Mexico, this article focuses onthe legislative task from four indicators: the origin of the initiatives, their adoption rate,the voting patterns on the Chamber of Deputies floor and the coalitions formed in theinitiatives adoption process. The period under review covers the three experiences ofdivided government without a majority, ranging from September 1997 to August 2006(LVII, LVIII and LIX legislatures), and presents the results of the investigation initiated in1997 when it was introduced, for the first time in Mexico, the phenomenon of dividedgovernment. Based on the construction and analysis of a database of all roll-call votes presented inthe Chamber of Deputies floor (1997-2006), the article shows that the perception of anunproductive and systematic opposition to the Executive initiatives in Congress has noempirical basis. It thus refutes the thesis that the Congress plurality has resulted in theinability to reach agreements and that the absence of majorities for the president partyhas led to deadlock or to legislative ungovernability.