Progress, But to What End? 2007 Electoral Reform in Mexico (Elections‪)‬

Throughout most of the 20th century, Mexico was known as an exceptional case of successful and continuous one-party rule in the Americas. That came to an end in 2000, when Vicente Fox took the presidency away from the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI), initiating the last phase of the transition to democracy. Competition ensued, and the 2006 election that led Felipe Calderon to the presidency--keeping the National Action Party (PAN) in power--was the most closely contested one in modern times. The race could be described in many ways, but equitable is an adjective that few would dare use. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]