Courting Democracy in Mexico Party Strategies and Electoral Institutions [Hardcover]

This book is a most comprehensive explanation of Mexico's gradual transition to democracy. Courting Democracy in Mexico is perhaps the most comprehensive explanation to date of Mexico's gradual transition to democracy, written from a novel perspective which pits opposition activists' post-electoral conflicts against their usage of regime-constructed electoral courts at the center of the democratization process. The book addresses the puzzle of why, during key moments of Mexico's 27-year democratic transition, opposition parties failed to use autonomous electoral courts established to mitigate the country's often violent post-electoral disputes, despite foraml guarantees of court independence from the Party of the Institutional Revolution (PRI). Courting Democracy in Mexico is perhaps the most comprehensive explanation to date of Mexico's gradual transition to democracy, written from a novel perspective which pits opposition activists' post-electoral conflicts against their usage of regime-constructed electoral courts at the center of the democratization process. The book addresses the puzzle of why, during key moments of Mexico's 27-year democratic transition, opposition parties failed to use autonomous electoral courts established to mitigate the country's often violent post-electoral disputes, despite foraml guarantees of court independence from the Party of the Institutional Revolution (PRI).Pitting opposition activists' post-electoral conflicts against their usage of regime-constructed electoral courts, this study of Mexico's gradual transition to democracy addresses the puzzle of why its opposition parties failed to use these autonomous courts. The electoral courts were established to mitigate Mexico's often violent post-electoral disputes at key moments of the country's 27-year democratic transition, and had formal guarantees of court independence from the Party of the Institutional Revolution (PRI).Figures and tables; Acknowledgements; 1. Electoral courts aló£