This paper serves to further investigate factors influencing partisanship in Mexican politics with a focus on state spending and drug violence. With state spending, this paper builds on prior literature about political effects of federal social spending (Handelman 1997, Domínguez and Chappell 2004, Díaz-Cayeros 2009) to propose a similar theory regarding state social spending. The proposed panel data model for national elections between 2000 and 2012 finds that for diputados elections, a thousand-peso increase in state spending had a statistically significant influence on party voting – boosting PRI candidates (typically incumbents) by 0.66% and hurting both PAN and PRD candidates by 0.78% and 1.57% respectively. This paper also proposes an alternative theory of state spending whereby the effect comes from a linkage of spending and economic performance. With drug violence, this paper studies the importance of the Mexican Drug War on the Mexican political environment but finds no consistent party impact of instability (modeled with intentional homicide statistics) in national elections from 2000 to 2012. This paper delves into potential explanations for this finding including different effects by election, distrust of political parties, and the perception of little difference between parties. Finally, the paper outlines other responses to instability and drug violence to demonstrate approaches taken by Mexican citizens outside of the ballot box. These alternative strategies include protesting, lobbying, migration, and the rise of private security.

The aim of this diploma thesis is to point out how personal experience and memories on the drug violence that was common in Colombia during 80's - 90's reflect in the novelistic works of a few contemporary Colombian writers. The thesis is based on the following five novels: Noticia de un secuestro (Gabriel García Márquez), El olvido que seremos (Hector Abad Faciolince), El ruido de las cosas al caer, Reputaciones (Juan Gabriel Vásquez) a La luz difícil (Tomás González). Aforementioned books were published after the year 2000 (Noticia de un secuestro makes an exception), thus they come from the writers that represent same generation. Almost all of the analyzed books are connected with the topic of terrorism of drug mafia and they take interest in the life of ordinary people. By analyzing novels, the thesis tries to point out also another topics, such as death or power of the fame and public opinion in the country. In each novel are analyzed also autobiographical features, language style and the process of the creation of the text. The last chapter contains memories and opinions of ten Colombian respondents which we can compare with the memories of the writers. Thanks to these opinions we can imagine not only the past of Colombia but partly also her current state. Key words: contemporary Colombian...