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Transparency and access to information have become important elements of the Mexican political transition. The goal of this study is to contribute to the debate on those fields by: first, providing a theoretical framework that helps to understand the notions of transparency and access to information and their linkage to a democratic regime; second, by offering an account of the institutions that preceded the enactment of this norm; and third, explaining the legislative work that led to the approval of the Transparency and Access to Governmental Information Federal Law (LFTAIPG) in Mexico in 2002. This thesis/paper argues that the LFTAIPG can be seen as the result of the liberalization of the Mexican regime, and as a product of the political transition by promoting accountability in the federal government.

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In July, 2000, Mexico ended seven decades of single-party rule with the election of Vicente Fox as president, culminating its gran fiesta democrática of the 1990's. Less than a decade later, though, the party's over. Citizen disenchantment with politics is widespread: Mexicans profoundly distrust parties, politicians, and parliament. Mexico is hardly unique. Satisfaction with democracy is low, declining, or both in 72 new (or older, poor) democracies in Latin America, Eastern Europe, Asia, and Africa. This dissertation analyzes the causes and consequences of the current Mexican malais--and of discontentment with democracy around the world. It addresses two groups of questions. First, what causes dissatisfaction with democracy? Does it attach to specific politicians or institutions, or to poor evaluations of government performance? Or does it bespeak a deeper frustration with democracy and its inability to meet citizens' expectation--particularly socioeconomic ones? Second, what does disillusionment bode for political participation? Do dissatisfied citizens quit voting? Do they become alienated or turn to confrontational participation? I argue that a main cause of political dissatisfaction is a citizen concept of democracy, "substantive" democracy, emphasizing economic improvement and social equity, combined with poor government performance in just those respects. This combination poses challenges for democracy in many countries, not just Mexico. Though citizens in apparently ineffective democracies are more disposed to entertain authoritarian alternative--which have already toppled some wavering democracies--most new democracies, including Mexico, have hung on. Widespread and deep dissatisfaction with democracy may jeopardize the survival of some new democracies, but the more immediate concern raised by dissatisfaction is its detrimental impact on political participation--and, ultimately, the quality of democracy. For citizens who conceive of democracy as an instrument of economic equality, their governments' failure to ameliorate poverty leads to disengagement from politics. These citizens vote and engage in institutional participation less often. Dissatisfaction also predisposes a small but significant minority of citizens to contentious political participation. Political dissatisfaction makes new democracies more likely to consolidate as what scholars have described as "semi-", "partial", or "illiberal" democracies. / text

This essay attempts to fill some of the gaps in our knowledge of Corral's public life, especially for the period of his vice-presidency. It is divided into three parts, covering Corral's career in state and national politics and in exile.

Ramón Corral, Vice-President of Mexico from 1904 to 1911, was a crucial figure in the fall of the Porfiriato. As a politician, he worked diligently to preserve the Díaz regime. As the heir-apparent to the presidency after Díaz's death, Corral became a symbol against whom the opponents of the dictatorship of Díaz could rally. In spite of Corral's importance, he has been ignored by post-revolutionary Mexican historians - no biography of Crral has appeared since 1910. The secondary sources for the Porfiriato are inadequate to a study of Corral's career. Therefore, research centered mostly on primary sources, chiefly those in the Colección General Porfirio Díaz (Cholula, Puebla), Mexico City Newspapers, the Corral Papers in the Centro de Estudios Históricos (Mexcio City), and the Archivo General del Estado and Archivo Histórico in Hermosillo, Sonora. The Colección General Porfirio Díaz at the University of the Americas was the most important since this depository is the most extensive collection of materials on the Porfiriato and the one used least by scholars. This essay attempts to fill some of the gaps in our knowledge of Corral's public life, especially for the period of his vice-presidency. It is divided into three parts, covering Corral's career in state and national politics and in exile. The study is basically chronological except for chapter two on Corral's role in Indian - primarily Yaqui - relations. This question was so important in Sonoran politics that a separate chapter seemed necessary.

On New Year's Eve 1993, there was little indication that popular President Carlos Salinas de Gortari was about to take a monumental fall. Mexico was in the midst of unprecedented prosperity. The world's oldest ruling political party, Mexico's PRI, enjoyed substantial support. Allegations of corruption within an authoritarian regime were now frivolous charges obscured by economic success. The nation was poised to become a major player in the global market; vying with Japan to be the second largest trading partner of the U.S.A. The North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) between Canada, the largest trading partner of the U.S., Mexico and the United States became effective January 1, 1994. Just after midnight 1994, the Zapatista National Liberation Army (EZLN) went to war in the southern Mexican state of Chiapas. Approximately 2500 peasants (mostly indigenous men of Mayan descent) had mobilized against the Mexican government. The violence sparked world wide interest in the human rights of Mexican Indians. Ten days later, as the EZLN retreated into the jungle, an international audience remained captivated by the struggle. The Mexican Army did not advance. The EZLN refused to lay down its arms. Within the year, the Mexican economy collapsed. Soon thereafter, President Salinas went into voluntary exile amidst charges of high crimes against the state. Was it just a coincidence that the rebellion coincided with the implementation of NAFTA? Did the treaty really present such an enormous threat to Mexico's underclass? Did NAFTA contribute to the nation's political problems? The following thesis answers these questions. It is the product of years of travel and study throughout Chiapas and Mexico, both before and after the rebellion. The intricacies of the relationship between NAFTA, the Mexican government and the EZLN are revealed. The government's position and rebel demands are reconcilable. This is an important conclusion. But Mexico is a poor country embroiled in a rebellion to the south as well as a precarious economic treaty with the world's wealthiest nation to the north. In addition, the EZLN has come to represent the world's beleaguered poor in an era of free trade. As Mexico's past and present are explored, conclusions about the country's future have implications that go beyond NAFTA. / Graduation date: 2000