Mexico's Changing Electoral Order, 1977-1996: Its Meaning for State-Society Relations

By looking at the changes in the electoral legislation, the author analyzes state-society relations in Mexico in the last twenty years. The article is divided in four sections. The first one is a theoretical discussion of the main concepts used in the analysis. In the second the author advances a characterization of Mexicos political regime. The third section deals with the changes made to the electoral legislation from 1977 to 1996. In the concluding remarks, the author elaborates the potential consequences these process may have on Mexicos state-society relations