ABSTRACT
The work of Juan Linz has covered an immense variety of political experiences including cases as disparate as Brazil, Germany, and of course, Spain. Given the central role of authoritarianism in Linz's work, it is interesting that he never addressed the case of postrevolutionary Mexico. This chapter attempts to fit Linz's thoughts onto a country that in many ways exemplifies the concerns that have guided his career. It focuses on two distinct strands of his work: the categorization of regime types and the analysis of presidentialism. As Linz takes great pain to point out, however, some of the supposed benefits of presidentialism lose a great part of their appeal on closer inspection. A perfect example is the claim that in presidential systems the voters know what they are voting for, as opposed to the more general vote for a parliamentary party.
