ABSTRACT
This chapter examines critically the thesis that the Partido Accion Nacional or National Action Party (PAN) is the party of the large capitalists in Mexico and assesses the future of the major opposition party. Business support for the PAN in local elections in the state of Chihuahua in 1983 seemed to have provoked further hostile rhetoric from the Partido Revolucionario Institucional toward the "anti-nationalist and anti-revolutionary programs" of the neo-panistas. An analysis of the original National Executive Committee of the PAN shows the important role of entrepreneurs in the establishment of the party. The most significant PAN victories have been concentrated in northern Mexico, where the PAN controls the mayor's office in Chihuahua, Durango, and Hermosillo, Ciudad Juarez, and eight other important cities. Substantial evidence exists to document the distance between the dominant party and the private sector in Mexico.
