ABSTRACT
From a political view, Mexico remained relatively stable between 1934 and 1988. However, in the 1988 presidential election for the first time in anyone's memory the ruling party was seriously challenged. In fact, some argued that the PRI (Institutional Revolutionary Party) only 'won' the election by fraud (Barberan et al. 1988; PAN 1988). In 1986 a small number of persons within the PRI attempted to revise the party by developing what they called the Democratic Current. These dissidents may have had enough influence so that the 1988 presidential election was barely won by the ruling party; this time was viewed as being when the political system in Mexico was weakening (Reyna and Butler 1993:189). Neo-Cardenismo, which had largely been unanticipated until 1988, became the byword of the day and the new party made up of Cardenismos (FDN) replaced PAN (National Action Party) as the second-most vote gathering political party in Mexico. It remains to be seen, however, whether the Cardenismos party (now the PRD) will be able to maintain their party as a political force.
