POLITICAL FACTORS:
Political section provides understanding about the political system and key figures relevant to business in the country and governance indicators. Here "The government" as referring to the federal government. It is the federal government that passes and enforces legislation concerning the entire country. Actions by the federal government affect a large number of firms and are consistent across state boundaries. Environmental analysis, however, should not overlook actions by both state and local governments.
Regulations concerning many business practices differ between states. Tax rates vary widely. Laws regarding unionization (e.g., right-to-work states) and treatment of homosexual workers differ between states.
Local governments have the potential to affect business practices significantly. Some local governments may be willing to provide incentives to attract business to the area. Some may build industrial parks, service roads, and provide low-interest bonds to encourage a desirable business to move into the community.
President Calderon’s National Action Party currently is the largest party in the Senate but lost its majority in the Chamber of Deputies in the July 2009 elections. The next national elections-for the president, all 128 seats in the Senate, and all 500 seats in the Chamber of Deputies-will take place in July 2012. In 2010, elections were held in 14 of Mexico’s 31 states.
Poverty in Mexico is caused by individual, geographic and political factors. Main cause of poverty is due to political economy of the country. The International Monetary Fund and World Bank-prescribed structural adjustment policies have been applied in Mexico because the government doesn’t carry out enough policies to encourage successful development. They cannot, for these international institutions lend money to Mexico on the condition that the nation open up its economy and cut social expenditures to repay the loans. The IMF and World Bank programs are supposed to reduce poverty, but actually they are increasing it. Therefore, Mexico needs a new political economy designed by Mexican economists and politicians, people who are committed to Mexico and to the future of its society.WTO Membership of trading partners increases the political costs of supplying administered protection.
The central issues that defined Mexico over the decade or so prior to 1990 were the emergence of the country's huge external debt problem and the government's initiatives to reverse prior constitutionally mandated agrarian land reform. These two issues remained salient in the 1990s, as the peso crashed, the economy floundered, and the Chiapas peasants revolted against the central government, largely over political representation and land issues. Unfortunately for the Mexican government these issues have not been resolved through 1998, and, as a consequence, they will loom as large issues which must be dealt with in Mexico's future.
Land reform will be a central issue in Mexico's future development. A failure to implement effective agrarian land reform is a major barrier to economic development. Prior land reform efforts in Mexico have been high profile governmental efforts, but they have been both incomplete and high in rhetoric. Past land reform efforts in Mexico were aimed at helping the peasants; however, the changes to the Mexico
Political structure
Official name
United Mexican States
Political divisions
31 states and the Federal District (Mexico City); states are divided into municipalities
Form of government
Presidential, with a constitutionally strong Congress
The executive
The president is elected for a non-renewable six-year term and appoints the cabinet
National legislature
Bicameral Congress: 128-member Senate, elected for a six-year term, with 64
