Rekabetçi Otoriter Rejimlerde Ulusaltı Seçimlerin ve Ulusaltı Siyasetin Önemi: Meksika’dan PAN Örneği

Abstract

Rekabetçi otoriter rejimlerden çıkışta en etkili stratejilerden biri “seçim ittifaklarıdır”. Fakat seçim ittifaklarına göre uzun vadede sonuç alınan bir strateji daha vardır, o da ulusaltı siyaseti demokratikleştirmektir. Buna göre muhalefet ulusaltı seçimlerde elde ettiği yönetsel birimi (eyalet veya belediye) demokratikleştirir ve de buralarda başarılı bir performans sergilerse bu başarı çevre birimlere de yayılma eğilimi gösterecektir. Ortaya çıkan bu demokratik anklavlar nihai noktada ulusal siyaseti de dönüştürecek ve otoriter rejime son verecektir. Çalışmada bu strateji Meksika’dan PAN örneği üzerinden incelenecektir. Yetmiş yıllık PRI iktidarına 2000 yılında son veren PAN diğer muhalefet partilerinin aksine stratejisini ulusaltı siyaset üzerinden kurmuş ve yaklaşık on iki yıllık bir sürede iktidarı elde etmiştir. PAN’ın zaferinin nedenlerine eğilen çalışmanın bulguları şu şekildedir; PAN ulusaltı yönetsel birimleri elde ederek, ulusal düzeyde tanınırlık kazanmış ve eş zamanda maddi kaynaklara erişmiştir; yönettiği birimlerde sivil ve siyasal özgürlükleri güçlendirmiş ve demokratik anklavlar yaratmıştır; seçmenin siyasal davranışını dönüştürmüş ve “katılımcı yurttaşlık” kültürünü güçlendirmiştir; ve son olarak eyalet parlamentolarının kurumsallaşmasını sağlamış ve böylece ülkede yasama-yürütme ilişkilerine demokratik bir model sunmuştur.

Keywords

• Ulusaltı Siyaset
• Demokratik Anklavlar
• Rekabetçi Otoriter Rejimler
• PRI
• PAN

The Importance of Subnational Elections and Subnational Politics in Competitive Authoritarian Regimes: The Case of PAN from Mexico

Abstract

One of the most effective strategies to exit from competitive authoritarian regimes is “electoral alliances”. However, there is one more long-term strategy than electoral alliances, which is to democratize sub- national politics. According to this strategy, if the opposition democratizes the administrative unit (states or municipalities) that it gained in sub-national elections and performs successfully in these, this success will tend to spread to the peripheral units. These emerging democratic enclaves will ultimately transform national politics and put an end to authoritarianism. In the study, this strategy will be examined through the case of PAN from Mexico. PAN, which ended the seventy-year-old PRI rule in 2000, unlike other opposition parties, established its strategy on sub-national politics and gained Power in about twelve years. The findings of the study focusing on the reasons for PAN’s victory are as follows: PAN gained national recognition by gaining subnational administrative units and simultaneously accessed financial resources; strengthened civil and political freedoms and created democratic enclaves in the units it ruled; transformed the political behavior of the electorate and strengthened the culture of “participatory citizenship”; and finally, it institutionalized the state parliaments and thus presented a democratic model of legislative-executive relations in the country.

Keywords

• Subnational Politics
• Democratic Enclaves
• Competitive Authoritarian Regimes
• PRI
• PAN

References

1. Albertus, M. (2015). The role of subnational politicians in distributive politics: Political bias in Venezuela’s land reform under Chávez. Comparative Political Studies, 48(13), 1667-1710. DOI: 10.1177/0010414015600457
2. Ard, M. J. (2001). Transforming Great Party Politics: The National Action Party and Its Role in Mexico's Democratic Transition. (Doctoral dissertation, University of Virginia). Available from ProQuest Dissertations and Theses. (UMI Number: 3022101).
3. Barracca, S. (2005). Devolution and the deepening of democracy: Explaining outcomes of Municipal Reform in Mexico. Journal of Latin American Studies, 37(1), 1-28. DOI: io.1or7/Soozzzi6Xo
4. Beer, C. (2001). Assessing the consequences of electoral democracy: Subnational legislative change in Mexico. Comparative Politics, 421-440. DOI: 10.2307/422442
5. Cameron, M. A., & Wise, C. (2004). The Political Impact of NAFTA on Mexico: Reflections on the Political Economy of Democratization. Canadian Journal of Political Science/Revue canadienne de science politique, 301-323. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/S0008423904040144
6. Cannon, B. (2014). As clear as mud: characteristics, objectives, and strategies of the opposition in Bolivarian Venezuela. Latin American Politics and Society. 56(4), 49-70. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1548-2456.2014.00248.x
7. De Krnjević-Mišković, D. (2001). Serbia's prudent revolution. Journal of Democracy. 12(3), 96-110. DOI: 10.1353/jod.2001.0050
8. Donno, D. (2013). Elections and democratization in authoritarian regimes. American Journal of Political Science. 57(3), 703-716. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/ajps.12013

9. Farole, S. A. (2020). Eroding Support from Below: Performance in Local Government and Opposition Party Growth in South Africa. Government and Opposition. 1-20. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/gov.2020.7
10. Fox, J. (1994). Latin America's emerging local politics. Journal of Democracy. 5(2), 105-116. DOI: 10.1353/jod.1994.0021 Freeman, W. (2018). Subnational Democracy in Competitive Authoritarian Regimes. Available at SSRN 3211414. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3211414
11. Gilley, B. (2010). Democratic enclaves in authoritarian regimes. Democratization. 17(3), 389-415. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/13510341003700196
12. Heredia, C. A. (1994). NAFTA and Democratization in Mexico. Journal of International Affairs. 13-38. DOI: 10.4324/9781351110358
13. Hiskey, J. T., & Bowler, S. (2005). Local context and democratization in Mexico. American Journal of Political Science. 49(1), 57-71. DOI: 10.1111/j.0092-5853.2005.00110.x
14. Levitsky, S., & Way, L. A. (2010). Competitive authoritarianism: Hybrid regimes after the Cold War. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
15. Lucardi, A. (2016). Building Support From Below? Subnational Elections, Diffusion Effects, and the Growth of the Opposition in Mexico, 1984-2000. Comparative Political Studies. 49(14), 1855-1895. DOI: 10.1177/0010414016666857
16. Magaloni, B. (2006). Voting for autocracy: Hegemonic party survival and its demise in Mexico. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
17. McNally, D. (2014). Mexico’s National Electoral Institute: Ensuring Fair Elections at the Local Level. Baker Institute-Issue Brief. (06.30. 14). Erişim Adresi: https://www.bakerinstitute.org/media/files/files/3af21328/BI-Brief-063014-Mexico_Elections.pdf
18. Nohlen, D. (2005). Elections in the Americas. A Data Handbook: North America, Central America, and the Caribbean. 2 vols. Vol. 1. London: Oxford University Press.
19. O’donnell, G., & Schmitter, P. C. (2013). Transitions from authoritarian rule: Tentative conclusions about uncertain democracies. Baltimore: JHU Press.
20. Reding, A. (1996). The Next Mexican Revolution. World Policy Journal, 13(3), 61-70. Retrieved August 5, 2020, from www.jstor.org/stable/40209490
21. Rodríguez, V.E. (1993). The politics of decentralization in Mexico: from Municipio Libre to Solidaridad. Bulletin of Latin American Research. 12 (2), 133-145. DOI: 10.2307/3338144.
22. Rodríguez, V.E. (1998). Opening the electoral space in Mexico. In HA Dietz & G. Shidlo (Eds.), Urban Elections in Democratic Latin America (pp.163-198). USA: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers.
23. Shirk, D. (1999). Democratization and local party building: the PAN in León, Guanajuato. In Cornelius, W. A., & Hindley, J. (Eds.), Subnational politics and democratization in Mexico, (pp. 49-71). San Diego: La Jolla: Center for US-Mexican Studies, University of California.
24. Shirk, D. A. (2000). Mexico's Victory: Vicente Fox and the Rise of the PAN. Journal of Democracy. 11(4), 25-32. DOI: 10.1353/jod.2000.0086
25. Shirk, D. A. (2005). Mexico's New Politics: The PAN and Democratic Change. USA: Lynne Rienner Publishers.
26. Solinger, D. J. (2001). Ending One-Party Dominance: Korea, Taiwan, Mexico. Journal of Democracy. 12(1), 30-42. DOI: 10.1353/jod.2001.0017
27. Van De Walle, Nicolas (2006). Tipping Games: When Do Opposition Parties Coalesce?. In Andreas Schedler (Der.), Electoral Authoritarianism: The Dynamics Of Unfree Competition (pp. 77-94) USA: Lynne Rienner.
28. Wahman, M. (2013). Opposition coalitions and democratization by election. Government and Opposition. 48(1), 3-32. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/gov.2012.5