Word: powerfully
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Dates: during 1970-1979
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Because there is no other route to power, those with political ambitions must work their way up the P.R.I, ladder, slavishly following the policies of their superiors until a leader who shares their ideology assumes the presidency. As a result, new presidents are assured the unwavering support of the P.R.I, party structure...
...chief executive rules more as a monarch than an elected leader of a democratic society. Says a ranking U.S. diplomat: "You look at the Mexican constitution and you see three branches of government. But they are not what they appear to be. The President has virtually all the power...
...exploded into riots and bloodshed during Diaz Ordaz's regime. López Portillo, in contrast, has worked hardest at wooing disaffected conservatives who were angered by Echeverria. But he has also sought to create new opportunities for opposition political parties?without, of course, threatening the P.R.I.'s overwhelming power. A minimum of 100 of the 400 seats in an expanded chamber of deputies was set aside for opposition groups. In the July election the P.R.I, wound up with 296 seats...
This system has resulted in a political stability rare for Latin America; Mexico has not faced an attempted coup in more than 60 years. But the P.R.I.'s dominance has also provided ample documentation of Lord Acton's dictum that power tends to corrupt. Says an experienced Mexican attorney: "When a Mexican official gets an important post, he steals from it instead of serving in it. It's unfortunate, but that's the way it is." From policemen to Cabinet officers, officials routinely ask for and get bribes, ranging from the $2 that will persuade a traffic cop to tear...
...Giscard periodically flew off to hunt big game with the dictator and publicly hailed him as "my relative." Scoffed Socialist Leader François Mitterrand: "What do they mean, no bloodshed? Blood was flowing for years, and it was known in Paris. This comic emperor owed his power only to the complacency of French officials...