(PICTURES)

Merill, L. Tim. and Ramón Miró,.

1996, Mexico: A Country Study. Washington: GPO for the Library of Congress.

Mexico is a federal republic, comprised of thirty-one states. Similarly to the United States, Mexico's federal government is divided into three branches, an executive branch, a bicameral legislative branch, and a judicial branch (Merill and Miró). Mexico has a multi-party system, dominated by three large parties, PRI (Partido Revolucionario Institucional), PAN (Partido Accion Nacional), and PT (the Labor Party) (Merill and Miró).

PRI: PRI was the majority party from 1910-1990s. The party is largely dominated by the wealthy and military, although loose coalitions have tied the party to labor, the peasantry, and the popular sector (Merill and Miró). PRI falls to the left of the center, advocating for a mixed economy and nationalized industries. PRI largely aggravates the large disparity between the wealthy and poor, particularly during the 1980's when the party cut ties with ejido associations and labor unions and allied with large institutions such as the Catholic Church, private banks, foreign investors, and agribusiness (Merill and Miró). According to Nicolas Caamal Canche, Cobá is about half PRI. He feels that within the last three years many more people have supported PRI due to the party's power and are hoping to gain from association with the party. PRI's largest opponent, PAN has made large strides and has increased in power in recent years.

PAN: Mexico's current president, Felipe Calderón is a member of PAN and of 2006, PAN is the largest party in Congress. PAN typically falls right of the center, advocating for free enterprise, privatization, less government involvement, and supports conservative ideals in regards to moral and social issues and is supported by the Catholic Church (Merill and Miró). PAN claims to not follow any particular ideology and to solely develop policy based on the issue. An example of this can be found in their support of decreasing prices of medication. Mexicans, although predominately Catholic and Christian, strongly support the separation of church and state (Merill and Miró). PAN, however, has close ties to the Catholic Church as is evidenced by their opposition to gay marriage, emergency contraception, and abortion, and use of religious symbols during campaigning (Merill and Miró).

PRD: PRD is a democratic party that negotiates for the people’s rights. The leader is Lopez Obregon. He occasionally visit and tours Coba and interacts with the people. He has won presidency once before but was never seated. He deeply cares about the poor, provides food, and helps people over the age of 70 receive pensions. He believes that the poor should have adequate housing. Unique from other political leaders, he does not force people to vote. Hilari (PRD) is currently running for governor. He is supported by Lopes and people call him the “president of State: Quintana Roo.” If he wins, it is believed that he may not enter the position due to his liberal beliefs. In Coba, PRD was mostly supported until three years ago. Now PRE (sub-party) and PRD are split.