Crisis and legitimacy: The role of the Mexican military in politics and society

As the 1980s prove to be a difficult test for many revolutionary regimes throughout the world, Mexico is not excepted. The nation has been ruled by a single-party regime since the turbulent years of its revolution over sixty years ago. The institutional party, the PRI, has fostered its position as the true guardian of the Revolution and its ideology in similar fashion to the Communist Party in the Soviet Union or China. Just as these Communist regimes face significant challenges to their hegemony, Mexico's PRI also faces the most severe challenges to its legitimacy and hegemony over Mexican political and economic life since conception. The degree to which the military is recognized as an agent of change or guardian of the status quo will be critical for Mexico's future stability and for U.S. strategic interests south of the border.;The model offered for understanding the military's role in politics and society in Mexico is that of the Armed Party. Revolutionary military leaders gave birth to the hegemonic regime that rules Mexico. In the process of developing civil supremacy, the armed forces assumed a subservient role within the regime, rather than apart from it as an independent, professionalized military. The political role of the military was defused, not defeated, and has resurfaced during crisis events that threaten the regime's hegemony.;This study focuses on events since 1982 and the current regime crisis. The military's role and responses to the contemporary political and economic challenges are evaluated against the Armed Party model, suggesting that the model is still a valid method for understanding Mexico's record of civil supremacy over the military during the last sixty years, and for future analysis of a unique Latin American nation.;This study examines the military's historical roots in Mexico from the nation's pre-Columbian heritage through to the contemporary period. The intent of the historical analysis is to search for causes and insights that provide continuity of character within the Mexican military as an institution and to evaluate the degree to which the military responds to crisis in Mexican society. The suggested thesis that the military serves a key political role by serving to restore equilibrium to the society when the regime's legitimacy is challenged, either externally or internally.