User:Harelia/Party of the Democratic Revolution

1988 presidential election[edit]
On October 12, 1987 Cárdenas became the Authentic Party of the Mexican Revolution's presidential candidate. Cárdenas still remained an independent candidate due to electoral laws which meant that many parties could choose Cárdenas as their candidate. The groups of the independent left that supported Cárdenas were the Socialist Mexican Party which included the Unified Socialist Party of Mexico, the Mexican Workers' Party, the Patriotic Revolutionary Party, the Communist Left Unity, and the People's Revolutionary Movement. The parastatal groups, state-owned enterprises that are separate from government, that supported Cárdenas were the Authentic Party of the Mexican Revolution, Popular Socialist Party, and the Party of the Cardenist Front of National Reconstruction, which made up the National Democratic Front. Other groups that supported Cárdenas were the Social Democratic Party, Ecologist Green Party of Mexico, Democratic Unity, Movement for Socialism [es], Critical Point Revolutionary Organization, and Neighborhood Assembly. I'''n order to provide a mechanism to coordinate and communicate with one another about campaign activities, these groups formed a coordinating body named the National Democratic Front (Mexico). The Socialist Mexican Party did not join in an official capacity, rather the party signed a separate pact with the Democratic Current.'''

In the 1988 presidential election Cárdenas had come closer than any other political candidate to winning against the PRI, which had been in power since 1929. The victory of the PRI's candidate, Carlos Salinas de Gortari, in 1988 was largely considered electoral fraud after the computers tabulating votes had reportedly crashed. '''As a result, Cárdenas claimed that he had won the election, although he never declared himself president. The National Democratic Front continued to support Cárdenas by signing a Declaration for the Defense of Popular Sovereignty. Protests erupted in support of Cárdenas, the largest of which occurred on July 16 and had an attendance of at least 300,000 people. Nonetheless, the election was ratified.''' Years later, it was determined that there was indeed electoral fraud in the election.

First decade (1989–1999)[edit]
Small leftist group leaders joined the PRD, which left small leftist organizations vulnerable. Additionally, some leftist organizations were wary that their individual concerns would be lost by joining a political group.

In the early years, the PRD was not successful in elections because of electoral fraud. The PRD often claimed that the PRI was participating in electoral fraud. This was in contrast to PAN, the conservative party, who chose to cooperate with the PRI. However, the PRD also cooperated with the PRI to make policy changes that moved towards democracy.

Salinas, PRI member and president of Mexico from 1988 to 1994, had made some improvements to the Mexican economy, but Mexico still did not have a democratic system. During this time, the PRD had become involved with many social justice movements against the neoliberal and antidemocratic policies of the PRI. '''The most famous of which was the party's involvement with the Zapatista Army of National Liberation (EZLN). Some members of the party wanted to strongly and publicly denounce the armed struggle, whereas others decided to emphatically approve the movement and its goals therefore, it was difficult to form a united front. Nonetheless, many PRD supporters also supported the EZLN and bolstered the movement through the use of posters and murals at PRD events. Although, these instances portrayed the party to appear to be more radical than they actually were, Cárdenas himself took advantage of this support. He met with Subcomandante Marcos and did not attempt to distance the party from the EZLN. This support did not pay off as the EZLN did not help the PRD win any votes and Marcos accused the PRD of being the same as the PRI and PAN. The PRI labeled Cárdenas and the PRD as sympathizers of the EZLN and supporters of armed struggle.''' Additionally, the PRD had a difficult time transitioning from a movement with a non-negotiable goal to a party that pushed gradual reforms.

1994 presidential election aftermath[edit]
In 1997, the PRD won its first governorship, with Cárdenas as governor of Mexico City. The PRD also gained the second-largest majority in the Chamber of Deputies. These victories were due in part to changes in electoral rules. '''These changes included the creation of the new Federal Elections Institute in 1990 which established six independent councilors who required legislative approval. '''

This division between currents was seen during the internal election of March 14, 1999, when there were voting discrepancies.

By the end of 1999, 650 PRD members of the PRD had been assassinated, mostly by the PRI, as a way to intimidate those working towards democracy, civic engagement, and social movements.