Instituto Nacional Electoral

Last updated
Instituto Nacional Electoral
AbbreviationINE
Formation1990 (as Instituto Federal Electoral)
2014 (as Instituto Nacional Electoral)
TypeIndependent agency
PurposeGovernment elections
HeadquartersAv. Viaducto Tlalpan 100, Tlalpan, Mexico City
Official language
Spanish
Director
Guadalupe Taddei Zavala
Website www.ine.mx/
Formerly called
Federal Electoral Institute (Instituto Federal Electoral, IFE)
INE's headquarters in Mexico City. Sede central del Instituto Nacional Electoral.jpg
INE's headquarters in Mexico City.

The Instituto Nacional Electoral (INE) (English for National Electoral Institute) (formerly Federal Electoral Institute (Instituto Federal Electoral, IFE)) is an autonomous, public agency responsible for organizing federal elections in Mexico, that is, those related to the election of the President of the United Mexican States, the members of the Congress of the Union as well as elections of authorities and representatives at local and state levels. The agency's president is Guadalupe Taddei Zavala, appointed in 2023 for a 9-year tenure.

Contents

History

Background

In 1917, with the publication of the Constitution of Mexico the Junta Empadronadora, the local Computing Councils and the Electoral Colleges were placed in charge of organizing and supervising the election of the President, the Chamber of Deputies, and the Senate. [1] This meant Municipal Presidents were granted a great deal of control over the election process, due to the location and amount of polling station within their Municipalities. [2]

The Federal Electoral Viligance Commission (1946-1973)

The Federal Electoral Viligance Commission (CFVE), the first formal electoral body of Mexico, was established with the Federal Electoral Law on January 7, 1946, as a dependent agency of the Secretariat of the Interior (SEGOB). [3] The CFVE was led by the Secretary of the Interior, an additional Federal cabinet member, a Federal Deputy, a Senator, and two representatives from the most relevant political parties. [4] President Manuel Ávila Camacho, the artificer of the new agency, transferred the responsibility of electoral vigilance to the President of Mexico, arguing that Municipalities were incapacitated to perform that function due to "party influence". [5]

The new Electoral Law also established the Council of the Electoral Roll and Local Electoral Commissions, as well as declaring independent candidacies illegal, granting political parties exclusivity during electoral processes. [6]

In 1951, the attributions of the CFVE as an electoral authority were expanded. Some of its new responsibilities included emmitting majority certificates to recognize winning candidates and intervention in the process to create new political parties. [4]

Federal Electoral Commission (1973-1990)

In 1973, the CFVE was extinguished and replaced by the Federal Electoral Commission. [1] Its government organ introduced representatives from all legally registered political parties, who had voice and vote for the proceedings. [4]

In the 1976 Mexican general election, José López Portillo participated as the sole candidate for the Presidency. Consequently, once he was president, he passed the 1977 political-electoral reform, that created the Law for Political Organizations and Electoral Proceedings (LOPPE). [7] [8] This law modified the government organ of the Electoral Commission, to include representatives from all parties, including those under a "conditional registry". The figure of conditional registry consisted of a four year probation period for new political parties, in which they'd need to demonstrate their subsistence. [4] This figure was eliminated in 1984. Since the reform made it easier to register new political parties and granted effective representation in the Electoral Commission to existing parties, it was generally considered a progressive reform. [7]

At the end of the 1980s, opposition parties consolidated themselves as a serious threat to Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI)'s hegemony. This led to the 1987 electoral reform, that established a proportional representation system in the Electoral Commission's government body, giving PRI a majority of the political party representatives. Because of this, the reform was generally considered regressive. [7]

1990–2014

IFE former logo, used from 1990 to 2014 IFE logo.gif
IFE former logo, used from 1990 to 2014

The IFE was formally established on October 11, 1990 after controversies surrounding the 1988 Mexican general election resulted in a series of constitutional reforms approved in 1989 and the Federal Code of Electoral Institutions and Procedures (Cofipe), a law passed in August 1990 and currently in force. [9] The legislative branch of the federal government, the national political parties, and the general citizenry participate in its composition.

Since its creation, the constitutional and legal regulations in this subject matter have experienced further major reforms, which have affected the composition and details of the IFE. A reform approved in 1996 reinforced the level of independence and autonomy of the IFE by completely dissociating the executive branch from any aspect regarding its membership or functions, and by reserving the vote within all its directive bodies to the councilors, the members that do not have links to any party or to any state power or body.

IFE had legal personnel and assets of its own. Its headquarters were located in the Federal District, and it was organized under a decentralized framework that allowed it to exercise its duties throughout the country.

As a result of electoral reforms initiated by President Enrique Peña Nieto, the IFE was dissolved on April 4, 2014, and was supplanted by the National Electoral Institute (Spanish : Instituto Nacional Electoral, INE).

2014–present

With its creation in 2014, the National Electoral Institute took over all responsibilities of the Federal Electoral Institute. It was also charged with oversight of all elections at local and state level, as well as plebiscites and the regulation of processes of citizen's participation in public administration. [10] Lorenzo Córdova was appointed chairman of the General Council for a 9-year period starting 2014.

In 2022, President Andrés Manuel López Obrador proposed a reform that would require INE officials to be elected by vote. He contends that the proposal would "allow citizens to select honest people to run elections." The idea is opposed by academics and nongovernmental organizations, [11] [12] viewing it a way to politicize the body with parties steering their supporters to vote for particular candidates for the board. [13] In June 2023, Mexico's Supreme Court blocked the proposed changes. [14]

Political parties and associations

IFE was charged with the registration, funding and oversight of national political parties. Starting 2014, INE was also charged with oversight over local political parties, which before 2014 were registered by each state's Electoral Institute. Rules and guidelines for the registration of political parties are outlined in the Federal Code of Electoral Institutions and Procedures.

In addition, INE registers national political associations, which are intended to assist in the development of democratic life and the country's political culture, as well as being intended to create a better informed public opinion. The creation of a national political association is usually regarded as the first step towards the creation of a full-fledged political party.

Professional Electoral Service

In order to guarantee a professional and specialized performance of its responsibilities, the INE used a special system of recruitment, selection, training, and evaluation of qualified staff to provide electoral services, especially in its fundamental areas, which are the ones directly linked with the preparation and organization of elections.

Redistricting

Since the early 1990s, INE has held the authority to redraw congressional districts, and since 1996, INE has used a redistricting algorithm to redraw congressional districts. The INE Executive Board appoints a technical committee, which is made up of experts in cartography, demography, and statistics. The committee adopts an objective scoring function that includes criteria, such as population equality, compactness, preserving political boundaries, traveling time, and minority representation. Once the scoring function is adopted, the technical committee creates a proposed map using an optimization algorithm. Different optimization algorithms have been used at different times, such as simulated annealing and honeycomb optimization. Political parties have two opportunities to propose changes that score better on the objective scoring function before the committee makes a final recommendation for adoption. The interaction between the political parties and the committee, their proposed maps, and intermediate maps are not publicly available. [15] [16] [17]

Results

The first electoral process organised by INE was in the period 2014-2015. In total 2,159 candidates were elected at local, state and national levels. The increase in violence against women participating in electoral processes prompted the institution to prepare and adopt, together with other organizations, a protocol to eliminate violence against women in electoral processes. [18]

The 2018 Mexican general election were coined by INE as the biggest electoral process in Mexican history. Over 3,000 positions were to be filled by popular vote. The election results proved to be unprecedented in its scope and impact on Mexico's political landscape. [19] Despite severe challenges, such as no less than 145 election-related deaths, the 2018 elections were generally considered free and fair. [20]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Politics of Mexico</span> Political system of Mexico

The politics of Mexico function within a framework of a federal presidential representative democratic republic whose government is based on a multi-party congressional system, where the President of Mexico is both head of state and head of government. The federal government represents the United Mexican States and is divided into three branches: executive, legislative and judicial, as established by the Political Constitution of the United Mexican States, published in 1917. The constituent states of the federation must also have a republican form of government based on a congressional system as established by their respective constitutions.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Party of the Democratic Revolution</span> Mexican political party

The Party of the Democratic Revolution is a social democratic political party in Mexico. The PRD originated from the Democratic Current, a political faction formed in 1986 from the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI). The PRD was formed after the contested general election in 1988, which the PRD's immediate predecessor, the National Democratic Front, believed was rigged by the PRI. This sparked a movement away from the PRI's authoritarian rule.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Senate of the Republic (Mexico)</span> Upper house of the legislature of Mexico

The Senate of the Republic, constitutionally Chamber of Senators of the Honorable Congress of the Union, is the upper house of Mexico's bicameral Congress. It currently consists of 128 members, who serve six-year terms.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Elections in Mexico</span> Political elections for public offices in Mexico

Elections in Mexico are held every 6 years to elect a president and every 3 years to elect a legislature. These elections determine who, on the national level, takes the position of the head of state – the president – as well as the legislature.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Citizens' Movement (Mexico)</span> Mexican political party

Citizens' Movement is a Mexican center-left political party. The party was founded on August 1, 1999, under the name Convergence for Democracy by civil society members and former members of the Institutional Revolutionary Party. In August 2002, it shortened its name to Convergence, and in 2011, it changed its name to Citizens' Movement.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Social Alliance Party</span> Political party in Mexico

The Social Alliance Party, or PAS, was a centrist humanist political party in Mexico from 1998 to 2003.

Luis Carlos Ugalde Ramírez is a Mexican scholar who served as president of the Federal Electoral Institute from 2003 to 2007.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Federal Electoral Tribunal</span> Electoral tribunal of Mexico

The Electoral Tribunal of the Federal Judiciary is a venue within the judiciary of Mexico that specialises in electoral matters. Among its functions are resolving disputes arising within federal elections and certifying the validity of those elections, including those of the President of the Republic. (Responsibility for declaring a candidate the winner in presidential elections previously fell on the Chamber of Deputies.)

Víctor González Torres is a Mexican pharmaceutical businessman and politician, popularly known as Doctor Simi, the name of the character that represents his chain of companies, collectively called Farmacias Similares. In 2022 it became a trend to throw Doctor Simi plushies to singers in Mexico, and this was widely covered in social media.

In the context of Mexican politics, a national political association is a citizens' association intended to assist in the development of democratic life and the country's political culture, as well as being intended to create a better informed public opinion. They are similar to political parties; they used to receive public funding through the Federal Electoral Institute (IFE) for the promotion of their activities and ideas, but this was no longer the case after the 2008 political reform; after the 2014 political reform and the transformation of the IFE into INE, only political parties and independent candidates can receive public funding. APNs are not allowed to register candidates for election, though they can publicly support those of other political parties through association agreements and may only do so during federal elections. The creation of an APN is regarded as the first step towards the creation of a full-fledged political party.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Coalition for the Good of All</span> Political party in Mexico

The Coalition for the Good of All was a left-wing coalition created by the Party of the Democratic Revolution (PRD), Convergence and the Labor Party (PT) to support Andrés Manuel López Obrador as a candidate for the presidency of Mexico in the general election of 2006. The coalition also presented joint candidates for Congressional and local elections.

Redistribution is the process by which electoral districts are added, removed, or otherwise changed. Redistribution is a form of boundary delimitation that changes electoral district boundaries, usually in response to periodic census results. Redistribution is required by law or constitution at least every decade in most representative democracy systems that use first-past-the-post or similar electoral systems to prevent geographic malapportionment. The act of manipulation of electoral districts to favour a candidate or party is called gerrymandering.

Electoral boundary delimitation is the drawing of boundaries of electoral precincts and related divisions involved in elections, such as states, counties or other municipalities. It can also be called "redistribution" and is used to prevent unbalance of population across districts. In the United States, it is called redistricting. Unbalanced or discriminatory delimitation is called "gerrymandering." Though there are no internationally agreed processes that guarantee fair delimitation, several organizations, such as the Commonwealth Secretariat, the European Union and the International Foundation for Electoral Systems (IFES) have proposed guidelines for effective delimitation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Luis Videgaray Caso</span> Mexican politician

Luis Videgaray Caso is a Mexican politician who served as the Secretary of Foreign Affairs from 2017 to 2018. Previously he was the Secretary of Finance and Public Credit, also in the cabinet of Enrique Peña Nieto, from 2012 to 2016. Prior to Peña Nieto's victory in the elections, Videgaray was General Coordinator of his campaign for the 2012 Mexican presidential election. On July 11, 2012, Peña Nieto announced Videgaray as the person in charge of promoting the economic reforms and the government agenda's related topics, and on September 4, he named Videgaray as co-head of the team that set policy direction for the new government that took office on December 1, 2012.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2021 Mexican legislative election</span>

Legislative elections were held in Mexico on 6 June 2021. Voters elected 500 deputies to sit in the Chamber of Deputies for the 65th Congress. These elections took place concurrently with the country's state elections.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Democracy in Mexico</span>

Democracy in Mexico dates to the establishment of the federal republic of Mexico in 1824. After a long history under the Spanish Empire (1521–1821), Mexico gained its independence in 1821 and became the First Mexican Empire led by royalist military officer Agustín de Iturbide. Three years later, a federal republic was created under the Constitution of 1824. However, the republic was truncated by a series of military coups, most notably that of politician-general Antonio López de Santa Anna. Santa Anna held immense sway over the fledgling Mexican democracy until 1855, when he was ousted by liberal politicians.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Solidarity Encounter Party</span> Mexican political party

The Solidarity Encounter Party was a political party in Mexico. The party president was Hugo Eric Flores Cervantes.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2022 Mexican presidential recall referendum</span> Referendum held in Mexico

The 2022 Mexican presidential recall election, officially called the Recall Process of the President of the Republic elected for the constitutional period 2018–2024 by the electoral organization Instituto Nacional Electoral (INE), was held in Mexico on 10 April 2022 to decide if the incumbent President Andrés Manuel López Obrador should stay in office and serve his full six-year term.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2024 Mexican general election</span>

General elections are scheduled to be held in Mexico on 2 June 2024. Voters will elect a new president to serve a six-year term, all 500 members of the Chamber of Deputies and all 128 members of the Senate of the Republic. The members of the legislature elected on this date will be the first allowed to run for re-election in subsequent elections. These elections are taking place concurrently with the country's state elections.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Voting Credential</span>

The Voting Credential, also known as Elector Credential, INE Card, and Mexican Voter ID Card, is an official document issued by the National Electoral Institute (INE) that allows Mexican citizens of legal age to participate in local and federal elections in Mexico, in addition to being the most accepted document as official identification for all civil, administrative, commercial, labor, judicial and, in general, all acts in which, by law, the person must identify themselves. It is considered the Mexican Identity Card.

References

  1. 1 2 "Historia". Instituto Nacional Electoral (in Mexican Spanish). Retrieved 2023-07-29.
  2. ↑ Garrido, Luis Javier (1991). El Partido de la Revolución Institucionalizada. Medio siglo de poder político en México.: La formación del nuevo estado (1928-1945) (in Spanish). Siglo XXI. ISBN   978-968-23-1710-1.
  3. ↑ "Tome CLIV (5)". January 7, 1946. Retrieved July 29, 2023.
  4. 1 2 3 4 "Instituto Nacional Electoral". portalanterior.ine.mx (in Spanish). Retrieved 2023-07-29.
  5. ↑ Ayala, Álvaro Arreola (1988). "La Ley Electoral de 1946". Revista Mexicana de Sociología. 50 (3): 169–187. doi:10.2307/3540559. ISSN   0188-2503. JSTOR   3540559.
  6. ↑ Campos, Gonzalo Santiago (July 2014). "Las candidaturas independientes en México". Revista Derecho del Estado (in Spanish) (33): 65–99. ISSN   0122-9893.
  7. 1 2 3 "De López Portillo a Peña Nieto, estas fueron las reformas electorales en México". infobae (in European Spanish). Retrieved 2023-07-29.
  8. ↑ "la reforma política de 1977". www.diputados.gob.mx. Retrieved 2023-07-29.
  9. ↑ McNally, Dylan (30 June 2014). Mexico's National Electoral Institute: Ensuring Fair Elections at the Local Level Rice University's Baker Institute for Public Policy.
  10. ↑ "Sobre el INE". Instituto Nacional Electoral (in Mexican Spanish). Retrieved 2021-01-01.
  11. ↑ Kitroeff, Natalie (2023-02-23). "México restringe a su instituto electoral, que contribuyó a acabar con el régimen de partido único". The New York Times (in Spanish). ISSN   0362-4331 . Retrieved 2023-02-23.
  12. ↑ Magos, Alejandro García (2022-11-16). "En defensa del INE y la democracia en México". Latinoamérica 21 (in Spanish). Retrieved 2023-02-23.
  13. ↑ "Mexico leader proposes electoral reforms" Los Angeles Times accessed 3 May 2022
  14. ↑ Rodríguez Mega, Emiliano (2023-06-22). "Mexican Court Strikes Down President's Bid to Remake Election Laws". New York Times. Retrieved 2023-12-31.
  15. ↑ Trelles, Alejandro; Altman, Micah; Magar, Eric; McDonald, Michael P. (December 2016). "Open Data, Transparency and Redistricting in Mexico". Política y Gobierno. 23 (2): 331–364.
  16. ↑ Trelles, Alejandro; Altman, Micah; Magar, Eric; McDonald, Michael P. (7 January 2021). "No Accountability without Transparency and Consistency: Redistricting-by-Formula in Mexico". doi:10.2139/ssrn.3762805. S2CID   241797458.{{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  17. ↑ Grofman, Bernard; Feierherd, German (7 August 2017). "Analysis | The U.S. could be free of gerrymandering. Here's how other countries do redistricting". Washington Post. Retrieved 23 February 2022.
  18. ↑ admin2 (2016-05-20). "New Protocol Presented in Mexico to Deal with Cases of Political Violence Against Women". International Knowledge Network of Women in Politics. Retrieved 2021-01-01.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  19. ↑ "Mexico 2018 Election Overview". www.bakerinstitute.org. 2018-08-01. Retrieved 2021-01-01.
  20. ↑ "Mexico". Freedom House. Retrieved 2021-01-02.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.