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Institutional Revolutionary Party
The Institutional Revolutionary Party seized control in 1929 and, to date, has never let go.
The PRI currently holds 94 seats in the Senate and 298 in the lower house, the Chamber of Deputies. It also controls 27 of the 31 state governments.
As the party in charge, it is already defined in connection with all that Mexico currently is, for better and for worse. But with competition gaining ground, the PRI is trying to present an updated, responsive image.
As this occurs, a split is emerging within the PRI between the old guard and their young protˇgˇs, popularly dubbed "dinosaurs" and "babysaurs," and others itching for change.
At the top, President Ernesto Zedillo Ponce de Leon has a foot in both camps, elected as a reliable member but emerging as a leader willing to break taboos, in particular adopting election reform and foregoing the tradition of scandal cover-ups.
One example of the changing political climate is the attitude toward privatization. The PRI, which nationalized the oil industry, has traditionally opposed the idea. But in the past few years, major industries have been privatized on its watch.
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