The construction of opposition in public opinion: the case of local elections in Mexico, 2010

Abstract

The local elections in Mexico in year 2010 observed the appearance of electoral alliances that have never been observed before in their recent history. These alliances had as leaders the Partido Accion Nacional (PAN) with conservative, right-wing orientation and the Partido de la Revolucion Democratica (PRD) with progressive, left-wing orientation. The alliances were not unknown in Mexico, but on this year they were formed when the PAN was (and still is in 2012) head of the government of the republic, which made these alliances a rare phenomenon in Mexico. There were three entities in which the alliances won the governor charge and many of municipalities and house members. This paper studies the background and general characteristics of some alliances and it is based, mainly, on the case of the state of Puebla. The central objective is to analyze the way they were planned and introduced as the opposition to the public opinion.