Mexico's Pivotal Democratic Election: Candidates, Voters, and the Presidential Campaign of 2000

The 2000 Mexican presidential race culminated in the election of opposition candidate Vicente Fox and the end of seven decades of one-party rule. This book, which traces changes in public opinion and voter preferences over the course of the race, represents the most comprehensive treatment of campaigning and voting behavior in an emerging democracy. It challenges the "modest effects" paradigm of national election campaigns that has dominated scholarly research in the field. Chapters cover authoritarian mobilization of voters, turnout patterns, electoral cleavages, party strategies, television news coverage, candidate debates, negative campaigning, strategic voting, issue-based voting, and the role of the 2000 election in Mexico's political transition. Theoretically-oriented introductory and concluding chapters situate Mexico's 2000 election in the larger context of Mexican politics and of cross-national research on campaigns. Collectively, these contributions provide crucial insights into Mexico's new politics, with important implications for elections in other countries.

Author: Jorge I. Dominguez
Publisher: Stanford University Press
Published: 10/23/2003
Pages: 392
Binding Type: Paperback
Weight: 1.20lbs
Size: 9.40h x 6.20w x 0.97d
ISBN: 9780804749749

Review Citation(s):
Choice 06/01/2004 pg. 1956

About the Author
Jorge I. Domínguez is the Director of the Weatherhead Center for International Affairs at Harvard University. Chappell H. Lawson is Associate Professor of Political Science at MIT.