Proportional representation, or PR, the electoral system that seeks to create a representative body that reflects the overall distribution of public support for each political party, is anathema to many politicians in democratic nations such as the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom. A major argument against PR, they say, is that it produces weak governments. However, there are dozens of other countries – including Mexico – that incorporate PR into their electoral processes under the argument that it’s a fairer system for all parties involved.
Now many Mexicans, especially those belonging to the ruling Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI), are having second thoughts on whether PR is such a good idea after all.
Plans suggested by the PRI to reduce (or eliminate) the number of senators and legislators elected by proportional representation have inevitably been met with fierce opposition by the left-of-center and smaller parties. The Party of the Democratic Revolution (PRD) sees the move as a means of isolating the left and consolidating the dominance of a center-right axis of lawmakers from the PRI and conservative National Action Party (PAN).
he plan is to eliminate the 32 “senators-at-large,” divided among the parties in proportion to their share of the national vote; and reduce the Camara de Diputados – equivalent to the U.S. House of Representatives – by 100 members, from 500 to 400 (cutting the number of PR seats from 200 to 100).
Apart from the obvious cost savings, the slimmed down legislatures would allow majority parties more leeway to push forward their agendas and avoid stagnation in Congress.
The PAN governments of presidents Vicente Fox and Felipe Calderon were largely unable to enact much of their favored legislation due to the political stalemate in Congress, where no party held an absolute majority.
PRI activists this week started a campaign in Mexico City to gather 150,000 signatures as a demonstration of support for a change to proportional representation.
The party’s Movimiento Territorial wants to see an initiative on the issue placed on the ballot during the June 2015 national midterm elections.
At least 100 million dollars a year will be saved by reducing the number of federal legislators and senators, the PRI estimates.
Interestingly, data shows that PR representatives are more active in their respective chambers than their elected colleagues, heading more committees, presenting more laws and having a better attendance rate.
Critics of PR say the practice is undemocratic, allowing parties to bring “cronies” and “dinosaurs” back into public life though the “back door.” Two of the PRI’s most experienced figures, former Sonora governor Manlio Fabio Beltrones and Communications Secretary Emilio Gamboa, currently serve as a PR deputy and senator. Both are highly active in their respective chambers.
Supporters of maintaining the status quo say that the reforms agreed between the major political parties at the start of President Enrique Peña Nieto’s administration – thanks to the Pacto de Mexico – show that the system doesn’t need radical change to create “governability.” In fact, marginalizing the left could lead to more social discontent and greater “ingovernability,” they suggest.