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A Dynamic Analysis of the Mexican Power Network

The Mexican Network


The Mexican network of power is a hypergraph. For this article we have analyzed only the
core, which comprises 37 actors. We discovered that the network is actually a
superimposition of structures, where an actor often belongs to various networks
simultaneously. Figure 1 shows the hypothetical case where one politician belongs to four
different networks.
In this hypothetical case, one
actor belongs to the ruling PRI
party, to the Department of the
Interior (this department
belongs to the national security
cabinet, which is another
network) and also to a
professional association for
economists.
A network is formed by dyads
interconnected by links,
representing formal, informal
and organizational
relationships. A network is the
logical sum of networks or
subnetworks. This can be
summarized as:
N= N1 U N2 U ... U Nm
where Nj and Nk (for j not
equal to k) may have common
nodes.
Each group or subnetwork (Nj) represents the points of coincidence of a set of groups based
on their common belonging (school, sports, business, political participation), or a common
interest (political power). The group's bonding creates a distinctive sense of belonging
which impacts the nature of the network.

The topology of a network shows the flow of


information and pattern of relationships.
Networks can be more or less centralized, and
network analysis helps identify cliques, the
number of connections, paths (shortest,
longest), groups, factions, etc. A very
centralized network usually shows cohesion
and includes influential cliques.
The influence individuals have within the network is determined by their centrality, which
results from participation, simultaneously or over time, in various networks. Individuals
who participate in the intersection of networks (Fig. 2) have more influence because they
become a central node with different resource mobilization capabilities (Schmidt and Gil
1995 and Gil and Schmidt 1996).

The Mexican Political System


The president is the most powerful actor in the network, due to constitutional and metaconstitutional attributes (Carpizo 1978, Schmidt 1991). In his career his power increases
along with the creation of new connections and reaches its highest point when he becomes
president; however, some actors, who eventually are placed in different network
intersections, might have a higher power index and be active beyond any single presidential
administration.
It is important for an actor to have connections with other cliques because the intersection
of cliques facilitates the mobilization of multiple resources and can determine an actor's
political career, even a solidifying a bid for the presidency, as we showed was the case of
Ruiz Cortines, who became president in 1952 (Schmidt and Gil 1993). The intersections
also explain the network's cohesion and why some groups remain in power for extended
periods of time. Still, we have to assume that the disappearance of some actors and
inclusion of others has to alter the intersections and redistribute influence and power.

The Dynamic Approach


In this article we analyze the changing nature of the power core by slicing its evolution into
decade-long segments. The general figure includes all presidents since the 1910s up until
1994, a period in which we identify three generations. The first was involved in the 1910
revolution, was strongly connected to the revolutionary army (e.g., Crdenas) and
disappears around the 70s.
Table 1
Individual Centrality, 1920-1990
192090*

1940 1950 1960 1970 1980 1990

1 Madero, Francisco

0,502

2 Carranza, Venustiano

0,564

3 Obregn, Alvaro

0,550

2 Alemn Gonzlez, Miguel


2

0,518

4 Calles, Plutarco E.

0,564

0,65
7

2 Snchez Taboada, Rodolfo


5

0,548

0,58 0,59
3
1

9 Avila Camacho, Manuel

0,601

0,72 0,70
2
5

1 Aguilar, Cndido
8

0,561

0,60 0,58
2
3

6 Ortiz Rubio, Pascual

0,550

0,65 0,56 0,54


7
8
0

2 Beteta, Ramn
6

0,583

0,59 0,57 0,55


3
6
8

7 Rodriguez, Abelardo L.

0,537

0,65 0,56 0,54


7
8
0

2 Jara, Heriberto
3

0,529

0,611 0,58 0,51


3
4

1 Lpez Mateos, Adolfo


2

0,596

0,62 0,66
9
7

8 Crdenas, Lzaro

0,706

0,88 0,79 0,71


9
5
0

1 Trevio, Jacinto B.
9

0,476

0,50 0,49 0,48 0,44


9
2
6
8

3 Loyo Gilberto
3

0,482

0,53 0,50
6
4

0,662

0,68 0,72 0,73 0,68


5
0
2
8

2 Gmez, Marte R.
0

0,570

0,67 0,62 0,58 0,47


6
1
0
9

2 Santos, Gonzalo N.
1

0,594

0,75 0,67 0,60 0,48


0
4
9
9

5 Portes Gil, Emilio

0,654

0,74 0,65 0,64 0,54

11 Ruiz Cortines, Adolfo

1 Daz Ordaz, Gustavo


3

0,553

0,53 0,56 0,59


8
5
2

3 Ruiz Galindo, Antonio


0

0,482

0,50 0,52 0,52 0,44


8
9
9
6

1 Alemn Valds, Miguel


0

0,737

0,72 0,79 0,76 0,74 0,73


2
5
1
2
8

2 Carvajal, Angel
8

0,487

0,50 0,53 0,53 0,50


8
6
8
6

3 Carrillo Flores, Antonio


1

0,623

0,68 0,74 0,73


8
2
8

2 Beteta, Ignacio
4

0,469

0,51 0,47 0,44 0,35 0,41


9
7
6
3
7

3 Bustamante, Eduardo
2

0,535

0,54 0,56 0,60 0,66 0,63


5
5
0
7
3

3 Gonzlez Blanco, Salomn


6

0,518

0,47 0,50 0,55 0,58 0,58 0,58


2
8
1
3
3
3

2 Serra Rojas, Andrs


9

0,531

0,54 0,56 0,55 0,55 0,56 0,42


6
8
1
8
0
5

3 Ortiz Mena, Antonio


4

0,575

0,60 0,64 0,63 0,63


9
2
1
3

3 Margin, Hugo B.
5

0,614

0,70 0,82 0,88


8
1
3

3 Salinas Lozano, Ral


7

0,614

0,53 0,56 0,64 0,61 0,69 0,80


7
8
5
7
0
0

1 Lpez Portillo, Jos


5

0,434

0,49 0,60 0,68


2
7
3

1 Echeverra Alvarez, Luis


4

0,480

0,43 0,47 0,51 0,55


8
5
2
8

2 Beteta, Mario Ramn


7

0,507

0,52 0,65 0,75


5
5
0

1 De la Madrid Hurtado,
6 Miguel

0,493

0,60 0,73
7
3

1 Salinas de Gortari, Carlos


7

0,498

0,73
3

*This column shows the whole network values without any cuts. Source: Jorge Gil-Mendieta, S. Schmidt, J.
Castro and A. Ruiz, REDMEX data base, 1997. Laboratorio de Grficas, IIMAS-UNAM.

The second appears around the 1940s, has some family connection to the first generation
(e.g., Miguel Alemn) and includes some actors who are still present today. The third
generation enters the network between 1970 and 1980 and has family connections to the
second generation (e.g., Carlos Salinas de Gortari)(5). In the general graph (Figure 3, Table
1) the centrality index (In)(6) is higher for those with a direct role during the 1910 revolution
and those having connections with them, but as we move along we will see an important
distribution of values.

Table 2
Individual Centrality, 1940
# of Nodes
at Distance ...
Node

Name

Centrality

Crdenas, Lzaro

14

0,889

21

Santos, Gonzalo N.

0,750

Portes Gil, Emilio

0,741

Avila Camacho, Manuel

10

0,722

10

Alemn Valds, Miguel

10

0,722

11

Ruiz Cortines, Adolfo

10

0,685

20

Gmez, Marte R.

0,676

Calles, Plutarco E.

11

0,657

Ortiz Rubio, Pascual

11

0,657

Rodriguez, Abelardo L.

11

0,657

23

Jara, Heriberto

14

0,611

18

Aguilar, Cndido

13

0,602

26

Beteta, Ramn

12

0,593

25

Snchez Taboada, Rodolfo

15

0,583

29

Serra Rojas, Andrs

11

0,546

37

Salinas Lozano, Ral

14

0,537

24

Beteta, Ignacio

12

0,519

19

Trevio, Jacinto B.

11

0,509

36

Gonzlez Blanco, Salomn

0,472

Table 3
Clique Centrality, 1940
# of Nodes
at Distance
Clique

Centrality

5,8,9,21

14

0,967

4,5,6,7,8,21

12

0,962

5,8,26

14

0,938

8,10,18

14

0,938

8,10,25

14

0,938

8,10,26

14

0,938

8,18,21

14

0,938

8,9,23

14

0,938

5,8,9,20

13

0,933

8,9,10,20

13

0,933

8,18,23

13

0,906

9,11,21

13

0,906

4,5,6,7,8,20

10

0,885

9,10,11

11

0,844

11,19,21

11

0,844

9,11,23

10

0,813

10,11,25

10

0,813

5,9,29

10

0,813

9,10,29

0,781

8,24,26

0,750

We made the first cut in 1940, including two generations of politicians (Figure 4, Table 2).
By 1940, actors {1, 2, 3, 22}(7) have already disappeared. In the tables starting in 1940 we
have included the number of distances between the actors, and the proper In and Ic values.

In this cut, the first generation has the highest In values, and they are in full control of the
political system. All presidents are generals and built their network connections during the
revolution. Some members of the second generation (Miguel Alemn, Ral Salinas Lozano)
intersect between cliques and generations, and their In values are high. In 1940, 19 actors
had 20 cliques showing high clique centrality (IC) values (see Table 3).

Table 4
Individual Centralities, 1950
# of Nodes
at Distance ...
Node

Centrality

In

13

0,795

Name
8

Crdenas, Lzaro

10

Alemn Valds, Miguel

13

0,795

11

Ruiz Cortines, Adolfo

11

10

0,720

Avila Camacho, Manuel

13

0,705

21

Santos, Gonzalo N.

13

0,674

Portes Gil, Emilio

10

0,652

12

Lpez Mateos, Adolfo

11

0,629

20

Gmez, Marte R.

14

0,621

25

Snchez Taboada, Rodolfo

18

0,591

18

Aguilar, Cndido

17

0,583

23

Jara, Heriberto

17

0,583

26

Beteta, Ramn

16

0,576

Ortiz Rubio, Pascual

11

0,568

Rodriguez, Abelardo L.

11

0,568

29

Serra Rojas, Andrs

15

0,568

37

Salinas Lozano, Ral

15

0,568

32

Bustamante, Eduardo

12

0,545

13

Daz Ordaz, Gustavo

15

0,538

28

Carvajal, Angel

15

0,508

30

Ruiz Galindo, Antonio

15

0,508

36

Gonzlez Blanco, Salomn

11

0,508

19

Trevio, Jacinto B.

13

0,492

24

Beteta, Ignacio

11

0,477

Table 5
Clique Centrality, 1950
# of Nodes
at Distance
Clique

Centrality

8,10,18

18

0,950

8,10,25

18

0,950

8,10,26

18

0,950

8,9,10,20

17

0,947

9,10,11

16

0,900

9,11,21

16

0,900

10,11,12,25

15

0,895

10,11,28

15

0,875

10,11,30

15

0,875

5,8,9,21

14

0,868

8,9,23

14

0,850

9,11,23

14

0,850

9,10,13

14

0,850

9,10,29

14

0,850

5,8,9,20

13

0,842

5,6,7,8,21

12

0,833

8,18,21

13

0,825

11,19,21

13

0,825

10,12,32

13

0,825

10,12,13

13

0,825

10,29,32

13

0,825

5,8,26

12

0,800

8,18,23

12

0,800

5,6,7,8,20

10

0,778

8,24,26

11

0,775

5,9,29

11

0,775

11,12,36

11

0,767

12,32,37

13

0,675

12,36,37

14

0,650

In 1950, centrality starts moving to the second generation (Figure 5, Table 4). Members of
the first generation are present with high In values (e.g., Adolfo Ruiz Cortines), but the
second generation shows high In values (e.g., Adolfo Lpez Mateos, who actually became
president in 1958). In 1950, 23 actors had 29 cliques with Ic values (Table 5), so the
network is very cohesive.

By 1960, the revolutionary leaders start disappearing (Figure 6, Table 6) and the In values
of some of them start to decrease. Heriberto Jara has a 0.611 in 1940 and 0.514 in 1960;
Lzaro Crdenas has a 0.889 in 1940 and 0.710 in 1960. The values for the second

generation increase because they are already in power, even though the first generation still
holds on to its influence. Twenty-four actors have 28 cliques and the Ic values (Table 7) of
the second generation fall short of the Ic values of the first generation in 1940.
Table 6
Individual Centrality, 1960
# of Nodes
at Distance ...
Node

Centrality

11

12

0,761

Name
10

Alemn Valds, Miguel

11

Ruiz Cortines, Adolfo

11

11

0,732

Crdenas, Lzaro

12

10

0,710

31

Carrillo Flores, Antonio

13

0,688

12

Lpez Mateos, Adolfo

10

0,667

Portes Gil, Emilio

11

0,645

37

Salinas Lozano, Ral

15

0,645

21

Santos, Gonzalo N.

14

0,609

34

Ortiz Mena, Antonio

14

0,609

20

Gmez, Marte R.

14

0,580

13

Daz Ordaz, Gustavo

12

0,565

32

Bustamante, Eduardo

12

0,565

26

Beteta, Ramn

15

0,558

29

Serra Rojas, Andrs

14

0,551

36

Gonzlez Blanco, Salomn

14

0,551

Ortiz Rubio, Pascual

0,540

Rodriguez, Abelardo L.

0,540

28

Carvajal, Angel

16

0,536

33

Loyo Gilberto

12

0,536

30

Ruiz Galindo, Antonio

15

0,529

23

Jara, Heriberto

17

0,514

19

Trevio, Jacinto B.

13

0,486

24

Beteta, Ignacio

12

0,446

14

Echeverra Alvarez, Luis

10

0,438

Table 7
Clique Centrality, 1960
# of Nodes
at Distance
3

Centrality

8,10,20

Clique

17

0,905

8,10,26

17

0,905

10,11,28,31

16

0,900

10,11,31,34

16

0,900

10,11,12,34

16

0,900

10,11,30

15

0,857

10,12,32

14

0,833

5,29,31

14

0,833

10,13,31,34

13

0,825

10,12,13,34

13

0,825

11,19,21

13

0,810

11,12,33

13

0,810

11,12,36

13

0,802

11,31,36

13

0,802

10,29,31,32

12

0,800

31,36,37

10

11

0,762

31,32,37

10

11

0,762

31,34,37

10

11

0,762

5,6,7,8,21

10

0,754

12,33,37

11

10

0,738

12,32,37

11

10

0,738

5,8,26

10

10

0,730

11,30,33

10

10

0,730

12,36,37

12

0,714

12,34,37

12

0,714

5,6,7,8,20

10

0,702

8,24,26

12

0,683

12,13,14

10

0,667

By 1970, only a few members of the first generation (Figure 7) are alive, and their In values
are low (Table 8). The values for the second generation continue to increase, but not to the
extent of reaching the first generation levels. In 1970, 21 actors have 15 cliques with low Ic

values (Table 9) in comparison to the previous decade. Hypothetically, we can assume that
the network started losing cohesion.
Table 8
Individual Centrality, 1970
# of Nodes
at Distance ...
5

Centrality

Node

Name

10

Alemn Valds, Miguel

10

0,742

31

Carrillo Flores, Antonio

10

0,742

35

Margin, Hugo B.

0,708

11

Ruiz Cortines, Adolfo

0,688

34

Ortiz Mena, Antonio

13

0,642

37

Salinas Lozano, Ral

10

0,617

32

Bustamante, Eduardo

12

0,600

13

Daz Ordaz, Gustavo

11

0,592

36

Gonzlez Blanco, Salomn

14

0,583

29

Serra Rojas, Andrs

11

0,558

Portes Gil, Emilio

10

0,546

28

Carvajal, Angel

13

0,538

30

Ruiz Galindo, Antonio

12

0,529

27

Beteta, Mario Ramn

0,525

33

Loyo Gilberto

0,504

15

Lpez Portillo, Jos

0,492

21

Santos, Gonzalo N.

0,489

20

Gmez, Marte R.

10

0,479

14

Echeverra Alvarez, Luis

0,475

19

Trevio, Jacinto B.

0,448

24

Beteta, Ignacio

0,353

Table 9
Clique Centrality, 1970
# of Nodes
at Distance ...
Clique

Centrality

10,13,31,34,35

12

0.875

10,11,31,34

13

0.873

31,35,36,37

12

0.853

31,34,35,37

12

0.853

10,11,28,31

13

0.843

11,31,36

12

0.824

10,11,30

12

0.824

10,29,31,32

11

0.824

31,32,37

11

0.806

5,29,31

11

0.796

11,19,21

10

0.741

15,27,35

0.731

11,30,33

0.681

14,15,35

0.676

13,14,35

0.676

By 1980, some members of the third generation (Salinas) enter the network (Figure 8). The
In values of some of the oldest members of the second generation (Miguel Alemn) start
decreasing, even though the members of the second generation don't reach high values
(Table 10). In 1980, the number of actors in the network's core decreases to 15, and the
same happens to the number of cliques, which drops to 9 (Table 11). The number of
intersections is also diminishing, reducing the number of influential actors.

Table 10
Individual Centrality, 1980
# of Nodes
at Distance ...
Node

Centrality

Name
35

Margin, Hugo B.

0,821

31

Carrillo Flores, Antonio

0,738

10

Alemn Valds, Miguel

0,738

37

Salinas Lozano, Ral

0,690

32

Bustamante, Eduardo

0,667

27

Beteta, Mario Ramn

0,655

34

Ortiz Mena, Antonio

0,631

16

De la Madrid Hurtado, Miguel

0,607

15

Lpez Portillo, Jos

0,607

36

Gonzlez Blanco, Salomn

0,583

29

Serra Rojas, Andrs

0,560

14

Echeverra Alvarez, Luis

0,512

28

Carvajal, Angel

0,506

30

Ruiz Galindo, Antonio

0,446

24

Beteta, Ignacio

0,417

Table 11
Clique Centrality, 1980
# of Nodes
at Distance
Clique

Centrality

10,31,34,35

10

0,955

31,34,35,37

0,909

31,35,36,37

0,909

15,16,27,35

0,864

16,35,37

0,833

31,32,37

0,833

10,29,31,32

0,818

14,15,35

0,792

10,28,31

0,778

By 1990, the disappearance of the old politicians is complete, and the third generation is in
power (Figure 9). The In values of actors (Table 12) who intersected cliques and generations
are high (Ral Salinas Lozano 0.800, Hugo B. Margin 0.883), and new actors are attaining
high ratings (Carlos Salinas 0.733). It is interesting, though, that while we made the cut in
the middle of the Salinas administration, he did not have the highest In value among the
members of the core and he did not reach the levels achieved by other actors in the 40s, 50s
and 60s. The 11 actors had 6 cliques, most of them with high Ic values (Table 13), which
suggests a small but cohesive group.

Table 12
Individual Centrality, 1990
# of Nodes
at Distance
Node

Centrality

Margin, Hugo B.

0,883

37

Salinas Lozano, Ral

0,800

27

Beteta, Mario Ramn

0,750

16

De la Madrid Hurtado, Miguel

0,733

17

Salinas de Gortari, Carlos

0,733

15

Lpez Portillo, Jos

0,683

32

Bustamante, Eduardo

0,633

34

Ortiz Mena, Antonio

0,633

36

Gonzlez Blanco, Salomn

0,583

Name
35

14

Echeverra Alvarez, Luis

0,558

29

Serra Rojas, Andrs

0,425

Table 13
Clique Centrality, 1990
# of Nodes
at Distance
Clique

Centrality

35,36,37

0,938

16,17,27,35

0,929

16,17,35,37

0,929

15,16,27,35

0,929

17,34,35,37

0,929

14,15,35

0,854

The analysis of cliques shows a trend, where the first generation had strong connectivity
peaking in 1950. Connectivity for the second generation seems to be lower, and for the
third higher, but the size of the network in general was constantly shrinking (Table 14).
Table 14
Clique Centrality, 1940-1990
1940

1950

1960

Clique

Cent.

Clique

Cent

5,8,9,21

0,967

5,8,9,21

0,868 5,6,7,8,21 0,754

4,5,6,7,8,21 0,962 5,6,7,8,21 0,833

Clique

1970
Cent

5,8,26

0,730

1980

1990

Clique

Cent

Clique

Cent

Clique

Cent

11,19,21

0,681

10,28,31

0,778

35,36,37

0,938

10,11,28,31

0,843 10,29,31,32 0,818 17,34,35,37 0,929


0,824 10,31,34,35 0,955 15,16,27,35 0,929

5,8,26

0,938

5,8,26

0,800

8,10,26

0,905

10,11,30

8,10,18

0,938

8,10,18

0,950

8,10,20

0,905

10,29,31,32

0,824 31,35,36,37 0,909

8,10,25

0,938

8,10,25

0,950 5,6,7,8,20 0,702

10,11,31,34

0,873

8,10,26

0,938

8,10,26

0,950

11,19,21

0,810

8,18,21

0,938

8,18,21

0,825

8,24,26

0,683 10,13,31,34,35 0,875 15,16,27,35 0,864

8,9,23

0,938

8,9,23

0,850 10,11,28,31 0,900

5,8,9,20

0,933

5,8,9,20

0,842

10,11,30

8,9,10,20

0,933

8,9,10,20 0,947

10,12,32

8,18,23

0,906

8,18,23

9,11,21

0,906

9,11,21

5,29,31

31,32,37

0,796 31,34,35,37 0,909 16,17,35,37 0,929


0,824

14,15,35

0,792

0,857

31,35,36,37

0,853

16,35,37

0,833

0,833

31,32,37

0,806

0,800 10,12,13,34 0,825

31,34,35,37

0,853

0,900 10,29,31,32 0,800

11,30,33

0,681

11,12,36

0,802

15,27,35

0,731

9,10,11

0,844

9,10,11

0,900

12,32,37

0,738

14,15,35

0,676

11,19,21

0,844

11,19,21

0,825

12,36,37

0,714

13,14,35

0,676

9,11,23

0,813

9,11,23

0,850 10,11,31,34 0,900

10,11,25

0,813 10,11,12,25 0,895 10,11,12,34 0,900

5,9,29

0,813

5,9,29

0,775

9,10,29

0,781

9,10,29

0,850 10,13,31,34 0,825

5,29,31

8,24,26

0,750

8,24,26

0,775

11,12,33

0,810

10,11,28

0,875

11,31,36

0,802

10,11,30

0,875

31,36,37

0,762

9,10,13

0,850

31,32,37

0,762

10,12,32

0,825

31,34,37

0,762

10,12,13

0,825

12,33,37

0,738

10,29,32

0,825

11,30,33

0,730

11,12,36

0,767

12,34,37

0,714

12,32,37

0,675

12,13,14

0,667

12,36,37

0,650

0,854

0,833 16,17,27,35 0,929

11,31,36

4,5,6,7,8,20 0,885 5,6,7,8,20 0,778

14,15,35

0,833

Diminishing values in both indexes show a network losing cohesiveness, and the waning
number of influential actors suggests less inclusion of new actors. These two trends explain

many of the events that occurred in Mexico during the 90's: political assassination, political
instability and turbulence and the end of political monopoly via opposition victories.

Conclusion
The Mexican network of power has played an important role in bringing about political
stability due to many intersections that have helped transfer and mobilize political
resources. Among the three generations of politicians identified in our research, the first
had more connections, which can be politically relevant because it shows more cohesion
and integration of the political elite producing political stability. As time progresses, In
values (Table 1) and Ic values (Table 14) decrease, resulting in less integration and
cohesion. Beginning in the late 80s the opposition parties began winning elections. In 1994,
both the presidential candidate and the secretary general of the ruling PRI were killed, and
since then an exodus of party members has begun.
The In shows that contemporary leaders, mainly in the 70s never reach high values, with
the exception of Hugo B. Margin and Ral Salinas Lozano, who happen to be at the
intersection of cliques and generations and became very influential. In fact, Raul Salinas's
son became president in 1988.
The cut-off line for the exchange of values happened during the period 1970-80, when most
of the revolutionary leadership finally disappeared. Something interesting is that some of
the presidents from 1970 to 1990 do not have the highest In values, not even when we made
five year cuts to be close to their administration, which suggests a weakening of their role.
By including and excluding actors, we discovered that a generation of actors disappeared in
the 70s, and this coincides with a change in the whole political scene in Mexican politics.
The type of politicians in power changed from the politicos with political experience and
connections to the revolutionary leaders to bureaucrats (Schmidt 1991) who built political
careers through the bureaucracy and accomplishments at school. This can be one of the
most important indicators for political change in Mexico; moreover, political change in
Mexico shows less cohesion and less political stability, much of which has to do with the
weakening of the network of power.

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