Mexican Presidential Candidates: Changes & Portents for the Future

Abstract

Firm tradition precludes military men from contending for the Mexican presidency and expects aspirants to have held cabinet posts. The "precandidates" have usually been educated at the National University. In the following study of the background and other qualifications of "precandidates" from 1945 through 1981, Professor Camp notes that an increasing number of them has attended foreign universities, received specialized training, and pursued bureaucratic and/or technocratic careers. They come from a small, homogeneous group of politically influential families. These tendencies may have significant consequences for Mexico's political system.