Abstract

HERNANDEZ DE GANTE, Alicia  and  GIMATE-WELSH, Adrián. The Legislative Debate on the Electoral Threshold in the 2013-2014 Political-Electoral Reform. Rev. mex. cienc. polít. soc [online]. 2018, vol.63, n.232, pp.17-44. ISSN 0185-1918.  https://doi.org/10.22201/fcpys.2448492xe.2018.232.59325.

In Mexico, the 2013-2014 political-electoral reform produced significant changes in articles 41 and 54 of the Constitution regarding the electoral threshold that parties require to maintain their registration and win seats, in accordance with the system of proportional representation. Major political parties intended to raise it to 4% with the outright opposition of minor parties. Given the potential social and political impact of that modification, and against conventional theories, we argue that increasing the threshold does not diminish the number of parties that constitute an electoral system. The study was limited to Mexico’s 2015 federal elections. Our objective was to analyze the parliamentary debate, its implications, and outcomes.

Keywords : party system; electoral rules; Mexico; electoral threshold; congressional debate; democracy.