SUMMARY

The Government of Mexico established a federal presidential republic system of governance after Mexico gained independence from Spanish colonization in the 19th century. The Mexican Revolution in the early 20th century led to a revision of the Mexican constitution in 1917 and the formation of the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI), which took over the government in 1929. The PRI, originally named the National Revolutionary Party, essentially ruled Mexico as a one-party state until the 21st century. There were strong allegations of electoral fraud while the party remained in power with incumbent presidents selecting the subsequent PRI presidential candidate, who would then become the next President of Mexico. However, in line with other electoral reforms he introduced while in office, President Ernesto Zedillo (1994-2000) broke with this tradition at the end of his term. This resulted in the PRI losing control of the government for the first time in 71 years and the National Action Party (PAN) candidate Vicente Fox Quesada becoming President of Mexico in 2000. Since then, various political parties have contested and held control over the Government of Mexico through regular elections at the end of every six-year presidential term.

The Government of Mexico had 277 000 active armed troops across its army, navy and air force branches as of 2019.