three branches: executive, legislative, and judicial. However, in Mexico, the executive branch dominates the other branches to such an extent that the president effectively controls the countrys political system. Given the dominance of the executive over the legislative and judicial branches, interest groups and lobbyists have not developed in Mexico. Interests groups who wish to influence policy do so mostly through the executive branch or seeking contacts with agency heads and cabinet figures.The president is elected by direct popular vote every six years and cannot be reelected. Presidents acquire vast authority because they control all selection of candidates in their party for elective office at the national level. The executive also can exercise great influence because many Mexicans have come to expect a strong president and public elections give the president much power since the people chose him. The president is the chief policy maker, and the executive branch handles 90 % of Mexicos legislation. The president chooses members of his cabinet, which results in them being the most influential members of the executive branch. No president has ever selected a member of an opposition party as a cabinet official until President Ernesto Zedillo Ponce de Len took office in December 1994. The cabinet is also divided into smaller groups such as an economic or national security cabinet, which make policy recommendations to the president or respond to his policy initiatives. The Chamber of Deputies and the Senate make up Mexicos bicameral legislative body. There are 500-members in the Chamber of Deputies that are elected for three-year terms, 300 of them from single-member districts, and 200 on the basis of proportional representation. The Senate has 128-members and is elected every six years. Beginning this year, all members of the Senate will be on the same election cycle. Geographic areas are represented by half of the senate (64 membe...
