elections: president elected by popular vote for a six-year term;
election last held 21 August 1994 (next to be held in July or August
2000)
election results: Ernesto ZEDILLO Ponce de Leon elected president;
percent of vote--Ernesto ZEDILLO Ponce de Leon (PRI) 50.18%,
Cuauhtemoc CARDENAS Solorzano (PRD) 17.08%, Diego FERNANDEZ DE
CEVALLOS (PAN) 26.69%, other 6.05%

Legislative branch: bicameral National Congress or Congreso de la
Union consists of the Senate or Camara de Senadores (128 seats; half
are elected by popular vote to serve six-year terms, and half are
allocated on the basis of each party's popular vote) and the Chamber
of Deputies or Camara de Diputados (500 seats; 300 members are
directly elected by popular vote to serve three-year terms;
remaining 200 members are allocated on the basis of each party's
popular vote, also for three-year terms)
elections: Senate--last held 6 July 1997 for one-quarter of the
seats; Chamber of Deputies--last held 6 July 1997 (the next
legislative elections will coincide with the presidential election
in July or August 2000)
election results: Senate--percent of vote by party--NA; seats by
party--PRI 77, PAN 33, PRD 16, PVEM 1, PT 1; note--the distribution of
seats as of May 1998 is as follows--PRI 77, PAN 31, PRD 15, PT 1,
independents 4; Chamber of Deputies--percent of vote by party--PRI
39%, PAN 27%, PRD 26%; seats by party--PRI 239, PRD 125, PAN 121,
PVEM 8, PT 7; note--the distribution of seats as of May 1998 is as
follows--PRI 237, PRD 127, PAN 120, PT 7, PVEM 6, independents 3

Judicial branch: Supreme Court of Justice or Corte Suprema de
Justicia (judges are appointed by the president with consent of the
Senate)

Political parties and leaders: recognized parties--Institutional

Political pressure groups and leaders: Roman Catholic Church;
Confederation of Mexican Workers or CTM; Confederation of Industrial
Chambers or CONCAMIN; Confederation of National Chambers of Commerce
or CONCANACO; National Peasant Confederation or CNC; Revolutionary
Workers Party or PRT; Revolutionary Confederation of Workers and
Peasants or CROC; Regional Confederation of Mexican Workers or CROM;
Confederation of Employers of the Mexican Republic or COPARMEX;
National Chamber of Transformation Industries or CANACINTRA;
Coordinator for Foreign Trade Business Organizations or COECE;
Federation of Unions Providing Goods and