Avances y retos del Partido Acción Nacional

Vicente Fox’s victory in the 2000 federal elections meantthat the PAN could no longer postpone the task of transformingits own institutional life. The process of statutoryreform and the changeover in the PAN’s national leadershiphave demonstrated the party’s capacity for adaptation,allowing it to maintain control over its internal governance.However, these two events have also placed limits on itsability to respond to a new political reality that derivesfrom having to run a government. Along these lines, thecharacteristics of party-government relations within theframework of alternation of political parties remain to beredefi ned. PAN members must still resolve when,under what conditions, and through what mechanismsthey will defi ne the specifi cs of the so-called “democratic connection” with the Executivebranch. This article is an initial refl ection on thePAN’s progress and the challenges facing it, withinthe context of its new responsibilities in running a federalgovernment. Our goal is to identify the specifi c characteristicsof the PAN’s current crisis and to discuss its realpotential for political innovation.