Mexico’s Victory: Vicente Fox and the Rise of the PAN

Issue Date October 2000
Volume 11
Issue 4
Page Numbers 25-32
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Read the full essay here.

Although Fox’s National Action Party (PAN) is frequently portrayed as a reactionary party, it is better understood as a liberal-democratic alternative to the former ruling party’s authoritarianism.

About the Author

David A. Shirk, a former visiting research fellow of the Center of U.S.-Mexican Studies, received his doctoral degree in political science from the University of California-San Diego (June 2000). His dissertation, “Democratization and Party-Building: The Growing Pains of Mexico’s National Action Party (PAN),” was based on field research and interviews with top party leaders, including Vicente Fox.

View all work by David Shirk

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