2003 Mexican legislative election

Legislative elections were held in Mexico on 6 July 2003.^[1] Although the National Action Party received the most votes, the Institutional Revolutionary Party won 224 of the 500 seats.^[2] Voter turnout was only 41%.^[3]

According to polls, many voters were disappointed in President Vicente Fox for not fulfilling his campaign promises to create millions of jobs upon his election in July 2000, even though his approval ratings remained high. Voters were reportedly dissatisfied with the government's incapacity to push through his major reform proposals in a divided Congress, as the president's plans to relocate to Mexico were virtually entirely thwarted by the opposition Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI), which holds the majority in both Houses. With 206 members in the House, Fox's party is the second largest, but it has been unable to pass legislation that would have increased private involvement in the power sector and increased spending on social services by taxing food and medication. While admitting that there were no new employment created, President Fox and his advisors maintained that they had tried every avenue available.

With its campaign slogan, "Remove the brake on change!" the National Action Party (PAN) appeared to be more critical of PRI politicians than of the general public, according to observers. Up until Fox was elected president in 2000, the PRI had ruled Mexico without interruption for 71 years. After two years of political inaction in Congress, Fox and Roberto Madrazo Pintado, the leader of the PRI, promised to work toward agreement following the elections.

Before the election, Fox announced new collaborative public-private investment projects across the nation to boost economic growth, and his top advisors met with US officials to unveil a slew of initiatives aimed at luring investment into the majority of Mexican jobs. The election financing scandals that both major parties faced centered around other significant campaign issues.

On 29 August 2003, Juan de Dios Castro Lozano (PAN) was elected as the new President of the Chamber of Deputies.^[4]

^ Mexico: Elections held in 2003 Inter-Parliamentary Union
^ Dieter Nohlen (2005) Elections in the Americas: A data handbook, Volume I, pp464–470 ISBN 978-0-19-928357-6
^ Nohlen, p455
^ "MEXICO: parliamentary elections Cámara de Diputados, 2003". archive.ipu.org. Retrieved 12 February 2024.

[1] Mexico: Elections held in 2003 Inter-Parliamentary Union

[DN-2] Dieter Nohlen (2005) Elections in the Americas: A data handbook, Volume I, pp464–470 ISBN 978-0-19-928357-6

[3] Nohlen, p455

[4] "MEXICO: parliamentary elections Cámara de Diputados, 2003". archive.ipu.org. Retrieved 12 February 2024.

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