Partido Revolucionario Institucional

Mexican Partido Revolucionario Institucional (PRI) held power for roughly 70 years. A result of the revolution, it held every major political position during this time. The first state governor not to come from its ranks was elected in 1990.

It has acquired a reputation for dishonesty to the extent that it is an open secret, and while this is admitted (to a degree) by some of its affiliates, its' supporters maintain that the fole of the party was crucial in the modernisation of Mexico. Perhaps the only popular president of Mexico, Lazaro Cardenas, known for the oil expropiation from U.S. companies, came from its ranks.

The PRI was heavily criticized for using the Mexican flag colors in its logo (something considered not unreasonable in many countries e.g. the United States, but frowned upon in Mexico).

In recent years the following have been key events in the history of the PRI:

• 1988 Amidst stronger than ever suspicions of electoral fraud, Carlos Salinas de Gortari won the presidential election
• 1994 For the first time in decades a high profile politician was murdered: PRI's candidate to presidency Luis Donaldo Colosio Murrieta[?] was shot during a campaign event
• 2000 For the first time since its' inception it lost the Mexican presidency to the opposing candidate Vicente Fox Quezada.