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It is a presidential system in the style of the U.S. system, with the most significantdifference being that during the 70 years of party dictatorship the presidential figureaccrued exaggerated powers, to the detriment of the other branches of government.Legislative power was in the hands of the PRI, which held the vast majority of seats inCongress. The judicial branch was controlled by the President, since the latterappointed the justices of the Supreme Court of Justice of the Nation (Suprema Corte deJusticia de la Nación, SCJN) and, through them, the magistrates of the Collegiate CircuitCourts. In addition, the President forced the courts to render decisions in accordancewith his own will. However, since 2000, when Mexico began its transition to democracy,Congress has become stronger and more pluralistic, while the judicial branch hasbecome ever more independent, thus greatly limiting the previously exaggerated presidentialpowers.During the party dictatorship, Congress grew in size in order to allow various sectors ofsociety and opposition political parties to express their concerns and interests. Thus, a specialcategory of legislators (still in existence) was created. It includes members of the Houseof Representatives and senators who are not elected, but hold an additional quota of seatsassigned to the political parties based on the number of votes they have received.The Mexican democratic system is quite new, which has hindered the Congress—with500 representatives and 128 senators belonging to different parties, none of which hasan absolute majority—from reaching agreements. Nevertheless, recently a series of taxreforms were approved and entered into force that amended several existing laws andestablished new taxes aimed at collecting more revenues, combatting tax evasion, andlessening dependence on income from oil and gas sales. In this regard, the Single RateBusiness Tax (Impuesto Empresarial a Tasa Única, IETU) was created, which takes the placeof the IMPAC and taxes at a single rate the tax profits arising from business activities. Furthermore,soon the Tax on Cash Deposits Law (Ley del Impuesto a los Depósitos en Efectivo)will enter into force, which is intended to reduce tax evasion by imposing a tax rateof 2 percent on cash deposits greater than $25,000 made to bank accounts (it will bepossible to credit this new tax to the taxpayer’s income tax payments).The judicial branch is the only branch of government that has experienced a positiveand straightforward development during the last 16 years. Based on the reforms of 1994and 1998, Mexico today has an independent Supreme Court of Justice consisting of justiceselected by the Congress. Candidates are nominated by the Executive and must havethe qualifications and experience necessary to make well-drafted decisions. A restructuredfederal judicial system is a reality today. The Federal Judicial Board, based on aSpanish model, has exercised a positive influence on the control of the rest of the federaljudicial system and in the handling of administrative tasks. As a result, the SupremeCourt has finally been able to dedicate itself to its substantive work. Currently, both theDistrict and the Collegiate and Unitary Circuit Court judges throughout the Republic are31Profile of the Country