JOURNALfor the STUDYof ANTISEMITISM

2011] MEXICO IN A REGION UNDER CHANGE 31
Mexico’s transition to democracy was signed by the end of seven
decades of the ruling PRI party (Institutional Revolutionary Party) in 2000,
and the arrival to power of the center-right PAN (National Action Party).
The country’s consolidation of democracy is still an ongoing process. Vectors
as essential as rule of law, transparency, and accountability still need to
be fully established. In the realm of human rights, Mexico experienced both
significant progress and setbacks. The National Commission of Human
Rights (federal and state) has gained a progressive presence. In April 2010,
the Mexican senate unanimously approved reforms that give human rights a
constitutional status, widen their recognition and protection, and provide the
commission with the resources to investigate serious violations to individual
rights. According to the commission, however, a high percentage of its
recommendations were not implemented within the deadlines specified and/
or were not accepted by public officials because of weaknesses endemic in
the Mexican judicial system. The World Economic Forum warned that the
cost of corruption in Mexico equals 9% of the national gross domestic product
(PIB), while businesses need to spend 10% of their income on bribes.
The so-called war against drugs and organized crime has resulted in a spiral
of violence that has not been directly connected to ethnic or religious
motives.
ANTISEMITISM IN MEXICO
While historically the national culture has faced difficulties dealing
with the “other,” antisemitism has been mainly associated either with the
most conservative forces or with extreme left-wing actors.
In contemporary Mexico, antisemitism was initially prompted by
debates surrounding immigration policies during the late 1920s. Groups
such as the Anti-Chinese and the Anti-Jewish National League, founded in
1930, and the Honourable Traders, Industrialists and Professionals lobbied
the government to restrict the immigration of Jews. 7
In the 1930s, Mexico experienced outbursts of antisemitism focused
on economic and racial grounds. Gradually, the racial theme became dominant
amid right-wing groups. Among them, Mexican Revolutionary Action,
founded in 1934, operated through its paramilitary units, the Golden Shirts.
The antisemitic Pro-Race Committee and the Middle Class Confederation
exerted pressure on the government and waged antisemitic campaigns,
7. Judit Bokser Liwerant, “El México de los años treinta: cardenismo, inmigración
judía y antisemitismo,” en Xenofobias y Xenofilia en la Historia de México
Siglos XVIII y XIX, Delia Salazar (Coordinadora), Dirección de Estudios Históricos,
México, 2006: 379-416.