Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-gb8f7 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-24T11:35:18.627Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

How Do Remittances Shape Electoral Strategies Back Home? Evidence from Mexico’s 2006 Presidential Election

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  18 June 2019

Cristina Álvarez-Mingote
Cristina Álvarez-Mingote*
Affiliation:
Cristina Álvarez-Mingote is a research specialist in the AgReach program in the Department of Agricultural and Consumer Economics, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign.
*
[email protected]
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

How does international migration affect political parties’ electoral strategies in the sending countries? This article argues that remittances help political parties decide whom to target during elections. Drawing from theories of vote targeting and those on the effects of remittances, this study addresses how political parties’ electoral strategies follow the specific characteristics of remittance recipients. Using individual-level data from Mexico’s 2006 presidential elections, the results show that receiving remittances had a significant impact on experiencing electoral targeting, especially by the then-incumbent PAN. This study reveals the importance of remittances in shaping the strategies of Mexican political parties.

Keywords

remittancesmigrationMexicopolitical partieselectoral strategies
Type
Research Article
Information
Latin American Politics and Society , Volume 61 , Issue 3 , August 2019 , pp. 55 - 79
Copyright
© University of Miami 2019 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Adams, Richard H., and Alfredo, Cuecuecha. 2010. Remittances, Household Expenditure and Investment in Guatemala. World Development 38, 11: 1626–41.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ahmed, Faisal. 2011. Remittances, Clientelism, and Electoral Dynamics. Paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the American Political Science Association, September 1–4.Google Scholar
Amuedo-Dorantes, Catalina, and Susan, Pozo. 2006. Remittances as Insurance: Evidence from Mexican Immigrants. Journal of Popular Economics 19: 227–54.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Aparicio, Francisco Javier, and Covadonga, Meseguer. 2012a. Collective Remittances and the State: 3×1 Program in Mexican Municipalities. World Development 40, 1: 206–22.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Aparicio, Francisco Javier. 2012b. Migration and Distributive Politics: The Political Economy of Mexico’s 3×1 Program. Latin American Politics and Society 54, 4: 147–78.Google Scholar
Aparicio, Francisco Javier 2012c. Supply or Demand? Migration and Political Manipulation in Mexico. Studies in Comparative International Development 47: 411–40.Google Scholar
Auyero, Javier. 2000. The Logic of Clientelism in Argentina: An Ethnographic Account. Latin American Research Review 35, 3: 56–81.Google Scholar
Batista, Catia, and Vicente, Pedro. C.. 2011. Do Migrants Improve Governance Back Home? Evidence from a Voting Experiment. World Bank Economic Review 25, 1: 77–104.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bravo, Jorge. 2008. The Political Economy of Mexico-U.S. Migration. Ph.D. diss., Duke University.Google Scholar
Bravo, Jorge. 2009. Emigración y compromiso político en México. Política y Gobierno vol. temático, 1: 273–310.Google Scholar
Bravo, Jorge. 2012. Credit Where Credit Is Due? Remittances, Economic Assessments, and Presidential Approval in Latin America. Paper presented at the Annual Conference of the Midwest Political Science Association, April 12–15.Google Scholar
Brown, Stuart. 2006. Can Remittances Spur Development? A Critical Survey. International Studies Review 8: 55–75.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Brusco, Valeria, Marcelo, Nazareno, and Stokes, Susan C.. 2004. Vote Buying in Argentina. Latin American Research Review 39, 2: 66–88.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Carlin, Ryan E., and Mason, Moseley. 2015. Good Democrats, Bad Targets: Democratic Values and Clientelistic Vote Buying. Journal of Politics 77, 1: 14–26.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Carling, Jorgen. 2008. The Determinants of Migrant Remittances. Oxford Review of Economic Policy 24, 3: 582–99.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Chauvet, Lisa, and Mercier, Marion. 2014. Do Return Migrants Transfer Political Norms to Their Origin Country? Evidence from Mali. Journal of Comparative Economics 42: 630–51.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Converse, Philip E. 1962. Information Flow and the Stability of Partisan Attitudes. Public Opinion Quarterly 26, 4: 578–99.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Córdova, Abby, and Hiskey, Jonathan. 2015. Shaping Politics at Home: Cross-Border Social Ties and Local-Level Political Engagement. Comparative Political Studies 48, 11: 1454–87.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cox, Gary W., and McCubbins, Matthew D.. 1986. Electoral Politics as a Redistributive Game. Journal of Politics 48, 2: 370–89.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Crow, David, and Pérez-Armendáriz, Clarisa. 2018. Talk Without Borders: Why Political Discussion Makes Latin Americans with Relatives Abroad More Critical of Their Democracies. Comparative Political Studies 51, 2: 1–39.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
De la Garza, Rodolfo, and Yetim, Muserref. 2003. The Impact of Ethnicity and Socialization on Definitions of Democracy. Mexican Studies/Estudios Mexicanos 19, 1: 81–104.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Díaz-Cayeros, Alberto, Magaloni, Beatriz, and Weingast, Barry. 2003. Tragic Brilliance: Equilibrium Hegemony and Democratization in Mexico. Working Paper, April. Stanford University. http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.1153510CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Alberto, Díaz-Cayeros, Estévez, Federico, and Magaloni, Beatriz. 2009. Welfare Benefits, Canvassing, and Campaign Handouts. In Domínguez et al. 2009. 229–6.Google Scholar
Kim Yi, Dionne, Inman, Kris L., and Montinola, Gabriella R.. 2014. Another Resource Curse? The Impact of Remittances on Political Participation. Working Paper 145. Afro Barometer. http://afrobarometer.org/sites/default/files/publications/Working%20paper/Afropaperno145.pdfGoogle Scholar
Avinash, Dixit, and Londregan, John. 1996. The Determinants of Success of Special Interests in Redistributive Politics. Journal of Politics 58, 4: 1132–55.Google Scholar
Jorge, Domínguez. 2009. Conclusion: The Choices of Voters During the 2006 Presidential Election in Mexico. In Domínguez et al. 2009. 285–303.Google Scholar
Jorge, Domínguez, Lawson, Chappell, and Moreno, Alejandro, eds. 2009. Consolidating Mexico‘s Democracy: The 2006 Presidential Campaign in Comparative Perspective. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press.Google Scholar
Thad, Dunning, and Stokes, Susan. 2008. Clientelism as Persuasion and as Mobilization. Paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the American Political Science Association, August 28–31.Google Scholar
Christian, Dustmann, and Kirchkamp, Oliver. 2002. The Optimal Migration Duration and Activity Choice After Remigration. Journal of Development Economics 67: 351–72.Google Scholar
Abel, Escriba-Folch, Meseguer, Covadonga, and Wright, Joseph. 2015. Remittances and Democratization. International Studies Quarterly 59, 3: 571–86.Google Scholar
Frederico, Finan, and Schechter, Laura. 2012. Vote-Buying and Reciprocity. Econometrica 80, 2: 863–81.Google Scholar
Francisco, Flores-Macías. 2009. Electoral Volatility in 2006. In Domínguez et al. 2009. 191–208.Google Scholar
Jordan, Gans-Morse, Mazzuca, Sebastián, and Nichter, Simeon. 2014. Varieties of Clientelism: Machine Politics During Elections. American Journal of Political Science 58, 2: 415–32.Google Scholar
Germano, Roy. 2010. The Political Economy of Remittances: Emigration, Social Insurance Provision, and Political Behavior in Mexico. Ph.D. diss., University of Texas, Austin.Google Scholar
Germano, Roy. 2013. Migrants’ Remittances and Economic Voting in the Mexican Countryside. Electoral Studies 32, 4: 875–85.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Miriam, Golden, and Min, Brian. 2013. Distributive Politics Around the World. Annual Review of Political Science 16: 73–99.Google Scholar
González-Acosta, Edward. 2009. The Power of Political Parties: Political Participation, Clientelism, and Remittances in the Dominican Republic. Ph.D. diss., New School University.Google Scholar
González-Ocantos, Ezequiel, Kiewiet de Jonge, Chad, Meléndez, Carlos, Osorio, Javier, and Nickerson, David W.. 2012. Vote Buying and Social Desirability Bias: Experimental Evidence from Nicaragua. American Journal of Political Science 56, 1: 202–17.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
González-Ocantos, Ezequiel, Kiewiet de Jonge, Chad, and Meseguer, Covadonga. 2018. Remittances and Vote Buying. Latin American Research Review 53, 4: 689–707. http://doi.org/10.25222/larr.396CrossRefGoogle Scholar
González-Ocantos, Ezequiel, Kiewiet de Jonge, Chad, and Nickerson, David W.. 2015. Legitimacy Buying: The Dynamics of Clientelism in the Face of Legitimacy Challenges. Comparative Political Studies 48, 9: 1127–58.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Goodman, Gary L., and Hiskey, Jonathan T.. 2008. Exit Without Leaving: Political Disengagement in High Migration Municipalities in Mexico. Comparative Politics 40, 2: 169–88.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Guarnizo, Luis E. 2003. The Economics of Transnational Living. International Migration Review 37, 3: 666–99.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hicken, Allen. 2011. Clientelism. Annual Review of Political Science 14: 289–310.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hidalgo, Francisco. 2004. Migraciones: un juego con cartas marcadas. Quito: Ediciones Abya- Yala.Google Scholar
Hirschman, Albert O. 1978. Exit, Voice, and the State. World Politics 31, 1: 90–107.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Jensen, Peter S., and Justesen, Mogen K.. 2014. Poverty and Vote Buying: Survey-based Evidence from Africa. Electoral Studies 33: 220–32.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kam, Cindy D., and Franzese, Robert J. Jr. 2007. Modeling and Interpreting Interactive Hypotheses in Regression Analysis. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press.Google Scholar
Kapur, Devesh. 2004. Remittances: The New Development Mantra? G-24 Discussion Paper no. 29, April. Washington, DC: Intergovernmental Group of 24.Google Scholar
Kapur, Devesh, and McHale, John. 2005. Give Us Your Best and Brightest: The Global Hunt for Talent and Its Impact on the Developing World. Washington, DC: Center for Global Development/Brookings Institution.Google Scholar
Kitschelt, Herbert. 2000. Linkages Between Citizens and Politicians in Democratic Polities. Comparative Political Studies 33, 6-7: 845–79.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kitschelt, Herbert, Hawkins, Kirk A., Pablo Luna, Juan, Rosas, Guillermo, and Zechmeister, Elizabeth J.. 2010. Latin American Party Systems. New York: Cambridge University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kramon, Eric. 2016a. Where Is Vote Buying Effective? Evidence from a List Experiment in Kenya. Electoral Studies 44: 397–408.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kitschelt, Herbert, Hawkins, Kirk A., Pablo Luna, Juan, Rosas, Guillermo, and Zechmeister, Elizabeth J.. 2016b. Electoral Handouts and Information: Explaining Unmonitored Vote Buying. World Politics 68, 3: 454–98.Google Scholar
Langston, Joy. 2009. The PRI’s 2006 Presidential Campaign. In Domínguez et al. 2009. 152–68.Google Scholar
Larreguy, Horacio, Marshall, John, and Querubin, Pablo. 2016. Parties, Brokers, and Voter Mobilization: How Turnout Buying Depends upon the Party’s Capacity to Monitor Brokers. American Political Science Review 110, 1: 160–79.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lawson, Chappell. 2009. Introduction: The Mexican 2006 Election in Context. In Domínguez et al. 2009. 1–28.Google Scholar
Lawson, Chappell, and Greene, Kenneth F.. 2014. Making Clientelism Work: How Norms of Reciprocity Increase Voter Compliance. Comparative Politics 47, 1: 61–77.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lawson, , et al. 2007. Mexico 2006 Panel Study. Cambridge: Massachusetts Institute of Technology. http://mexicopanelstudy.mit.eduGoogle Scholar
Lazarsfeld, Paul F., Berelson, Bernard, and Gaudet, Hazel. 1944. The People’s Choice: How the Voter Makes Up His Mind in a Presidential Campaign. New York: Columbia University Press.Google Scholar
Levitt, Peggy. 1998. Social Remittances: Migration Driven Local-Level Forms of Cultural Diffusion. International Migration Review 32, 4: 926–48.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Levitt, Peggy, and Lamba-Nieves, Deepak. 2011. Social Remittances Revisited. Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies 37, 1: 1–22.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lucas, Robert, and Stark, Oded. 1985. Motivations to Remit: Evidence from Botswana. Journal of Political Economy 93, 5: 901–18.Google Scholar
Mares, Isabela, and Young, Lauren. 2016. Buying, Expropriating, and Stealing Votes. Annual Review of Political Science 19: 267–88.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
McKenzie, David, and Rapoport, Hillel. 2007. Network Effects and the Dynamics of Migration and Inequality: Theory and Evidence from Mexico. Journal of Development Economics 84, 1: 1–24.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Merino, José. 2005. Transition to Democracy Under a Clientelistic Autocracy: Remittances in the Making of Independent Citizens in Mexico. Paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the American Political Science Association, September 1–4.Google Scholar
Mohapatra, Sanket, Joseph, George, and Ratha, Dilip. 2012. Remittances and Natural Disasters: Ex-post Response and Contribution to Ex-ante Preparedness. Policy Research Working Paper WPS 4972. Washington, DC: World Bank.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Morgan, Jana, Hartlyn, Jonathan, and Espinal, Rosario. 2011. Dominican Party System Continuity amid Regional Transformations: Economic Policy, Clientelism, and Migration Flows. Latin American Politics and Society 53, 1: 1–32.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Nichter, Simeon. 2008. Vote Buying or Turnout Buying? Machine Politics and the Secret Ballot. American Political Science Review 102, 1: 19–31.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Nichter, Simeon. 2014. Conceptualizing Vote Buying. Electoral Studies 35: 315–27.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Nichter, Simeon, and Palmer-Rubin, Brian. 2014. Clientelism, Declared Support, and Mexico’s 2012 Campaign. In Mexico’s Evolving Democracy: A Comparative Study of the 2012 Elections, ed. Domínguez, Jorge, Greene, Kenneth, Lawson, Chappell, and Moreno, Alejandro. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. 200–226.Google Scholar
Olmos, Antonio, and Govindasamy, Priyalatha. 2015. A Practical Guide for Using Propensity Score Weighting in R. Practical Assessment, Research and Evaluation 20, 13: 1–8.Google Scholar
Pérez-Armendáriz, Clarisa. 2009. Do Migrants Remit Democratic Beliefs and Behaviors? A Theory of Migrant-Led International Diffusion. Ph.D. diss., University of Texas, Austin.Google Scholar
Pérez-Armendáriz, Clarisa. 2014. Cross-Border Discussions and Political Behavior in Migrant-sending Countries. Studies in Comparative International Development 49, 1: 67–88.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Pérez-Armendáriz, Clarisa, and Crow, David. 2010. Do Migrants Remit Democracy? International Migration, Political Beliefs, and Behavior in Mexico. Comparative Political Studies 43, 1: 119–48.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Pfutze, Tobias. 2012. Does Migration Promote Democratization? Evidence from the Mexican Transition. Journal of Comparative Economics 40, 2: 159–75.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Pfutze, Tobias. 2014. Clientelism vs. Social Learning: The Electoral Effects of International Migration. International Studies Quarterly 58, 2: 295–307.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Schaffer, Joby, and Baker, Andy. 2015. Clientelism as Persuasion-Buying: Evidence from Latin America. Comparative Political Studies 48, 9: 1093–126.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Shirk, David A. 2009. Choosing Mexico’s 2006 Presidential Candidates. In Domínguez et al. 2009. 129–51.Google Scholar
Stokes, Susan. 2005. Perverse Accountability: A Formal Model of Machine Politics with Evidence from Argentina. American Political Science Review 99, 3: 315–25.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Stokes, Susan C., Dunning, Thad, Nazareno, Marcelo, and Brusco, Valeria. 2013. Brokers, Voters, and Clientelism: The Puzzle of Distributive Politics. New York: Cambridge University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Su, Yu-Sung. 2009. Remittances and Political Liberalization. Ph.D. diss., City University of New York.Google Scholar
Szwarcberg, Mariela. 2012a. Uncertainty, Political Clientelism, and Voter Turnout in Latin America. Comparative Politics 45, 1: 88–106.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Szwarcberg, Mariela. 2012b. Revisiting Clientelism: A Network Analysis f Problem-solving Networks in Argentina. Social Networks 34, 2: 230–40.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Szwarcberg, Mariela. 2013a. The Microfoundations of Political Clientelism: Lessons from the Argentine Case. Latin American Research Review 48, 2: 32–54.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Szwarcberg, Mariela. 2013b. Building a Following: Local Candidates’ Political Careers and Clientelism in Argentine Municipalities. Latin American Politics and Society 55, 3: 1–18.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Waddell, Benjamin J. 2015. Old Habits Die Hard: Political Patronage and Remittance-led Development in Guanajuato, Mexico. Latin American Research Review 50, 1: 5–28.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Woodruff, Christopher, and Zenteno, Rene. 2007. Migrant Networks and Micro-enterprises in Mexico. Journal of Development Economics 82, 2: 509–28.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
World Bank. 2011. Migration and Remittances Data: Bilateral Remittances Matrix 201. http://www.worldbank.org/en/topic/migrationremittancesdiasporaissues/brief/migration-remittances-dataGoogle Scholar
World Bank. 2014. Global Bilateral Migration Database. http://data.worldbank.org/data-catalog/global-bilateral-migration-databaseGoogle Scholar
World Bank. 2016. Migration and Remittances Factbook 2016. 3rd ed. Washington, DC: World Bank. doi: 10.1596/978-1-4648-0319-2.Google Scholar