President Calderón allies with CSOs
In 2006, the PAN party won the Mexican presidency again after a close and controversial election. The new president, Felipe Calderón, did not have the strong democratic legitimacy of his predecessor, Vincente Fox. This forced the president to expand the democratic changes that would guarantee the governability of the country and, subsequently, his administration.
Although the initial motto of Calderón’s government was “clean hands”, it soon took on a security-oriented meaning when the fight against organized crime and drug trafficking led to the militarization of the country. The change in national objective increased the government’s legitimacy and provided the answer to a genuine rule-of-law problem.
In its aim for legitimacy, the Calderón administration allied itself with civil society organizations. It became a period in which international cooperation from and within Mexico increased significantly, resulting in a greater presence of international organizations and foundations in the country. For example, Mexico’s financial contribution to the United Nations, as well as the presence of UN agencies such as UNDP in the country, expanded Mexican presence during this time.
This period also coincides with the opening of Hewlett’s Mexico office and the expansion of international agency projects in the territory that involved the participation of many civic organizations. It was during this time that the Calderón administration modified the regulatory and institutional framework to promote the participation and financing of civil society organizations. It thus created the Federal Law for the Promotion of Activities Carried out by civil society organizations and the Institute for Social Development.
