From Federalism to Electoral Nationalism

The political and electoral reform of 2013-2014 generated a debate between a federal or centralized electoral model in Mexico. The dispute between extending the Federal Electoral Institute’s power, or creating a new centralized paradigm for the management of the elections, resulted into a hybrid model with concurrent powers between the National Electoral Institute (INE, for its acronym in Spanish) and Electoral Local Public Organisms (OPLES, for its acronym in Spanish), where state sovereignty and the autonomy of local authorities is diminished. The purpose of this study is to identify the areas of competence of each one and distinguish the interference of the federal electoral area in the state and national level.