Who's Running Things?

That's what Ricardo Raphael asks, adding that the fact that one even dares to wonder is an indication of the decline in the power of the modern presidency. He closes:

Who governs Mexico then? I repeat what I said at the beginning: I don't know. It looks like those who govern are a chaotic group of federal authorities, parties, governors, and special interests, which, until now, haven't been capable of substituting that authoritarian presidential setup with another in which intelligence and democratic cooperation prevail.

That seems right. I'd also add that in even the most developed democracies, intelligence and cooperation often aren't the driving factors. (See also: health care debate, United States.) And whatever its shortcomings, today's system is an unquestionable improvement over the years of Echeverría or Díaz Ordaz.