Little by little: the executive and legislative branches are still learning to coexist. (Politics).

Congress' second ordinary period of sessions is now over. For some, it was a productive period, but not for others. Important initiatives were approved, such as the Law on Transparency and Access to Government Information and the Law on Science and Technology. But other laws, such as those pertaining to energy sector reforms, state reforms and further tax reforms have yet to be resolved.

Still, it has hardly been a case of legislative paralysis, and the animosity between the executive and legislative has not affected the administration's capacity to govern. Even so, in recent months there has been growing disappointment among certain social sectors regarding the performance of these two branches.

Indeed, with a legislatively weak executive branch, and a legislature that lacks both the tools and the incentives to pass laws, mutual attempts at cooperation and consensus-building have mostly failed. This, in turn, has been further exacerbated by the electoral times, the political wrangling within and between the main parties, and the learning process being undergone by the political group in power.

CONGRESSIONAL CLANS

From this outlook, one can immediately conclude that in Mexico, congressional factions do matter. In the cases of the diplomatic crisis with Cuba and of the proposed reforms to the energy sector, it was evident that the different factions in Congress acted relatively independently of their party leaderships, most notably, senators from the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI) and the National Action Party (PAN). Indeed, the scarce participation of the new party leaderships was notable. As a result, there has been confusion among the administration's interlocutors regarding who to negotiate with--congressional factions or party leaders?

After this session, one can also conclude that democracy has been slow to bring about change. A case in point is how the legislative and judicial branches blocked the administration's proposed reforms to the electricity sector. Subsequently, one of the cornerstones of President Vicente Fox's agenda was shot down by traditional sectors within the PRI, who are still extremely influential in Congress.

At the end of the period, Fox gathered with the legislative factions of both Congress and the Senate with the aim of working together on p ending congressional reforms, namely electricity and state reforms. In this sense, both parties demonstrated willingness to negotiate, touting political dialogue as the best mechanism for reaching the common goal. They also tentatively agreed that July would be the month to call for an extraordinary session period in Congress to discuss pending reforms.

KEY TO CHANGE

One of the reasons behind the executive's failure to reach agreements with Congress is the dominance of the most radical elements within each congressional faction. For example, in the Senate we find Manuel Bartlett and Enrique Jackson for the PRI and Diego Fernandez de Cevallos for the PAN, while in Congress is the PRI's Beatriz Paredes and Marti Bartres of the Democratic Revolutionary Party (PRD).

The ongoing bickering between Fox and the PAN has thus far prevented the latter's decisive support for the administration. On another front, the ongoing investigation and arrest of those involved in the Petroleos Mexicanos (Pemex) corruption and embezzlement scandal, where the ex-director of Pemex and priista Rogelio Montemayor is implicated, is further disrupting Fox's relations with the PRI.

Behind this scenario, there is the ever-growing perception that both the new administration and Congress have missed a historic opportunity to bring about visible change while consolidating the nation's burgeoning democracy. While the executive branch hopes that better economic tidings will wipe the dust off campaign promises, the legislature seeks the executive's failure, hoping to reap the benefits of this in the mid-term elections.

And so, Mexico's process of change calls for a good dosage of democratic pragmatism from its main players--the indispensable requirement so that change can consolidate democratically.

Joel Estudillo Rendon is a member of the board of the Mexican Institute for Political Studies.