Explaining Political Factionalism in a Poor Southern Mexican State

Abstract

The previous chapter examined four case studies to identify the actors, means, and motivations that interact to produce APF in Oaxaca. Building on that analysis, the present chapter provides an overall explanation of these phenomena. This chapter includes an analysis of data on conflicts to identify the main motivations of groups causing political factionalism in Oaxaca. The data analysis is complemented with information from interviews with diverse actors involved in APF-related activities as well as with government authorities and experts on the topic. The evidence presented here confirms the greater relevance of institutional forces as explanations of APF. It also shows a strong correlation between the key explanatory variables examined in this book.