Chamber:
	Cámara de Diputados
Dates of elections / renewal (from/to):
	6 July 2003
Purpose of elections:
	Elections were held for all the seats in the Chamber of Deputies on the normal expiry of the members' term of office.
Background and outcome of elections:
	Elections for all 500 seats in the lower house, the Chamber of Deputies, together with those for governorships in six of the country's 31 states were held on 6 July 2003. Opinion polls showed that whilst President Fox's approval ratings remained high, many voters across the country were disillusioned by his failure to fulfil the promises to create millions of jobs that he had made when he was elected in July 2000. Voters were also reported to be disappointed by his government's inability to push his main reform proposals through a divided Congress, where the opposition Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI) the largest party in both Houses, had stymied the President's proposals for changing Mexico at almost every turn. Mr. Fox's party, the second largest in the Chamber since July 2000 with 206 seats, was unable to pass bills such as opening the electricity industry to more private investment and levying a tax on food and medicine to raise spending on social services. President Fox and his aides acknowledged the lack of new jobs but argued that they had done all they could. The President's National Action Party (PAN) campaigned with the slogan, "Get off the brakes of change!", which was understood by the analysts to be a message aimed less at the voters than at the politicians of the PRI. The PRI had held uninterrupted power in Mexico for 71 years, until Mr. Fox won the presidency in 2000. Both Mr. Fox and PRI leader Mr. Robert Madrazo pledged to seek "consensus" following the election, after two years of political deadlock in the Congress. In the run-up to the election, Fox travelled all over the country announcing new joint private-public investment projects to spur growth, while his top aides met with some U.S. officials to announce a number of programmes to encourage U.S. investment in Mexico's most job-poor areas. Other major campaign issues revolved around election financing scandals experienced by both major parties. For the 2003 elections, a record abstention rate was registered, with only some 42 per cent of the 64 million eligible voters casting votes, which was seen as a clear sign of voters' disenchantment with the biggest political parties. According to official figures from the Federal Electoral Institute (IFE), the PRI garnered 34.4 per cent of the vote, while President Vicente Fox's National Action Party (PAN) suffered a major set-back with 30.5 per cent, and the left-wing Democratic Revolution Party (PRD) obtained 17.1 per cent. The figures also showed that the PRI had kept its relative majority in the Chamber of Deputies, extending its seats from 207 to 227. The PAN's share of seats dropped from 202 in 2000 to 158; whereas the PRD increased its seats from 51 to 100. On 29 August 2003, Mr. Juan de Dios Castro Lozano (PAN) was elected as the new Speaker of the Chamber of Deputies.

STATISTICS

Round no 1 (6 July 2003): Elections results
Number of registered electors	64 710 596
Voters	26 968 371 (42 %)
Blank or invalid ballot papers	905 955
Valid votes	26 062 416

Round no 1: Distribution of votes
Political Group	Votes	%
Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI)	6 258 270	23.21
National Action Party (PAN)	8 303 417	31.86
Democratic Revolutionary Party (PRD)	4 747 376	18.22
Green Party	1 081 750	4.15
Labour Party	645 045	2.48
Other parties	n.a	n.a

Round no 1: Distribution of seats
Political Group	Total
Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI)	222
National Action Party (PAN)	151
Democratic Revolutionary Party (PRD)	95
Green Party	17
Labour Party	6
Other parties	9

Distribution of seats according to sex:
Men:	387
Women:	113
Percent of women:	22.60