I. IntroductionThroughout the semester, we have studied the role that political parties play in democracy. Scholars debate that without political parties, countries cannot democratize. It is true, however, that political parties play a leading role in the development of democracy; I will argue that depending on the strength or weakness of the political party in a given region, the more likely it is to spread democracy. In the following essay, I argue that parties can play a role in strengthening but also weakening a democracy depending on their ability to include all of its citizens. By democracy I mean a "modern political democracy which is a system of government in which leaders are held accountable for their actions in the public domain by its citizens, acting indirectly through competition and cooperation of elected representatives . (Schmitter & Karl). By this definition, a democracy is strengthened when control of government policy decisions is constitutionally vested in elected officials; elected officials are chosen in frequent and fair elections, when citizens have the right to vote and can express themselves without They fear reprisals from the state, and citizens have the right to form independent associations, including independent political parties and groups. Political parties are weakened when any or all of these elements are blocked or restricted. To make this argument, I will examine how the PRI and PAN in Mexico illustrate why scholars argue that these political parties helped strengthen democracy by bringing stability to the country and offering programmatic alternatives to the country once dominated by a single party. (Schmitter and Karl). I will also look at what researchers have to say about the role of P...... middle of paper ...... finally cracy? Routledge, 2011. PrintKlesner, Joseph L. “Adios to Pri? Changing Electoral Participation in Mexico’s Political Transition.” Mexican Studies / Estudios Mexicanos. 17.1 (2001): 17-39. Print.Rodriguez, Victoria E, and Peter M. Ward. “Dissociate the PRI from the Mexican government.” Mexican studies/estudios Mexicanos. 10.1 (1994): 163-186. Print.Ross, Ashley and Maria Escobar-Lemmon. “The price of personalizing politics: political distrust and economic performance in Latin America, 1996-2006.” Electoral Studies 30.3 (2011): 406-416. Print.Schmitter, Philippe C., Karl, Terry Lynn. “What democracy is...and what it is not.” Journal of Democracy 2.3 (1991): 75-88. MUSE project. Internet. May 11. 2014. Skidmore, Thomas., Smith, Peter H. and Green. James N. Modern Latin America, 8th edition Oxford University Press, 2014.