Corporatism is a governmental structure that was developed by the Sonoran president, Calles and perfected by Cardenas. This structure of government was designed to improve representation of all economic interest groups within Mexican society. These groups included the peasants, the workers, the hacienda owners, the industrialists, the Church, the military, and professionals. Each group would be represented within the executive branch by a leader who would give direct input to the president. The president would then mediate among the different interest groups before arriving at a policy decision. Corporatism also features a very strong executive.
Corporatism ideally gives groups a voice in government that they previously did not have. At the same time it may reduce the power of groups that had been overly represented. In addition, corporatism reduced the power of the caudillos. A caudillo is a leader that ruled a region within Mexico due to their support among troops that had pledged allegiance to him as opposed to the nation as a whole.
