PRI, a populist party well organized at every level of Mexican society but very corrupt. It lost favor among the people, and PRI lost power in 2000 to PAN, a more free-market, American-style party. PAN lacked the political skills to keep a lid on the drug problem. The more corrupt government did more to manage the drug trade. Mexico might be a more democratic country now and booming in free trade to some degree, but all of that created more freedom for cartels to expand business. The old mechanisms used to keep cartels under control broke down when PRI was thrown out. There was more competition between drug organizations and hustling to create new alliances with people in government and the police.