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Content: At the same
        time, the church became increasingly outspoken in its criticism of
        government corruption. The Mexican bishops' Global Pastoral Plan for
        1980-1982, for example, contained a highly critical assessment of the
        Mexican political system. According to the Roman Catholic hierarchy,
        democracy existed only in theory in Mexico. The ruling PRI monopolized
        power, producing apathy and frustration among citizens and judicial
        corruption. The principal worker and peasant unions were subject to
        political control. Peasants and Indians constituted an exploited,
        marginalized mass barely living at a subsistence level and subject to
        continual repression. During the mid-1980s, the bishops of Chihuahua and
        Ciudad Juárez assumed prominent roles in denouncing electoral fraud in
        northern Mexico. In the south, the bishops of San Cristóbal de las
        Casas and Tehuantepec frequently accused the government of human rights
        violations. The Roman Catholic Church hierarchy has emphasized that its renewed
        interest in political affairs does not equate with church involvement in
        party activities. According to the Mexican episcopate, priests should be
        above all political parties and may not become political leaders.