The proposed research will combine a quantitative and qualitative analysis to examine the politics of education reform in Mexico at the subnational level. I divide the numerous possible policy options into two main categories, those that increase access to education and those that affect quality, and argue that they face very distinct political obstacles. I will test a number of hypotheses regarding institutional and societal variables in order to determine the causes of the implementation and depth of the various reforms. I will accomplish this in the context of a quantitative analysis of the 32 federal units in Mexico combined with an in-depth qualitative case comparison of three Mexican states: Guanajuato, Michoacan, and Puebla.