pri

PRI is an acronym that can refer to multiple topics. The two most common uses are the Institutional Revolutionary Party of Mexico and the Primary Rate Interface in telecommunications. Both are widely encountered in different contexts, so clarity about the intended meaning is often required.

The Institutional Revolutionary Party (Partido Revolucionario Institucional, PRI) is a major Mexican political party with a long history in national government. It traces its origins to 1929 as the National Revolutionary Party (PNR), later changing to the Party of the Mexican Revolution (PRM) and finally adopting the name PRI in 1946. For much of the 20th century the PRI dominated Mexican politics through a broad, corporatist political system and extensive clientelism, governing under a one-party-like framework even as other parties existed. The party lost the presidency for the first time in 2000, ending seven decades of continuous control, and regained the presidency in 2012 with Enrique Peña Nieto. In recent years the PRI has functioned as part of broader coalitions and as a smaller but influential force in Mexican politics, adapting its strategy to changing electoral dynamics. Ideologically described as pragmatic and centrist with rooted strength in organizational reach and state-led interests, the PRI remains a central actor in Mexican political life and in regional party networks.

The Primary Rate Interface (PRI) is a telecommunications term for an ISDN interface that carries multiple digital channels on a single line. In North America (T1) it provides 23 B channels for voice or data plus 1 D channel for signaling, totaling 1.536 Mbps. In much of Europe and other regions (E1), PRI uses 30 B channels plus 2 D channels, totaling 2.048 Mbps. The B channels are used for payload, while the D channel handles signaling (such as call setup). PRI has been commonly used to connect PBXs or dispatch systems to the public switched telephone network but is increasingly supplanted by VoIP and SIP trunking.