[2] The creation of the CNOP in Guadalajara, Jalisco in February 1943 responded to the increasing middle class in Mexico in the early 20th century and the need to adequately represent them within the corporatist structure of the PRI, then known as the Party of the Mexican Revolution (PRM).

[3]: 178  Moreover, its primary function in the PRM/PRI system was to simultaneously create a mediated venue for political participation while securing middle-class support for PRI policies and creating a farm system for new politicians, loyal to the president, outside of the CTM and CNC;[3]: 179  this was particularly important during a time when Ávila Camacho needed "a loyal creature of the executive" and an institution to balance the CTM and CNC, both roles the CNOP filled.

[4]: 70  The "backbone" of the CNOP was the Federation of Unions of Workers in State Service (FSTSE), a holdover from the government of Lázaro Cárdenas; this organization connected the CNOP and the federal government, and given the dominance of bureaucrats in the former, it held considerable sway.

[3]: 185  It also allowed the government to exercise political muscle against the CTM and CNC, particularly in the demands for higher wages that followed the 1948 devaluation of the Mexican peso.

[3]: 187  As its relative influence in the PRI structure grew, so too did the proportion of federal legislators that were members; the middle class represented 43% of deputies in 1943 and 55% in 1967.