Politics: The current state of democracy in Mexico
There is rising concern in Mexico that the country’s democracy is in danger. The current debate was sparked by a magazine article and interview granted by Ernesto Zedillo in which the former president declared that Mexican democracy is dead and that the country is moving toward an authoritarian and tyrannical regime.
The issue has been concretely brought to the forefront as a result of several specific issues that bring together such concerns. These include the Telecommunications and Broadcasting bill, which critics insist (although President Claudia Sheinbaum hotly denies) opens the door to government censorship of the media; the Judicial Reform, which opponents charge limit the scope of and independence and autonomy of the courts; the increased role of the military, especially in exercising public security functions; the decision to eliminate autonomous government agencies in key fields such as anti-monopoly regulations, telecommunications, and energy; as well as in transparency and access to public information, increased official control over the electoral process and the use of Morena’s questionably obtained 2/3 qualified majority to push through its agenda.
The list of the transgressions that seriously limit democracy and the rule of law, in addition to undermining key democratic values and institutions, is indeed long and spans different fields of governmental activity. What they all have in common is that they result in a dangerously increased concentration of power in the hands of the President; a weakening of the separation of powers and checks and balances, as well as the rule of law; and that they were not the product of consensus agreements but of the ruling party’s decision to adopt such far-reaching reforms without taking other actors into account. The conclusion reached by critics of the government’s new measures and policies is that the legislative and the judicial branches have effectively lost or are in the process of losing their independence.
The panorama is further complicated by the difficult position of the opposition parties, which are in no condition to mount an effective challenge to moves toward authoritarianism. These already weakened parties are racked by internal divisions and face a major crisis of legitimacy in civil society.
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