World Savvy Monitor

As discussed in the Democracy Around the World edition of the Monitor, democracy is about more than holding elections.  It is fundamentally about the rule of law, applied equally to all citizens.  Several features of Mexican democracy interfere with the rule of law.

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• A Compromised Social Contract between the Government and the Governed
• Lack of Institutions
• Corruption
• Lack of a Completely Free Press
• The Influence of Non-State Actors
• Human Rights Abuses
• Difficulty of Reform
• Manipulation of Populism and Marginalization of Populations

A Compromised Social Contract Between the Government and the Governed

The relationship between governments and their governed people is said to be outlined by a social contract – the most basic assumptions about what government is supposed to do for its people.  Much has been written about the flawed social contract between Mexico’s leaders and the people who elect them and are ruled by them.

• A cycle is at work:  the government underperforms in promoting economic growth, maintaining public safety, and providing basic infrastructure; the people’s expectations are lowered accordingly; the government’s targets are then lowered, and the cycle repeats.  

• People go outside the formal system to get their needs met.  

• Those institutions whose function it is to hold the government accountable – an active, investigative press and tenacious watchdog and advocacy groups – are rare.  

• Special interest groups find allies in poorly paid government officials; bribery becomes part of the political culture.  

Lack of Institutions

Mexican politics has long been dominated by personalities rather than bureaucracies and agencies responsible for civil rights.  This lack of institutions has its roots in the post-Revolution authoritarianism of the PRI.  Even though there are more national political parties today, there are few mechanisms to allow them to cooperate and build consensus around policymaking.  A Transparencia Mexicana survey has revealed that police and justice systems “are perceived as having worse problems of corruption and inefficiency than other public agencies.”  Interestingly, an institution that ranks highly in public opinion polls for its effectiveness is the military, suggesting little faith in civilian government to protect public safety.

Corruption

In the absence of adequate government institutions, corruption flourishes as personal connections often matter more than laws.  

• Freedom House reports that, according to 2007 Latinobarometer polling, 33% of Mexican respondents reported that they had been or had a relative who had been party to a corrupt act.   (This is an improvement over the average score for 2002-2005, which was 54%).  

• Of 22 indicators measured by Global Integrity, 15 are considered weak or very weak.  Among the weakest are: media; judicial, legislative and executive accountability; whistle-blowing measures; civil service regulations; taxes and customs; anti-corruption agency; rule of law; and law enforcement. 

One side of a corrupt system is the powerful interests willing to pay for special treatment; the other is a government highly vulnerable to corrupt influences.  In fact, government structures set up by party members are often designed with corruption in mind.  Consider this assessment of the way the PRI greased the skids of corruption, taken from the book Opening Mexico, by former New York Times Mexico Bureau Chiefs Julia Preston and Samuel Dillon:

A job with (the government) was primarily a platform upon which employees could construct money-making enterprises.  Wages were kept brutally low; a clerk or secretary made the equivalent of $450 a month, a policeman about $700.  As a result, most workers, even honest ones, were forced to supplement their salaries with informal tips, outright bribes, and other schemes.  These arrangements, in turn, were the foundation of the power of the PRI’s unions and corporatist organizations.  They managed the distribution of jobs, reserving those that offered the best profit opportunities for PRI allies.

Lack of a Completely Free Press 

Mexico lacks a highly developed, vibrant, and competitive culture of investigative journalism.  

• This is largely due to restrictive laws, pressure placed on whistle-blowers, and lack of diverse news outlets.  

• Mexico is considered by some to be the second most dangerous place for journalists, after Iraq.  

• Journalists often self-censor to avoid retaliation by government and private subjects of their stories.

• Those that do go after the important stories are often stymied by powerful monopolies that control the air waves.  Their stories simply do not get out to the public.

The Influence of Non-State Actors

Mexico is a big country of diverse areas, with underdeveloped infrastructure connecting them.  Leaders in Mexico City often have difficulty projecting their power beyond the capital.  A variety of non-state actors fill this vacuum and wield enormous power.  Local governments are often ruled as personal fiefdoms of local officials, large landowners, or organized crime. 

Human Rights Abuses

Whether it is dealing with political opposition, investigative reporters, drug cartels, or Zapatista rebels, the Mexican government has a spotty human rights record.  Of particular infamy is the case of over 300 women who “disappeared” in Ciudad Juarez in the 1990s.  Allegations of arbitrary imprisonment, torture, and even murder are routinely made by international watch dog groups.  Calderon’s recent military crack-down in cartel-infiltrated cities during the current drug war have raised fears that innocent civilians will be caught up in the conflict.

Difficulty of Reform

Mexico has not had much success with incremental reforms, the mainstay of advanced democracies.  Rather, transitions of power and efforts to improve the system have been marked by violence, intrigue, and dramatic swings between liberal and conservative factions.  

• What is missing, or what there seems to be little appetite or mechanisms for, are ways of building consensus for small step reforms that cumulatively enhance the quality of governance.  Land reform, tax reform, and electoral reform are all highly contentious; there are few avenues and little incentive for politicians to make difficult compromises for the public good.  Even defining the public good is difficult.  

• Besides the pervasive influence of entrenched special interests, there is little continuity in government.  Neither the President nor Congressional leaders can serve second terms, diminishing the talent and the relationships that might otherwise be brought to bear for reform.

Manipulations of Populism and Marginalization of Populations

Mexican history is rife with examples of politicians manipulating populist sentiment to distract from the government’s failings.  This includes exploiting class, urban/rural, indigenous, and anti-American sentiment through inflammatory rhetoric and empty political promises.  

For Marginalization of Indigenous and Rural Populations, see Inside Mexico: Rural Life in this edition of the Monitor.

Next:  Inside Mexico:  Government:
International Assessments of Mexico's Quality of Governance