Processes of de-democratization in Mexico: Why has democracy lost supporters?

• In Event: Democracy’s Legitimacy at Risk: Critical Perspectives from Mexico

Abstract

During the early Twenty First Century, Mexico had gone from a process of liberalization into one of free elections and democratic institutional arrangements, with ampler support from citizens around the country than in previous years. However, in the Freedom house index Mexico went from a “free” country in 2002 to a partly free country in 2016. There are several trends that signal a process of de-democratization along with increasing disaffection and lack of support to democracy. In this paper, we will analyze databases from the Latinobarómetro and the National Study in Political Culture, to find the sources of disaffection and the changing perspectives for democracy, in order to assess its impact in the way in which citizens interiorize democratic values and practices.

Author

• Angel Gustavo Lopez-Montiel, Tecnologico de Monterrey