Independent candidates: risks and opportunities

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

Abstract

The constitutional reform in 2012 and the subsequent reform to the secondary laws in 2014, opened the Mexican electoral system to independent candidates. These shook the Mexican political class in 2015, when they won 1 state governor; 1 federal deputy; 1 state deputy; and 3 mayors. According to a survey in electoral preferences in Nuevo León (the state that now is governed by an independent governor) in the eve of the elections, the vote in favor of the independent candidate was mainly in protest against the traditional political parties. Lawmakers argued that independent candidates would reinforce the consolidation of Mexico’s party system, but history, the survey and the polarization of Mexican society presage that there can be many more negative impacts against the emerging Mexican democracy.

Author

• Jesus Cantu, Tecnologico de Monterrey