When AMLO needs something done, he turns to his generals. But his reliance on Mexico’s military brass comes at a cost: The military has a larger role governing the country than at any time in the past eighty years. Come June, a new president will have to grapple with a vastly empowered armed forces. In the Journal of Democracy’s newest online exclusive, Will Freeman explores how Mexico’s growing dependency on its generals is creating new risks for its democracy.
Mexican democracy has faced challenges before: leaders with authoritarian tendencies, drug cartels, rampant corruption. The following Journal of Democracy essays uncover and analyze the democratic and antidemocratic forces at work within Mexico’s institutions.
Can Mexico’s Next President Control the Military?
The country’s military brass has a larger role governing Mexico than at any time in the past eighty years. It’s creating a dangerous dependency that won’t be easy to break. Can the generals be reined in?
Will FreemanHow Latin America’s Judges Are Defending Democracy
Can a strong, independent supreme court serve as a guarantor of democracy? In Brazil, Colombia, and Mexico, judges are showing a surprising resolve in fending off their countries’ antidemocratic forces.
Diego A. Zambrano, Ludmilla Martins da Silva, Rolando Garcia Miron, and Santiago P. RodriguezIs Mexico Falling into the Authoritarian Trap?
A weakened mandate from voters and perennial state dysfunction are putting Mexico’s populist president in a bind. Will he further damage democracy to fulfill his promises for change?
Mariano Sánchez-Talanquer and Kenneth F. GreeneLatin America’s Shifting Politics: Mexico’s Party System Under Stress
AMLO’s sweeping victory in Mexico’s 2018 elections could point to a long-term dealignment of the country’s party system, but it is more likely that a less radical process of partisan recomposition will take place.
Kenneth F. Greene and Mariano Sánchez-TalanquerThe Criminal Subversion of Mexican Democracy
In recent years, Mexico has stumbled into an encounter with collective violence, this time in the form of the “drug war.” Among its many harms is the damage it is doing to Mexican democracy.
Andreas Schedler
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