Democracy and Populism: The Dismantling of Democratic Architecture in Mexico 2019-2023

Abstract

For just over three decades, Mexico had been building an institutional framework that supported an emerging democracy, despite the natural ups and downs of such a process. However, starting with the electoral process of 2018, as in many countries around the world, democracy has suffered regressions towards authoritarian and populist models that threaten to destroy the institutional framework that supports democratization in the world and in Mexico. This study aims to analyze the process of erosion of the democratic architecture in Mexico during the period 2019-2023, emphasizing the role of populism and the centralization of power in this phenomenon. The theoretical framework of democracy and international democratic regression, as well as Mexico's democratic transition and the underlying causes of these transformations, are analyzed. Using a mixed qualitative and quantitative methodology, based on the analysis of texts and a review of empirical data and case studies that demonstrate a trend of power centralization by the government, the recent degradation of the democratic system in Mexico is exposed. It was found that, in the studied period, there was a significant concentration of power in the executive and an erosion of democratic counterbalances in Mexico, characterized by the decrease in judicial and legislative independence and the increase in populist practices that undermined political plurality and citizen participation. It is concluded that these changes mark a worrying transformation towards a more authoritarian model, affecting transparency, accountability, and human rights in the country. Finally, some considerations are pointed out to reduce the risks of democratic regression.