Mexico worsens in two international rankings.

BY LATINVEX STAFF

Two new rankings show Latin America and the Caribbean declining when it comes to democracy and political freedom.

According to the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU), the score for Latin America and the Caribbean fell by 0.07, the ninth consecutive year of democratic backsliding in the region.

Meanwhile, a Latinvex analysis of the total Latin America score from a new index from Freedom House also showed a decline.

Although the decline in the average EIU index score for Latin America and the Caribbean in 2024 was less precipitous than in recent years, the health of democracy in the region is in a parlous state, it says.

Only five of the 24 countries covered by the index improved their scores, 17 suffered reversals — including Mexico — and two stagnated.

Meanwhile of 19 Latin American countries in the new index from Freedom House, only two – Peru and Guatemala – improved their scores, while six countries – including Mexico — suffered declines.

“The decline in the quality of democracy in the region is the result of both long-standing and novel social and political challenges,” EIU says. “The region’s income distribution is the most unequal in the world, and anaemic economic growth in recent years has led to public frustration with the political establishment and has fueled political polarization. Latin America and the Caribbean is the most violent region in the world. According to the IMF, the region accounts for a third of global homicides and its homicide rate is three times the global average.”

MEXICO

Mexico worsened its scores on both the new EIU and Freedom House rankings.

The institutional underpinnings of democracy in the country were weakened by former president Andres Manuel López Obrador, who ruled for six years until October 2024.

“Under his watch, Mexico was also reclassified as a hybrid regime, having previously been a flawed democracy,” EIU point out. “The former president’s attacks on the media, efforts to subvert independent electoral, judicial and watchdog institutions and, most worryingly, his enabling of a greater role for the armed forces all weighed on Mexico’s score.”

Freedom House points to the constitutional reform last year that replaced judicial appointments with direct elections, reduced the number and tenure of Supreme Court judges, and replaced the Federal Judiciary Council with a new administrative body that will oversee disciplinary matters. The five members of the new Judicial Disciplinary Tribunal will be elected by popular vote, and they will have broad powers to investigate, dismiss, or impeach judges, including those on the Supreme Court. The decisions of the tribunal will be final and not subject to appeal.

“Legal scholars have argued that the popular election of members of the disciplinary tribunal, from a list of candidates approved by the executive and legislative branches, could compromise the independence of judges by subjecting them to partisan oversight and thus make it more difficult for judges to render decisions against the government,” Freedom House says. “The reform was opposed by tens of thousands of Mexico’s legal professionals as well as the United Nations’ special rapporteur on the independence of judges and lawyers.”

EL SALVADOR

One of the most worrying developments is increased popular support for rule by strongmen despite their disregard for democratic norms and institutions, EIU says.

“Support for politicians such as Nayib Bukele in El Salvador, who won re-election by a landslide in 2024, shows that voters are prepared to trade democratic standards for security,” it points out. “The region’s traditionally weak political culture, the index category for which it has the worst score of any region (3.91), suggests that the experience of El Salvador could be repeated in other countries whose functioning of government has been in steep decline in recent years.”

Freedom House also points to violence and crime as a factor weakening democracy and the rights of citizens.

“Across Latin America and the Caribbean, criminal organizations perpetuated devastating violence while protecting their stakes in the illegal drug trade and other rackets,” it points out. “In Haiti, for example, heavily armed gangs contributed to the collapse of the country’s state institutions. In Ecuador and Mexico, criminal groups attacked politicians and disrupted democratic processes. Leaders in some countries, including El Salvador and Honduras, adopted repressive measures in response to gang-related violence, further damaging the rights of civilians.”

BEST & WORST

The EIU divides countries into four categories: Full democracy, flawed democracy, hybrid regime and authoritarian.

Only two Latin American countries — Uruguay and Costa Rica — were included in EIU’s full democracy category.

Six countries were defined as flawed democracies (listed in order of best to worst): Chile, Panama, Dominican Republic, Argentina, Brazil and Colombia.

Eight countries were defined as hybrid regimes (listed in order of best to worst): Paraguay, Peru, Mexico, Ecuador, Honduras, El Salvador, Guatemala and Bolivia.

EIU defined Cuba, Venezuela and Nicaragua as authoritarian.

Meanwhile, Freedom House divided countries into three categories: Free, Partly Free and Not Free.

Seven countries were listed as Free (in order of best to worst): Uruguay, Chile, Costa Rica, Argentina, Panama, Brazil and Colombia.

Nine countries were listed as Partly Free (in order of best to worst): Dominican Republic, Peru, Ecuador, Bolivia, Paraguay, Mexico, Honduras, Guatemala and El Salvador.

And Nicaragua, Venezuela and Cuba were listed as Not Free, in that order.

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