Flickr / Milton Martínez / Secretaría de Cultura de la Ciudad de México / CC BY 2.0
Tamara Taraciuk Broner, director of the Rule of Law Program at the Dialogue, spoke to Viewpoints Radio about this year’s presidential elections in Mexico and what’s at stake for democracy within the country and the region.
“What López Obrador has done in the context of his presidency is to push for a series of measures that have undermined independent institutions [such as INAI, the judiciary, and the National Electoral Institute]. [He has promoted] the harassment of political opponents, independent media, and civil society. Also, there has been an escalating militarization of the country [beyond] public security, [with control extending to large parts] of the economy and government."
“This creates a context in which it is going to be hard for these elections to take place on a completely fair playing field […] The state is actively supporting the ruling party candidate, Claudia Sheinbaum, AMLO’s political heir. Sheinbaum will benefit from governmental resources and media access, in a context where there is no electoral institution strong enough to actually level that playing field.”
“It is very likely that Mexico is going to have its first woman president, but there is still uncertainty about the future of women’s rights because neither candidate has championed the cause in their past governmental and non-governmental experiences.”
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