Mexico Archive

When the Ibero-American Summit convened in Panama on Oct. 16, it bore little resemblance in spirit and tenor to its launch in 1991. The idea that initially animated the annual gathering of Spain and Portugal’s heads of state and their Latin American counterparts emphasized the renewal of historical, cultural bonds in a context in which the two relatively prosperous European nations could lend a hand to help lift up their former colonies. Spain in particular was held up as a model for its post-Franco democratic restoration and would serve as Latin America’s entry point into European markets. Judging by the […]

On the surface, the troubles Mexico is facing seem to resemble the devastating challenges that its South American neighbor Colombia suffered not many years ago. It is not surprising, then, that Mexico looked to Colombia’s impressive victories against drug cartels a decade ago and the subsequent economic and social improvements as a model worth emulating. And yet, Mexico has shown few signs of achieving comparable results. A closer look at the differences between the countries’ security problems and their strategy, tactics and execution offers useful glimpses into the demands of governance and the deep roots of the two countries’ security […]

Late last month, Mexico’s opposition insisted on electoral reforms before it would support the ruling party’s efforts at energy reform. In an email interview, John Ackerman, a professor at the Institute of Legal Research of the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM), explained the need for and obstacles to electoral reform in Mexico. WPR: What did the conduct of Mexico’s most recent elections indicate about the need for the electoral reform? John Ackerman: The last two presidential elections, in 2006 and 2012, demonstrated that Mexico is far from establishing a trustworthy institutional democracy. During both elections, there were widespread accusations […]