Federico Reyes Heroles
Formally speaking, with the disappearance of an independent and professional judiciary, the de facto control of electoral bodies, the distortion of the legislative composition, and the violation of due process on numerous occasions, coupled with willful blindness to systematic human rights violations, Mexico ceased to be a democracy. Add to this the control of drug cartels over approximately one-third of the country’s territory. Despite the effectiveness of Omar García Harfuch, there will be no quick recovery in security; it is impossible, even more so if there is no investment in the police, prosecutors, and local judiciary.
Let’s wake up from the delusion: neo-authoritarianism or tyranny, we are already there. See the report in The Economist currently in circulation. The democratic transition of the late 1970s began with political indigestion. But now the reaction is the opposite: unbridled greed is gnawing away at minorities. Why undermine proportional representation? To save money? Let’s not kid ourselves, the National Electoral Institute (Integralia) accounts for only 0.29% of the federal budget for 2025. Compare that to the gross waste.
In the 1970s, coups d’état multiplied, but in the 1980s, Latin America experienced a significant democratic advance: the dictatorships of Argentina, Brazil, Bolivia, Uruguay, Paraguay, and Chile were overthrown. Like waves of potential authoritarianism are always present, while a democratic spirit is always in the process of construction. The coups had undesirable benefits in Mexico. Brilliant minds from the south fled. Clodomiro Almeyda, former foreign minister under Allende; Fernando Henrique Cardoso of Brazil; Don Carlos Quijano of Uruguay; and Gérard Pierre-Charles and Suzy Castor of Haiti were in the classrooms of the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM) and other institutions. Indirectly, we were living under a southern authoritarian regime. Hence my interest in witnessing the Chilean plebiscite in October 1988. However, there was a problem: Mexico had severed relations with Chile. Flying to Santiago was risky; the DINA was lurking. That is why I “swore” in Argentina not to practice my profession. I entered through Mendoza—with my Olivetti Lettera 32 slung over my shoulder—into a country divided in half, taxi drivers, waiters, maids, bartenders: for some, Pinochet was a hero; for others, he was a murderer. The sad memory of the murders, disappearances, and deprivation of liberty prevailed: 3,000 dead; 37,000 tortured; 1,200 disappeared in 15 years. Comparing this to Mexico today is depressing.
First came the Democratic Alliance, and then the Concertación, something exceptional, a great fabric. Seeing Ricardo Lagos, a socialist and future president of Chile, making photocopies, and a stern Patricio Aylwin, who had supported the military Junta, confronting him as the opposition spokesman, was remarkable. Aylwin would be the first elected president; socialists and Christian Democrats, historical enemies, fighting together. The dictatorship officially shut down television stations and other media outlets. Veiled and public threats prevailed, including a military parade. On the day of the plebiscite, the ruling party boasted early on: YES, 17% ahead. Two hours later, the final results arrived: NO, 54.6%; YES, 43.4%. The fierce dictatorship still had support. But reason prevailed, the opposition’s partisan phobias were put on hold, and Chile began to emerge from dictatorship.
There is talk of the Mexican opposition’s failure in 2024, of zero hope, they say. However, the united opposition won 42% of the seats in the Chamber of Deputies, despite the distortion caused by social programs and indirect media control. The current majorities in the Chamber are deceptive. Let us remember Chile, weave carefully, tie up partisan phobias: PAN, plus what remains of the PRI, which is much more than Alito; MC, plus, informally, the territories conquered by SomosMX. Together, they could form a majority to begin the republican rescue. Willibald Sonnleitner, from Colmex, has drawn up the multicolored map that is hidden by the federal districts. Recovering democracy and inheriting a better country is feasible. Imagining that fabric is useful.
Failure? NO. Feasible? YES.
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