Democracy on the Brink: Understanding Mexico's Authoritarian Turn

March 2, 2023

Podcast Deep Dish on Global Affairs Podcast

Is Mexico sliding into authoritarianism?

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About the Episode

Mexico’s President Andrés Manuel López Obrador’s recent moves to undermine the country’s National Electoral Institute have sparked massive pro-democracy protests and stoked fears that the country is backsliding into authoritarianism. On Deep Dish, Denise Dresser, Instituto Tecnológico Autónomo de México, and Guillermo Trejo, Notre Dame and Kellogg Institue, discuss Mexico’s future and why everyone should care that the country’s elites are weakening and dismantling democratic systems.

Reading List

Mexico's Dying Democracy, Denise Dresser, Foreign Affairs, October 21, 2022
Mexico's Illiberal Democratic Trap, Guillermo Trejo, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, February 17, 2021

About the Experts

Denise Dresser

Professor of Political Science, Autonomous Technological Institute of Mexico

Denise Dresser is a Mexican political analyst, columnist, and academic. A professor of political science at the Autonomous Technological Institute of Mexico (ITAM) since 1991, she has authored numerous works on Mexican politics and US-Mexico relations.

Guillermo Trejo

Professor, Political Science, University of Notre Dame

Guillermo Trejo is professor of political science and director of the Violence and Transitional Justice Lab at the University of Notre Dame. Trejo’s research focuses on political and criminal violence, social movements, human rights, and transitional justice in Mexico and Latin America. He is also the co-author of "Votes, Drugs, and Violence: The Political Logic of Criminal Wars in Mexico".

Brian Hanson

Former Vice President, Studies

Brian Hanson served as the vice president of studies at the Chicago Council on Global Affairs. He managed the Council's research operations and hosted the Council's weekly podcast, Deep Dish on Global Affairs.