Democracy Tested

Pew Research Center published a study that measures the functioning of democracy. The study considers 30,133 participants in 27 countries, including Mexico, between May and August 2018.

Globally, 51 percent of the respondents are dissatisfied with democracy, compared to the 45 percent who are happy with it. Among the best-evaluated nations are Sweden, The Netherlands, South Korea, and Australia while in Spain, Greece, Japan, South Africa, Brazil, and Mexico, most are unhappy. Our USMCA trading partners contrast: (Canada 61% satisfied) and the United States (58% dissatisfied).

While the principles of liberal democracy remain popular, in practice, commitment to democracy has weakened. The reasons behind such detachment are not new, but there are interesting nuances:

1. The economy. There is a clear correlation between a country’s economic performance and democratic satisfaction. A bad economy, or the lack of perceptible improvements on it, results in frustration with the government. It is interesting that the level of personal income is not a relevant factor while life quality and opportunities are.

2. Human rights. This is an important indicator in the evaluation, and two findings stand out. Dissatisfaction with democracy is higher where the government does not guarantee freedom of expression and where the justice system does not treat citizens equally.

3. The political elite. Dissatisfaction with democracy is greater among those who think that politicians do not care about citizens’ opinions. Naturally, perceiving them as corrupt accentuates such effect.

4. In Europe, three additional factors weigh on the evaluation. Those who have an unfavorable opinion of the European Union and migration are more dissatisfied with democracy. More interestingly, those who sympathize with populist parties are dissatisfied with liberal democracy.

5. In the Mexican case, democratic dissatisfaction reached 85 percent, but it dropped eight points compared to the 2017 index. This is relevant because only three countries showed improvement since the 2017 index: France, South Korea, and Mexico.

Considering the surveying dates, the study would reflect the citizens’ take on democracy at the time of the presidential elections, which is marked by enthusiasm for the electoral result and clear rejection toward the political elite, justice system, and corruption. However, Mexicans responded positively on the improvement of life quality (57%) and the protection of freedom of expression (51%).

We will see in the 2019 index we have fixed some of the bad and conserved all of the good.

This article was originally published in Spanish on El Heraldo de México...