Reform and Change in Mexico 

by
The Ditchley Foundation 

Introduction

Meeting as part of the celebrations of the year of Mexico in the UK and of the UK in Mexico, our aim was to look at the process of reform and change in Mexico, analyse where things stood, and make recommendations in areas where there could be improvement. We had a diverse group around the table, with Mexican citizens and residents matched by observers from elsewhere in the region and the world. Discussion was lively and if at times there was criticism of Mexico, this was always offered in a positive spirit, and with the aim of seeing Mexico do even better in the future against the benchmark of an internationally developed country.

Mexico’s political situation

We noted that Mexico was not an easy country to understand, and that there could be no good understanding of the country without a proper appreciation of its complex history and culture. We also noted that, even more than was the case for most countries, there were multiple Mexicos, very different from each other, with some 60 ethnic groupings, which made simplistic generalisations about the country even more unlikely to be valid than usual. These differences went well beyond the North-South divide, and the gap between rich and poor, important and striking though these were. Mexico was also a country best seen as evolutionary, not revolutionary, where change came slowly, and in fits and starts, but hopefully also came surely.

Finally, we noted that Mexico, having moved from authoritarian government to an established if still immature democracy, was now in a third phase of political change where democratic rights and habits were becoming more solidly accepted and rooted. Greater social justice was clearly required. Like the previous phases, this might be slow and at times uncertain. Expectations should be kept in check in the short term. But the direction of travel was clear, and there was little or no chance of going significantly backwards.