(Angus Reid Global Monitor) - People in Mexico have grown uneasy about the way democracy works in their country, according to a poll by Reforma. 54 per cent of respondents are dissatisfied with the democratic system, up 10 points since February 2007.

Allegations of fraud surfaced during and after the 1988 Mexican presidential election, when the government blamed the breakdown of a computer system for unexpected delays in the distribution of results. In the end, Carlos Salinas de Gortari—the nominee for the ruling Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI)—was declared the winner with 50.7 per cent of the vote, defeating Cuauhtémoc Cárdenas of the National Democratic Front (FDN).

The Federal Electoral Institute (IFE) was established in 1990 as an autonomous entity responsible for organizing federal elections in Mexico. Previously, the interior secretariat had been in charge of all election-related activities.

The PRI ruled Mexico for 71 consecutive years, losing its first presidential election in July 2000 with candidate Francisco Labastida. Vicente Fox of the PAN won a six-year term with 42.5 per cent of the vote.

Mexican voters chose their new president in July 2006. Official results placed Felipe Calderón of the National Action Party (PAN) as the winner with 36.68 per cent of all cast ballots. Calderón—a former energy secretary—took over as Mexico’s head of state in December.

Earlier this month, Mexico was shaken by the death of Fernando Martí, the 14-year-old son of well-known business man Alejandro Martí, who had been kidnapped in June. Investigators have suggested that the perpetrators were police officers.

On Aug. 27, Raúl Fierro, a co-worker of Alejandro Martí, referred to the boy’s death in relation to the state of the country’s democracy, saying, "In this first stage, what democracy has brought is just an exchange of power among political parties. (...) Nothing has been done, and we cannot remain silent any longer."

Polling Data

Overall, are you satisfied or dissatisfied with the way democracy works in Mexico?

Source: Reforma
Methodology: Face-to-face interviews with 1,515 Mexican adults, conducted on Aug. 16 and Aug. 17, 2008. Margin of error is 2.5 per cent.

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