La Reforma de la Reforma del Estado

Abstract

A political reform that would involve more than elections is currently being debated in Mexico. The idea is that Mexico should consolidate its road to ideological pluralism nourished by political parties and other social actors. However, the effects of incessant reforms of the state have broken the social pact, creating a semi-paralysis of the economy and political stumbling blocks, heightened by the global financial crisis and insecurity. The president’s office launched a reform bill to deepen institutional change. The political parties, for their part, have countered with proposals of their own that include few points in common. This is why David Ibarra considers it imperative to attack the problems that fuel dissatisfaction among the citizenry and legislative discord, since there can be no substantive democracy when the majority of the population is excluded from the process. He also recommends that there be a break with free-market economic reductionism because it sets very narrow margins for the autonomy of politics and reduces society’s room for action. He also points out that both immobility and change-for-change’s-sake should both be avoided, because, with the time frame of the current debate, if these reforms were passed, they would not be applied under the current administration. This is why coming to fundamental agreements will require great sensitivity, creativity and political caution.