Uploaded June 2024 | Updated September 2026, 1 week ago
Earlier this month, Claudia Sheinbaum won a sweeping victory in Mexico’s presidential election. Although a lot of the coverage framed the results as a win for women and progressive politics, the story is far more complicated.
Mexico’s democracy is in trouble, warns Denise Dresser, a political analyst in Mexico. For years, Dresser has watched Sheinbaum’s party—and its previous leader, Andrés Manuel López Obrador—govern through polarization and the erosion of democratic institutions, even as the country struggles with violence, corruption, and persistent inequality. Dresser is a professor of political science at the Autonomous Technological Institute of Mexico.
There is a chance Sheinbaum charts a different course. But if not, Dresser worries that Mexico could face an autocratic future.
Sources:
“Mexico’s Vote for Autocracy” by Denise Dresser
foreignaffairs.com/mexico/mexicos-vote-autocracy
“Mexico’s Dying Democracy” by Denise Dresser
foreignaffairs.com/mexico/mexico-dying-democracy-amlo-toll-authoritarian-populism-denise-dresser
“Can Mexico Be Saved?” by Denise Dresser
foreignaffairs.com/articles/americas/2018-08-14/can-mexico-be-saved
You can find transcripts and more episodes of The Foreign Affairs Interview at foreignaffairs.com/podcasts/foreign-affairs-interview.
Never miss an episode. Sign up for the Foreign Affairs Interview newsletter, delivered every other Thursday:
foreignaffairs.com/newsletter/the_foreign_affairs_interview?utm_medium=social&utm_source=youtube_posts&utm_campaign=podcast_notes
Subscribe to the rest of our free newsletters here:
foreignaffairs.com/newsletter?utm_medium=social&utm_source=youtube_posts&utm_campaign=podcast_notes
Earlier this month, Claudia Sheinbaum won a sweeping victory in Mexico’s presidential election. Although a lot of the coverage framed the results as a win for women and progressive politics, the story is far more complicated.
Mexico’s democracy is in trouble, warns Denise Dresser, a political analyst in Mexico. For years, Dresser has watched Sheinbaum’s party—and its previous leader, Andrés Manuel López Obrador—govern through polarization and the erosion of democratic institutions, even as the country struggles with violence, corruption, and persistent inequality. Dresser is a professor of political science at the Autonomous Technological Institute of Mexico.
There is a chance Sheinbaum charts a different course. But if not, Dresser worries that Mexico could face an autocratic future.
Sources:
“Mexico’s Vote for Autocracy” by Denise Dresser
foreignaffairs.com/mexico/mexicos-vote-autocracy
“Mexico’s Dying Democracy” by Denise Dresser
foreignaffairs.com/mexico/mexico-dying-democracy-amlo-toll-authoritarian-populism-denise-dresser
“Can Mexico Be Saved?” by Denise Dresser
foreignaffairs.com/articles/americas/2018-08-14/can-mexico-be-saved
You can find transcripts and more episodes of The Foreign Affairs Interview at foreignaffairs.com/podcasts/foreign-affairs-interview.
Never miss an episode. Sign up for the Foreign Affairs Interview newsletter, delivered every other Thursday:
foreignaffairs.com/newsletter/the_foreign_affairs_interview?utm_medium=social&utm_source=youtube_posts&utm_campaign=podcast_notes
Subscribe to the rest of our free newsletters here:
foreignaffairs.com/newsletter?utm_medium=social&utm_source=youtube_posts&utm_campaign=podcast_notes
