CIENCIA POLÍTICA

 The Importance of an Effective Electoral System Diego Martín Velázquez Caballero The Mexican political system, like Latin American presidential systems in general, has reached a critical point in the debate surrounding its electoral and governance structure. Experience reveals that outside the United States, presidentialism does not function effectively and has faced severe problems stemming from the separation of powers, high electoral competitiveness, and political fragmentation. In Mexico, the electoral system has been subject to numerous reforms that, far from resolving these problems, seem to cyclically fall into the same errors, perpetuating a quagmire that hinders democratic governance and favors the intervention of de facto powers and external actors, such as the United States. Giovanni Sartori, in his work on constitutional engineering, proposed the concept of intermittent presidentialism. This idea should not be understood as a derogatory critique, but rather as a strate...

North America. A new war of Samurais against Tlaxcalians?  Diego Martín Velázquez Caballero Recent history and global geopolitical dynamics reveal that empires and nations are in constant transformation, driven by economic, strategic, and cultural interests. In recent years, the contribution of various Indigenous groups to the construction of the Spanish Empire has been emphasized, sometimes sensationally, highlighting the struggles on various Asian peninsulas where Spain attempted to expand and spread the Catholic Counter-Reformation in strategic territories of global significance. Historical evidence clearly shows how great powers have vied for resources, influence, and hegemony in scenarios where power dynamics have been defined by competition for natural resources, trade routes, and military control, revealing a recurring pattern in the history of empires and their confrontations. In the contemporary context, North America emerges as the main stage for a possible geopolitical r...

 Intervention in Mexico or War South of the United States? Diego Martín Velázquez Caballero A prospective analysis of an intervention in Mexico is incomplete if it fails to recognize that the most critical battlefront for U.S. national security is not in the Sierra Madre, but rather in the arteries of its own territory. Before attempting to cross the Rio Grande south, the Donald Trump administration must confront the reality that drug trafficking and institutional erosion have already colonized the Sun Belt states. California, Texas, Arizona, New Mexico, and Florida are not just border states; they are the operational center of an informal economy that has permeated local power structures, creating a scenario where the distinction between transnational crime and everyday life is almost nonexistent. As Langley’s hypothesis and Samuel Huntington’s studies on the Hispanic challenge warn, the lack of effective cultural assimilation and the porous nature of the law have allowed the Mexi...

Mexico and the Canadian Bet Diego Martín Velázquez Caballero The economic and political reality of Mexico reveals that, despite rhetoric and aspirations for independence, the country remains deeply tied to the U.S. economy. The global trend, as evidenced by Canada's recent alliances with China, shows a shift toward diversification and the search for new trading partners. However, in the Mexican case, this strategy is not only unfeasible but also dangerous. Trade with the United States represents more than 80% of Mexican exports, and the dependence on this market is so pronounced that any change in U.S. policy has a direct effect on the country's economic stability. Data indicates that Mexican imports from China have almost doubled in the last decade, reaching $62 billion by 2025, with intermediate goods that enhance the competitiveness of Mexican industry. But this same vulnerability is reflected in exports, which reached a record $5.2 billion in 2022, primarily minerals, elect...

Mexico, Populism, and its Geopolitics Diego Martín Velázquez Caballero In modern Mexican history, the six-year terms of Luis Echeverría Álvarez and José López Portillo exemplify how poorly managed sovereignist populism can lead to economic and political disasters with profound consequences. Echeverría, in particular, was an excessively pragmatic president who adopted a Bonapartist style of governance, concentrating power and acting with a personalistic and authoritarian vision. His eagerness to assert national sovereignty and challenge foreign influence, in a context of international crisis and the exhaustion of the import substitution model, led him to decisions that deeply damaged the Mexican economy. The nationalization of the banks, the increase in unsupported public spending, and the confrontation with the United States were symptoms of a populism that prioritized sovereignist rhetoric over the country's economic and social realities. The result was a serious deterioration of ...

 Internal Party Discipline Diego Martín Velázquez Caballero Morena's internal dynamics close the year with a clear struggle between its various factions, openly defying presidential directives that advocate against reelection, nepotism, and cronyism, and promote internal democracy. Several groups within the party are sending clear signals that they are willing to compete from within, against, or outside of Morena. This reflects the reality of a party with great political power and the ability to mobilize support, but which lacks solid internal mechanisms to manage competition and guarantee discipline. Something similar occurred during the decline of the hegemonic PRI, when internal divisions transformed its main strengths into its greatest weakness. Morena's internal struggle, in the lead-up to the upcoming local and federal elections, is a clear example of what political analysts call the breakdown of the dominant coalition. Barring an extraordinary event, such as Donald Trump...

 The Eternal Mexican Dark Ages Diego Martín Velázquez Caballero When reflecting on the history and political reality of Mexico, one cannot help but feel that the nation, in its quest to consolidate itself as a political community, remains trapped in a kind of perpetual Dark Ages. The comparison with historical examples such as Attila, Genghis Khan, or the Confederates of the southern United States in the 19th century is illustrative: all of them were defeated by the centralized force of a state, a monarchy, or a strong government that managed to impose order, control, and unity. In the Mexican case, however, this confrontation has never effectively materialized. Here, the local strongmen and the Catholic Church, with its clericalized vision of the Motherland, tenaciously oppose the idea of ​​a modern nation, a political community based on rights, equality, and popular sovereignty. In Latin America, and in Mexico in particular, the tendency to fragment the political community into r...

 Go West: Is There Still Time? Diego Martín Velázquez Caballero Years ago, Fredo Arias King warned that democratization in Mexico faced a fundamental challenge: the need to build a quality democracy that would break with the legacy of clientelistic corporatism, which for decades had been the backbone of the political system. His analysis, inspired by the experiences of democratization in Eastern Europe, indicated that the key to profound change lay in adopting the experiences of post-Soviet Central European anti-communism as a unifying element that would allow for the dismantling of authoritarian structures and pave the way for solid, independent, and accountable institutions. The songs of Scorpions and Pet Shop Boys illustrated the optimism of the time for achieving the democracy of open societies. In Eastern Europe, the defeat of communism not only implied a political transition but also the construction of a discourse that confronted the legacy of a regime based on ideology, rep...