Mechanisms of Direct Democracy Activated in Mexico: Governmental and Citizen Initiatives (19th–21st Centuries)

Abstract

The purpose of this article is to explore the use of direct democracy mechanisms in Mexico, which have been present throughout the country’s history. It addresses the activation of direct democracy mechanisms at the national level in the 19th, 20th and 21st centuries. The analysis of these cases allows us to observe that the activation of these mechanisms is strongly conditioned by the Mexican social and political context. In addition, there is a substantial difference in whether the mechanisms are convened by power bodies, such as the executive branch or Congress (from above), or whether they are promoted by citizen organization and participation (from below). It is shown that in Mexico there is a historical experience in the use of this tool, but that it remains subject to its specific context, its institutional particularities and the impulse from below or above in its implementation. The conclusion to be drawn is that these mechanisms have been present throughout the history of Mexico and have managed to enrich Mexican democracy. Their presence is a sign of a living political society, in transformation, and in constant expansion.