Citizens Chip Away at the Dinosaur

The Mexican political system is breaking apart. Some elements of the transformation--the Zapatista rebellion in Chiapas, political assassinations and cases of official corruption--are reported regularly in foreign media. Less dramatic but equally relevant is the ongoing citizens’ rebellion that is directly challenging--and disrupting--one of the oldest political machines in the world.

A salient characteristic of Mexican authoritarianism is the abyss between what is public and what is private. The average Mexican makes a point of never, ever, trusting a policeman and keeps encounters with the government to a minimum. Public officials, in turn, exclude citizens from government affairs and behave as if public office is a personal possession. These old ways are being challenged by thousands of groups that have proliferated all over Mexico with the expressed goal of making democracy work.

The citizens’ revolution is particularly clear in the human rights movement that began in the early 1980s when a few non-government organizations (NGOs) started to promote the idea that Mexicans do have human rights. In 1996, about 400 hundred non-government organizations all over the country are putting obstacles to the traditional exercise of authority, particularly of police forces famous for their brutality and corruption on an everyday basis.

Civic organizations also played a crucial role in the creation of government commissions, and that process gained strength after the National Commission on Human Rights was founded in 1990.

In short, NGOs have been the main force behind the incorporation of human rights in the political culture of ordinary Mexicans. The impact on the citizens’ perception is staggering because they are starting to act differently when faced with authorities.

Civil rights is another case in which citizens’ organizations have made a difference. Mexico is not a democracy and the conditions do not exist for free and fair elections. Since 1991, hundreds of NGOs and tens of thousands of citizens have begun to monitor elections and to document irregularities, setting the agenda for the electoral reforms that are being partially implemented by Congress.

If civic organizations have had so much impact, it is because they created networks and because they have received the support and solidarity of groups in the United States, Canada and Europe.

The Civic Alliance (Alianza Civica) is a coalition of hundreds of groups organized to observe the August 1994 presidential election. Later that year, the alliance established a program called “Adopt an Official,” a symbol of the fundamental modifications in the relationship between people and government. This program encourages groups and citizens to monitor the performance of government officials. Its goals are twofold: to create channels for the people’s participation in public affairs, and to educate officials about the meaning of accountability.

The first official adopted was President Ernesto Zedillo, and a scandal ensued when the citizen watchdogs went to court to learn the president’s salary and his office’s budget. Officially, he makes about $8,000 a month after taxes. But we have been refused an accounting of the $90 million budgeted to his office and in his control. In spite of the economic crisis, in spite of Zedillo’s promises of openness and his reputation for austerity, he has not renounced the habits of the imperial presidency.

The struggle is far from over. Police brutality has been reduced but has not disappeared. Elections are still haunted by irregularities and public officials still resist demands for accountability. For example, the response of the president’s office to the query about his income and privileges is disturbing. Instead of presenting a detailed report on the use of those public funds, demonstrating the democratic spirit expressed in countless speeches, the president’s people responded with insufficient information, anger and legal maneuvers. They just do not want to surrender the excessive privileges that come with office in Mexico.

Confrontation and bitterness are the unavoidable cost we have to pay if we want Mexico to become a country with public officials--from the president to the most humble clerk--accountable to the people. That is the ultimate meaning of the silent revolution that is gradually destroying the authoritarian ways and building the foundations of a modern, democratic Mexico.