Democracy is not a static phenomenon but incessantly constructed through a set of processes involving diverse actors and variables. Currently, democracy faces obstacles that compromise its consolidation and progress, although these vary from place to place. In Latin America, although in recent decades there have been significant advances in terms of the political process -greater political competition, expansion of political and civil rights-, challenges related to political and criminal violence, inequality, weakness of the rule of law, instability, and ungovernability, among others, still prevail. As pointed out by G. O'Donnell (2017), these aspects affect the construction of citizenship and, therefore, hinder democratization.
Much literature discusses the causes of democratization and its different analytical dimensions. Economic, cultural, institutional, and political factors are relevant aspects of this field. When it comes to pinpointing actors, it is recognized that both society and the State contribute to shaping the course of democratization. However, a problem that has been neglected or at least not systematically explored is how the characteristics and actions of the State influence democratization processes in the region. The case of Mexico has always attracted the attention of political scientists because its characteristics are sometimes incomparable with those of other Latin American cases. The democratization process in Mexico continues its course, and the change of government -same party- constitutes an opportunity for scientific reflection on the main challenges to the consolidation and deepening of democracy. Social exclusion, structural violence, organized crime violence, and inequality point to an ineffective State and a weak rule of law. By not being efficient with respect to the aforementioned problems, the State maintains adverse conditions for democracy. In this context, it is pertinent to discuss whether the government of President López Obrador has contributed to the establishment of a new regime, and if this is the case, whether such regime advances or deviates from a democratic path. This panel aims to contribute to the understanding of the role of the Mexican State in the weakening of the democratization process through the analysis of a set of dimensions that involve the functioning and actions of the State.