Mexico's forthcoming presidential election may prove to be an example of democratic backsliding and the reconstruction of dominant party rule. In her latest book, What’s Next? 20 Lessons to be a Citizen in a Country at Risk (2024), Instituto Tecnológico Autónomo de Mexico´s Professor Denise Dresser discusses Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador’s presidency as an example of how an elected leader with popular support can erode democratic institutions, weaken checks and balances, and alter the electoral system to ensure that opposition parties cannot compete on a level playing field. Combining comparative analysis, data, and personal anecdotes she exemplifies how democratic backsliding has impacted Mexican citizens, as well as U.S.-Mexico relations moving forward. Dresser also provides a manual on how to be an independent, critical, and consistent citizen at a time when democratic rights and freedoms are under attack. The Georgetown Americas Institute (GAI) held a conversation with Denise Dresser on the implications of the upcoming 2024 presidential election in Mexico and the future of the bilateral relationship. The conversation was moderated by Alejandro Werner, founding director of GAI.
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Denise Dresser is a Mexican political scientist, writer, columnist, and activist. She has been a professor of political science at the Instituto Autonomo de Mexico (ITAM) since 1991. She obtained a bachelor's degree in international relations at the Colegio de Mexico and a doctorate in political science at Princeton University. Dresser has written several books including El Pais de Uno (2011), Mexico: Lo que todo ciudadano quisiera (no) saber de su patria (2006) with Jorge Volpi and Gritos y Susurros, and Experiencias intempestivas de otras 39 mujeres (2009), among others. She was an advisor to the Human Rights Commission of Mexico City and is a member of the citizen groups #FiscalíaQueSirva and #SeguridadSinGuerra. In 2015, she was awarded the Legion of Honor by the French government in recognition of her work in defense of human rights and freedom of expression. Forbes named her one of the 50 most powerful women in Mexico.
Alejandro Werner is the founding director of the Georgetown Americas Institute and a non-resident senior fellow at the Peterson Institute. He recently completed almost nine years as director of the Western Hemisphere Department at the International Monetary Fund. Prior to that appointment, he was undersecretary of finance and public credit in Mexico’s Finance Ministry and held several positions in that ministry and the Central Bank. He also taught at leading universities in Mexico, Spain, and the United States. He holds a Ph.D. in economics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and a B.A. in economics from Instituto Tecnológico Autónomo de México (ITAM).