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Relative to the German process, the Mexican consolidation process is
thus strengthened by much broader rights of access to information and
communication, heightening the possibility for citizen participation. In
addition, both nations suffer from comparatively low rates of education.
Another obstacle to democratic consolidation in Mexico is its relatively weak civil society (Olvera 2004: 403-439). In 2000, only 7% of the
Mexican population had any affiliation to political organisations (Camp
2007: 57). The corresponding number in Germany was 3% in 1959, and
only 7% of Germans reported national pride in governmental and political institutions (Almond & Verba 1963: 302). Thus Germans arguably lacked a strong value-based commitment to their current democratic
government, and like the Mexico of today, exhibited low levels of political participation.
The trust in government in Mexico is equally meagre. In 2003, only 24%
expressed confidence in Congress, 26% expressed confidence in political parties and only 26% had confidence in the law and judicial system
(Camp 2007: 57, 66). In 2005, 23% still thought that their vote would not
be respected (Camp 2007: 65). Asked about expectations of democracy
itself, a majority of Mexicans gave primacy to economic improvement
rather than liberty. The former could equally be provided by an authoritarian regime, and thus a deeper commitment to democracy itself may
be lacking among Mexicans (Camp 2007: 161-162). This is worrisome,
indicating that if Mexico’s political commitment wavers, then public opposition may not be strong enough to counter a deteriorating spiral.
Turning to economic development, in Mexico in 2000, half of the population was living in poverty on less than 2 dollars per day, and half of
these in “absolute” poverty on less than 1 dollar per day (Camp 2011:
18). Mexico experienced a grave financial crisis with GDP contracting
in 1995 and suffered again during the Global Recession in 2009, with
negative GDP growth of 6.1 per cent (Camp 2007: 281; Global Finance