Rule of Law and “Estado Constitucional” Indicators. Does Law Rule Effectively in Mexico?

Abstract

The fulfillment of the law has always been the aspiration of every State but this does not necessarily imply the emergence of a constitutional and democratic State, since the fulfillment of the letter of the law , in the Roman-Germanic-Canonical tradition, does not automatically mean the existence of a legal status that guarantees the enjoyment of fundamental rights . In this sense, what has the Mexican State done to guarantee the enjoyment of these basic individual rights ? How can we measure the success or failure of the government in this matter? There is no other answer but the establishment of the rule of law . Rule of law is a complex topic that cannot be treated in isolation since it encompasses civil law , criminal law , human rights , administrative law , corruption combat, and interior, public and national security issues. Therefore all indicators and formulas to achieve rule of law should take these factors into account. In Mexico we lack indicators capable of measuring compliance with the rule of law . If we add up the problems that the legal substance faces when encountering the typical forms of Mexican legalism , the problem of indicators intensifies, since we require much more substantive measurements than those that only calibrate quantitative advances and regulate formalities. We do not have enough indicators , and those that we do have do not allow us to adequately measure the serious and substantive problems in Mexico. In this hypothesis, if we develop and use more relevant indicators , we shall see, in a few decades, a substantial increase in the rule of law . It is a matter of governability .

Rafael Estrada Michel is a lawyer from the Escuela Libre de Derecho (ELD) , Mexico, and received his doctorate in the History of Law and Legal, Moral and Political Philosophy program at the University of Salamanca (USAL) in Spain. He studied a Diploma in Legal Anthropology at the National School of Anthropology and History (ENAH) and since 1997 has been teaching public law and legal history at his alma mater and at Universidad Iberoamericana [Iberoamerican University] (UIA) , Universidad Panamericana [Panamerican University] (UP), Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México [National Autonomous University of Mexico] (UNAM) , Universidad Autónoma Metropolitana [Metropolitan Autonomous University] (UAM) , Instituto Tecnológico Autónomo de México [Autonomous Technological Institute of Mexico] (ITAM) , Universidad La Salle (ULSA) [La Salle University], Instituto Tecnológico y de Estudios Superiores de Monterrey [Monterrey Institute of Technology and Higher Education] (ITESM) , Universidad Latina de América [Latin University of America] (UNLA) , Universidad Autónoma de Nuevo León [Nuevo León Autonomous University] (UANL), and Universidad Pontificia de México [Pontifical University of Mexico] (UPM). Between 2009 and 2016 he was a Counselor of the National Commission of Human Rights , appointed by the Senate, and between 2012 and 2016 he served as Director General (dean) of the National Institute of Criminal Sciences (INACIPE) , appointed by the President of Mexico. In 2018 he was designated Visiting Research Professor at the University of Pisa, Italy. A member of the National Researchers System, level 2. Email: restradam@up.edu.mx.