Time and bitter experience have long made Mexicans inured to the corruption and complicity pervading the highest levels of national politics. Yet over the past month, Mexico seems to have stirred from its apathy.
The horrific “disappearance” of 43 students at the hands of local police in the state of Guerrero has convulsed the country. The image of state-sponsored violence and insecurity has inflamed public opinion, while the government’s muted response has raised questions about its commitment to rooting out corruption and embracing modernity.
Worse still, and in addition to the disappeared students, the president himself now faces scrutiny in a scandal that links him to long Mexican traditions of crony capitalism. This is especially worrying given the opening of the country’s energy sector to private investment – a process that gets under way next year in a series of auctions expected to draw billion-dollar bids.