As many countries across the globe, the Mexican government is suffering a loss of trust from its citizens. But what does it mean when trust is low? How does it affect government legitimacy? And how does it affect people’s lives?
We heard that legitimacy is about the relationships between government and citizens, between the individual and their local delegates, deputies and governors, and with the Supreme Court and the Presidency. It is a complex relationship that, according to participants, has been working in favour of a small group of elites for generations.
But trust and legitimacy are also about shared values and equitable decision-making, about ensuring that no-one gets left behind. Participants said that legitimacy is a “shared responsibility” of citizens and governments – it’s about working together.
This is not always the case, as became apparent during the recent earthquakes. “Citizens no longer wait for help from the government,” said the representatives of civil society organisations. In crisis situations, civil society has been able to provide help much faster and more effectively than government – by using modern technology and social media.
Government representatives took a different view: the biggest challenge for government during the earthquake, we heard, was trust. The Department of Health, for example, had sent staff to provide support during the earthquakes, but they were unable to help because citizens did not trust them.
Inequality and preferential treatment also emerged as key problems. For example, electricity services were back up and running within six hours of the earthquake in the richer areas of Mexico City, but it took many days for power to be restored to other parts. Such inequality exists not only within the city limits, participants said, but stretches across the whole country, with entire states and their citizens feeling left behind.