Mexico Drops Three Points on Index Measuring Rule of Law

Mexico has fallen three places on an index that measured the rule of law in 128 countries based on the experiences and perceptions of the general public.

Mexico’s score on the World Justice Project (WJP) Rule of Law Index 2020 declined 0.01 points to 0.44 and its ranking fell to 104th. The index uses a scale from 0 to 1, with 1 indicating the strongest adherence to the rule of law.

In Latin America, Mexico ranked 26th out of 30 countries, ahead of only Honduras, Nicaragua, Bolivia and Venezuela.

The WJP, an international civil society organization dedicated to advancing the rule of law around the world, found that Mexico rated most poorly among the 128 countries in absence of corruption and order and security.

With scores of 0.27 and 0.53, respectively, Mexico ranked 121st in both areas, a blow to the government of President López Obrador, who has vowed to stamp out corruption and reduce insecurity.

The country also ranked among the worst countries in the areas of criminal justice and civil justice, placing 119th and 116th, respectively. In regulatory enforcement, constraints on government powers, fundamental rights and open government, Mexico ranked 91st, 89th, 78th and 36th, respectively.

Mexico’s second worst score in the eight areas assessed, after absence of corruption, was 0.30 for criminal justice. A study published by the non-governmental organization Impunidad Cero (Zero Impunity) last September showed that the probability of a crime being reported, investigated and solved in Mexico is just 1.3%.

The third worst score for Mexico was 0.39 for civil justice. As its ranking also indicates, Mexico fared best in the area of open government, with a score of 0.60.

Denmark, Norway, Finland, Sweden and the Netherlands were, in that order, the best assessed countries in terms of rule of law, while Venezuela, Cambodia, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Egypt and Cameroon were the worst.

In Latin America and the Caribbean, the top three countries were Uruguay, Costa Rica and Chile, which ranked 22nd, 25th and 26th, respectively, out of the 128 countries evaluated. Mexico’s North American trade partners, the United States and Canada, ranked 21st and 9th, respectively.

The scores and rankings in the WJP Rule of Law Index 2020 are derived from more than 130,000 household surveys and 4,000 legal practitioner and expert surveys worldwide.

According to the WJP, the index is the world’s most comprehensive dataset of its kind and the only to rely principally on primary data.