FROM THE OUTSIDE | The United States and democracy

Por

José Carreño Figueras

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Publicado: 30/6/2025 · 1:55 p.m. MX | Actualizado: 30/6/2025 · 1:55 p.m. MX

According to the Democracy Index published by The Economist Intelligence Unit, liberal democracy is declining globally, while authoritarian regimes are gaining ground.

True, like a typical American institution, The Economist Intelligence Unit has a clear bias toward liberal institutions. However, it has also proven to be a reliable way to measure and compare the state of democracy for decades.

In that context, the real surprise isn’t that Mexico is ranked as a “flawed” or “fragile” democracy, but that the United States—so eager to promote democratic principles—is also on the list.

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The United States is currently classified as a ‘flawed democracy’ by the Economist Intelligence Unit’s Democracy Index. While it is still considered a democracy, its ranking has dropped, and since 2017 it has not been rated as a ‘full democracy,’” notes a report generated by artificial intelligence.

This ranking shows increasing concern about democratic backsliding, including issues with electoral integrity, political polarization, and the performance of democratic institutions during President Donald Trump’s administration.

That concern spans across the political spectrum.

While left-leaning groups recently took to the streets across the country under the slogan “There are no kings in America,” traditional conservatives opposed to Trump have lamented what they see as the erosion of U.S. institutional stability.

Norms and institutions are collapsing under the attacks of the wreckers who now control the executive branch. The Republican-led Congress won’t oppose them. The Supreme Court won’t risk stopping them,” wrote the online publication The Bulwark.

According to an analysis by CNN, Trump no longer needs to seize power — it is being handed to him. “Republican majorities in Congress and conservatives on the Supreme Court are surrendering power instead of safeguarding it, granting President Donald Trump increasing control over what the Constitution once divided into three branches.”

For years, Republicans protested the idea of “legislating from the bench” as courts interpreted laws and issued rulings. But now that power has shifted in their favor, they celebrate the downfall of what Attorney General Pam Bondi called “the imperial judiciary” and the opportunity to limit—or even eliminate—the ability of lower federal courts to challenge the executive branch.

By doing so, they have effectively bolstered what many analysts in the U.S. now call an “imperial presidency,” this time represented by an unchecked Trump.

This is not a new debate. The U.S. has been classified as a flawed democracy since 2017, during Trump’s first term, due to concerns over civil rights, electoral integrity, and the independence of democratic institutions.

But now the real question is whether the pendulum will ever swing back—restoring the United States to full democracy.

José Carreño Figueras