Why ENCADE

Support and satisfaction with democracy in Latin America is at historically low levels. Until 2018, Mexico was part of this trend, however, the 2018 presidential election where voters elected Andrés Manuel López Obrador and his MORENA political party by a notable majority, reaffirmed support and satisfaction with this form of government in Mexico. 

Although there are several regional instruments that measure support for democracies, we lack an understanding of who are the voters that support democracy and whether they are the same ones who reject elites and the status quo.

The Survey on the Quality of Democracy in Mexico or  “Encuesta sobre la Calidad de la Democracia en México” (ENCADE) fills this gap by generating reliable information on the main factors that affect support and satisfaction with democracy in Mexico. Unlike other surveys on democracy, ENCADE follows a dual strategy, carrying out a biannual survey of the open population and another of experts (academics, journalists and analysts who are members of NGOs), to build differentiated indicators between perceptions regarding democratic processes and culture.

ENCADE evaluates the quality of democracy in 9 dimensions:

  1. Elections and the Right to Vote
  2. Rights, Participation and Personal Efficiency
  3. Accountability
  4. Institutions
  5. Speech
  6. Security: Armed Forces, Organized Crime and Democracy
  7. Armed Forces
  8. Centralization and Federalism
  9. Relationship with the Executive with the Legislative

This exercise seeks to become a reliable, robust and impartial tool that allows a debate focused on concepts and goes beyond the polarization that sometimes occurs in public debate.