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This research note discusses the methods, the key findings, & implications of the second study of the political culture of Mexico. The 2006 survey, carried out under the auspices of the Latin American Public Opinion Project (LAPOP), permits comparing Mexico with 20 other countries. It measures political culture in depth & generates a portrait of democratic quality. This note analyzes, in comparative perspective, the following concepts: political tolerance, system support, democratic stability, social capital, rule of law, insecurity, and corruption. LAPOP 2006's findings uphold the argument that Mexico has a stable and comparatively robust democratic culture that can contribute to the consolidation of its democracy. Adapted from the source document.

Typical responses to the perceived escalation of violent crime throughout most of Latin America are to increase the size and powers of the regular police and -- in most cases -- to expand the involvement by the armed forces to confront both common and organized crime. Participation by the armed forces in domestic policing, in turn, has sparked debates in several countries about the serious risks incurred, especially with respect to human rights violations. In Mexico the debate is sharpened by the extensive violence linked to conflicts among drug -- trafficking organizations and between these and the government's security forces, in which the Army and Navy have played leading roles. Using World Values Survey and Americas Barometer data, we examine trends in public confidence in the police, justice system, and armed forces in Mexico over 1990 -- 2010. Using Vanderbilt University's 2010 LAPOP survey we compare levels of trust in various social, political, and government actors, locating Mexico in the broader Latin America context. That survey also poses questions about the appropriateness of the military acting as domestic police in fighting crime. Here we ask: Is public support for using the military as police widespread and generalized across the sample? Or are there patterns of support and opposition with respect to public opinion? Our main findings are that: (1) the armed forces rank at the top regarding trust, and -- while trust in other Mexican institutions tended to decline in 2008 -- 2010 -- trust in the military increased slightly; (2) respondents indicate that the military respects human rights more than the average and substantially more than the police or government generally; (3) public support for the military in fighting crime is strong and distributed evenly across the ideological spectrum and across socio -- demographic groups, and (4) patterns of support emerge more clearly with respect to perceptions, attitudes, and performance judgments. By way of conclusion we consider some of the political and policy implications of our findings. Adapted from the source document.

How do citizens view the work of their legislators? Do they think representatives should legislate and oversee the executive, or do they believe representatives should deliver resources to their community and help individuals with problems? Do they expect both? In Latin America surveys typically show that popular evaluations of the national congress are overwhelmingly negative but are not able to explain why. Are congresses held in low esteem because people think that congress is not legislating well or efficiently overseeing the executive, or because citizens do not know what legislators are supposed to do and want them to deliver pork for their district and personalistic benefits for themselves? Since clientelism targets the poor and plays an important role in elections in developing democ- racies, it is important to know if poor citizens truly have different views than wealthier citizens about what a member of congress should do once elected. We use quasi-experimental procedures in a public opinion survey administered in Mexico City to begin to address these questions. Our findings indicate that poorer citizens, people with no or very little education, have greater expectations of clientelism than wealthier citizens but that their view of a legislator's job is more subtle, and more democratic than would be predicted by clientelism theory. ; How do citizens view the work of their legislators? Do they think representatives should legislate and oversee the executive, or do they believe representatives should deliver resources to their community and help individuals with problems? Do they expect both? In Latin America surveys typically show that popular evaluations of the national congress are overwhelmingly negative but are not able to explain why. Are congresses held in low esteem because people think that congress is not legislating well or efficiently overseeing the executive, or because citizens do not know what legislators are supposed to do and want them to deliver pork for their district and personalistic benefits for themselves? Since clientelism targets the poor and plays an important role in elections in developing democ- racies, it is important to know if poor citizens truly have different views than wealthier citizens about what a member of congress should do once elected. We use quasi-experimental procedures in a public opinion survey administered in Mexico City to begin to address these questions. Our findings indicate that poorer citizens, people with no or very little education, have greater expectations of clientelism than wealthier citizens but that their view of a legislator's job is more subtle, and more democratic than would be predicted by clientelism theory.