The Tendency to Defect: The Dicotomy between Party Loyalty and Political Participation. A View Based on Judicial Precedents in Mexico

Abstract

The tendency to defect that has characterized the Mexican political system has become, in recent years, a problem of a constitutional nature, beginning with certain nuances that have been addressed by the highest judicial authority in electoral matters in Mexico; namely, the Electoral Court of the judicial branch of the Mexican federal system, and even by the Supreme Court of Justice of Mexico, since the matter is part of the dichotomy between the right to individual freedom in terms of political participation and the right to party loyalty, which does not exist explicitly in the constitution. Accordingly, this academic contribution deals with an analysis of the tendency to defect, predominantly in the candidacy phase, based on certain precedents that have been set by jurisdictional authorities in Mexico and framed within the country’s presidential system. This is without neglecting to mention, in passing, how the tendency to defect operates in other countries.