The Conflicts for the COVID-19 Pandemic Management in Mexico: An Analysis of Intergovernmental Relations

Abstract

The paper presents an exploratory case study on the operation of intergovernmental relations (IGR) in Mexico during the management of the COVID-19 pandemic to identify and explain the main conflicts faced in the management of the emergency. The main findings are: Mexico is undergoing an aggressive re-centralization process encouraged by inequalities among states and their lack of professional public administrative systems; 2) formal rules for balancing IGR lose value versus informal rules based on transitory political-partisan agreements; 3) the weakness of the rule of law, power imbalances, lack of clear rules, and communication problems difficult intergovernmental collaboration in emergencies management.