Politics 2200

Alisha Ricks
Dr. Perparim Gutaj
12/11/2023
Comparative Analysis
In this analysis I will be comparing two countries, and the issues they face with crime,

modernization, mistrust and lack of development. The countries I am comparing are Russia and Mexico.

First off, Russia is a communist country. The government has no freedom of media, such as television,

radio, news stations, or social media. This makes the media skewed as to what the government wants

the public to know about what is going on in the country. Opposed to what might actually be going on in

Russia at the time. This makes sure that the government is fully in control of what they do and do not

want the public to know.

In Mexico, "ideal situation of communicative equality among deliberators" in which all speakers

enjoy equal opportunity to speak, to initiate any type of utterance or interaction, and to adopt any role

in the communication or dialogue.” (Betancourt Higareda, 2013) The freedoms of political debates,

social media to speak one’s mind on various issues, and the freedom of the press to report is

implemented in Mexico. Whereas in Russia, the media is never allowed to broadcast any political

statements debating between members of the government in power, and opposing political parties. In

Mexico, debates are allowed along with the freedom to speak for and against another political party.

In Russia, the government creates corruption. The government controls economic resources.

News stations are constantly targeting in threatening ways from the government about what they can

and cannot say and what they can broadcast to the public. This helps them make it so the public can

vote for people, they will never be elected unless the government wants them to be elected though.

There are a few companies in Russia that pay people to spread false and or “fake news” to the general
public, through the use of social media. These social media factories produce hundreds of fake posts

spreading propaganda throughout a widespread social media posting from hundreds of accounts.

Mexico allows their citizens to use social media freely, although the challenge is not everyone

has access to the internet. The internet is more prominent in major cities in Mexico. This leaves the

residents in the rural, more under-developed countries without access to social media, and certain news

outlets. Compared to Russia, where they are a rapidly modernizing country that has the technology to

reach the public through the internet. The biggest disadvantage being, the media is controlled through

the government, and there is no freedom of speech allowed.

There is the issue of organized crime in both countries. Mexico has a high crime rate associated

with drugs. Whether it be the smuggling of drugs into other country, or through the illegal distribution

within Mexico that occurs mostly through the drug cartels. The United States and Mexico have teamed

up to help prosecute drug trafficking across the border, sharing information, and prosecuting through

both police forces. Many of the political campaigns in Mexico are funded illegally through a money

laundering system, assumed, but can neither be confirmed or denied, through the drug cartels.

In Russia, the organized crime is associated with the government mostly trying to silence people,

and or cover up their tracks when an individual speaks out against the government. They use tactics

such as threatening individuals, publically humiliating them, and even making that person disappear.

The freedom for the citizens of Russia to talk about the current political scene and people in power is

limited to only being able to talk fondly of the way the government operates. Unlike in Mexico, where

the political conversations and political debates being broadcasted are allowed. They can freely discuss

the political campaigns and political operations throughout the country.

Crime is more centralized in Mexico towards the general public. The drug cartels are illegal

bands of gangs, solely promoting the illicit sales and uses of the drugs that many buyers have become
addicted to. These gangs are violent and will take hostages, kill anyone who they do not trust, and often

will get into violent fights with the police. Compared to Russia, which within the corrupt government,

will often send police to arrest people within a crowd. When the government wants someone to

become ineligible to run for a political position, they will purposely arrest them, so they become

disqualified from a campaign, due to the fact that they have been arrested and now have that on their

record.

The democracy for the Mexican government penalizes the sales of drugs and violent acts

committed, that the cartel uses. The majority of the corruption in the political system is with the illegal

campaign money spent, in order to win elections. This money is sourced from an unknown place, and is

usually undetected. They use the money for campaigns, advertisements, and many other strategies in

order to gain the popular votes. In Russia, the government usually hide the fact that they are silencing

any individual who speaks out against them. Usually a person who has spoken out against the

government will either be publically humiliated, or “executed” in a way that makes it look like an

accident. In a documentary we watched, it showed government worker taking down a public visual for

an individual that had passed away. (Putin’s Russia.)

In conclusion, both countries have corruptions and various issues with electing officials. In

Russia it is government controlled. While in Mexico there are many elections where money is used as an

advantage to win. Russia uses the media to show their citizens a skewed version of what is really

happening throughout the world and within their own country. Where in Mexico, the media is free to

broadcast their own opinions and use the media to show the public what current events are happening,

within and outside of Mexico. Russia implemented a rule where if a citizen is arrested, they are no

longer eligible to run for elections. If they do not want someone to be in an elected position, then they

will arrest that individual to make sure they cannot run or be elected. In Mexico, the elections are only

skewed due to the matter of money.

 References

Betancourt Higareda, F. C. (2013). The development of the media and the public sphere in

Mexico. Mexican law review, 5(2), 305-331.

Inside Putin’s Russia; https://youtu.be/_AkAZIk73F0. PBS News.