Very recommended Economist 2011 Democracy Index report

A strongly recommended read is The Economist Intelligence Unit's report "Democracy Index 2011: Democracy under stress," which as its title indicates indexes the world's regime according to various factors (Electoral process and pluralism; Functioning of government; Political participation; Political culture; and Civil liberties) to determine, simply put, how democratic is each country in the world.

Download here.

Mexico's position is 50 - exactly the same as last year. It is immediately above such countries as Argentina, Bulgaria, and Croatia, and scores somewhat high in functioning of government, yet low in political culture. Mexico is also noted for deterioration in media freedom.

The report notes, for the region as a whole,

Flawed democracies are concentrated in Latin America and eastern Europe, and to a lesser extentin Asia. Despite progress in Latin American democratisation in recent decades, many countries in theregion remain fragile democracies. Levels of political participation are generally low and democraticcultures are weak. There has also been significant backsliding in recent years in some areas such asmedia freedoms.

The lowest score (167th place) of any country?
Hint: It is where Kim Jong went from ill to dead.

The highest score: Norway. Yes, I am proud.