Abstract

CAMARENA GONZALEZ, Rodrigo; GUIM ALFAGO, Mauricio Alejandro  and  ZORRILLA NORIEGA, Ana María. Deconstructing to reconstruct: an analysis of autonomous constitutional agencies in Mexico. Bol. Mex. Der. Comp. [online]. 2021, vol.54, n.160, pp.61-98.  Epub Mar 07, 2022. ISSN 2448-4873.  https://doi.org/10.22201/iij.24484873e.2021.160.15971.

This article argues that the mainstream conception about the autonomous constitutional agencies is mistaken. These agencies are neither complete nor equally independent from the other branches of government. On the contrary, there is a variety of institutional designs that grants them different levels of autonomy. Acknowledging this variety of designs is the first step for understanding the causes, real or perceived, of the flaws in the current system of institutional balance, as well as the consequences that a well-designed regime could generate. Until today, most of the debate has been limited to the convenience or un-desirability of having this kind of agencies. This article may be the starting point for discussions on how decisionmakers should design these agencies and how much autonomy they should grant them.

Keywords : autonomous constitutional agencies; autonomy; institutional design.