Dismantling Science and Technology Policies in Mexico

In this chapter, we will analyze why higher education tends to be in the crosshairs of populists and how they seek to reform it. By following descriptions of populism and the distinguishing features pointed out by Bauer and Becker (Democratic Backsliding, Populism, and Public Administration. Perspectives on Public Management and Governance, 3 (1), 19–31. https://doi.org/10.1093/ppmgov/gvz026 , 2020) and Müller (What is Populism? University of Pennsylvania Press, 2016), we will look at the government’s discourse and ideology. We will then analyze how it has used democratic backsliding to alter the previous policy processes, and how institutions that mediate policy change have constrained or enabled the populist agenda.