Subordinated Complacency, Ferocious Rivalry, or Equitable Work: On the Independence and Separation of State Powers

Abstract

This article presents three deviations from the Separation of Powers Principle (trias politica) as they have taken place in Mexico and Venezuela: the increment in the amount of state powers, the subordination of powers to the agenda of a unique political tendency with the subsequent nullification of the power that is acting in an independent way, and the creation of constitutional autonomous institutes or entities. It suggests that governments can become complex self-referential systems that avoid public consultation of political decisions and the free formation of citizens’ informed and educated opinions that are much needed for a country’s development in a democracy.

Keywords: separation of state powers, trias politica, law, political philosophy, Mexico, Venezuela