The exercise of Economic, Social and Cultural Rights during the COVID-19 pandemic in Jalisco

Abstract

This article offers an empirical study of the exercise of Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ESCR) in Jalisco, in the framework of the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic. Specifically, the article seeks to determine whether the Mexican State has fulfilled (or not) its obligation to guarantee these rights. Furthermore, it explores whether ESCR were equally enjoyed by all the population (in accordance with the principle of universality) or if, to the contrary, they were practiced unequally. The article, on the other hand, links its findings to a discussion on substantive democracy in Jalisco. Applying the Latent Class Analysis technique to data generated by a November 2020 poll, the article finds important limitations in the exercise of ESCR in Jalisco, together with an unequal enjoyment thereof. This, in turn, leads the article to conclude that the Mexican State has failed to fulfill its obligation to guarantee the exercise of human rights and that a substantive model of democracy is not in place in Jalisco.