More Head-Scratching Polls

Only 27 percent of Mexicans answering a recent poll rated the Supreme Court with a passing grade, while 41 percent failed the body. (Sorry for the above link; I can't find the El Universal piece, but the content is the same.) Perhaps this is a demonstration of the lingering distrust of a Court that was long subjegated to political interests (see the Mario Marín exoneration in the Lydia Cacho case), or perhaps it's that most of the people answering weren't paying much attention to the Court's work (I can't say completely blame them). Or maybe a bit of both. But, between the Hermosillo investigation, the release of the Acteal scapegoats, and the designation of addicts as sick rather than criminal, the Supreme Court in the past year has probably been the Mexican institution most responsive to righting government wrongs and protecting vulnerable citizens.