Facts about the Mexican judiciary

1. In Mexico the federal judiciary employs 29,800 employees; in the much larger and richer United States the same number is 34,000.

2. Mexico employs about 900 federal judges; in the United States it is 1700.

3. The Mexican Supreme Court employs 3400 individuals; in the United States the corresponding number is 430.

4. The Mexican federal judiciary employs more chaffeurs than judges.

I can think of at least two explanations. First, Mexico, which has lower wage rates, chooses a higher labor-to-capital ratio. Second, the Mexican system is full of corrupt perks.

My blog source writes:

En México, el tercer poder es totalmente disfuncional en todos sus niveles y funciones. [In Mexico the third branch of government is totally dysfunctional in all of its levels and functions.]

Number of judges do not the rule of law make.

The data are from La Boveda, an excellent Spanish-language blog, from Mexico, for economics and politics.