The Quiet Collapse of Civil Society

Across Mexico, essential social work unfolds quietly every day. Services reach those overlooked by public systems. Advocacy gives voice to communities at risk. Civil society organizations do this work — often unnoticed, often underfunded, but always essential.

Now, that work is being pushed to the brink.

The Crumbling Financial Foundation

Civil society relies on a fragile ecosystem of support: public funds, private donations, and legal space to operate. All three are shrinking.

A proposed tax reform would reduce the incentive for individuals and companies to donate to nonprofits — cutting the maximum tax-deductible rate from 32% to just 15%. This change makes it harder for civil society groups to raise funds from the very public they serve.

At the same time, government investment in social development has fallen drastically. While the most visible cuts are to MSME (micro, small, and medium enterprise) programs, many CSOs — particularly those involved in local economic development, women’s empowerment, and youth employment — depend on these same public budgets to sustain their work.

The Numbers Behind the Pressure

Financial Pressure Point	What It Means for Civil Society
Tax-Deductible Donation Cut (32% → 15%)	Reduces private giving; thousands of CSOs may lose major donors
MSME Support Budget (2019: MX$2.9B → 2025: MX$76M)	Major drop in funding for community-based economic initiatives
Estimated CSOs at Risk	Over 5,000 organizations face operational uncertainty or closure
Impact on Services	Reduced access to food, shelter, education, advocacy, legal aid

These aren’t just numbers — they represent fewer safe spaces, fewer outreach programs, and fewer hands extended when someone needs one.

A Global Pattern

The financial squeeze on civil society is not unique to Mexico. Around the world, organizations that serve communities and defend human rights are facing a wave of pressures:

• International aid is shrinking as donor countries prioritize domestic agendas or military spending. This has led to mass closures of local NGOs in places like Uganda, Kenya, and Nepal.
• In countries such as India, Russia, Egypt, and Turkey, governments have imposed legal restrictions that limit access to foreign funding or label organizations as “foreign agents.”
• Across Europe and the Americas, tax reforms and reduced public trust have weakened civil society’s ability to mobilize support and raise funds.
• Even in wealthier democracies, polarized politics and disinformation campaigns are turning public opinion against groups working on migration, gender, and racial justice.

Despite regional differences, the trend is clear: the space for civil society is shrinking, financially and politically.

Yet, resistance is growing too. Across continents, CSOs are forming new alliances, developing community-owned models, and finding innovative ways to sustain their mission.

The Invisible Collapse

The collapse of a civil society organization doesn’t make front-page news. There’s no dramatic moment. Just one more hotline that no longer answers. One more community left without a voice. One more vulnerable group unprotected.

When public policy disincentivizes giving and pulls funding from social priorities, the human cost is immediate and irreversible. Moreover, it is weakening our democracies.

What Can Be Done

This is more than a budget issue — it’s a test of national values.

• Reinforce the safety net: Advocate for policies that restore and protect the tax benefits that sustain giving.
• Support what you believe in: Direct donations — even small ones — help organizations stay afloat.
• Tell others: Awareness is power. The more people who understand what’s happening, the harder it becomes to ignore.

Keep the Work Alive

Civil society isn’t a luxury — it’s a foundation. When we stop funding it, we don’t just lose services. We lose accountability. We lose solidarity. We lose the quiet promise that someone, somewhere, is working for the common good.

Support civil society. Because its survival is tied to our own.

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List of Countries Restricting CSOs (June 2025)

Country	Type of Restriction	Impact on CSOs	Thematic/Sector-Specific Notes
Bangladesh	Digital Security Act, funding and registration restrictions	Surveillance and harassment of civil society	Media and human rights NGOs targeted
Belarus	Post-election crackdown, forced NGO closures	Hundreds liquidated, activists jailed	Democracy and political rights groups
Brazil	Budget cuts, hostile political rhetoric	Indigenous and environmental NGOs lose funding, face harassment	Environmental defenders especially vulnerable
Cameroon	Restrictions on NGOs in Anglophone regions	Bans, arrests, and harassment linked to conflict	Human rights and conflict-affected area NGOs
China	Overseas NGO Law, tight government controls	Mandatory police registration, limited foreign funding	All independent civil society, especially human rights groups
Colombia	Targeting of environmental defenders and social activists	Killings, threats, and harassment; reduced protections	Environmental and Indigenous rights defenders
Egypt	Restrictive NGO law, arrests, forced closures	Severe crackdown on NGOs working on human rights and political freedoms	Political rights, human rights defenders under pressure
Ethiopia	Charities and Societies Proclamation revisions	Advocacy restricted, foreign funding limited	Ethnic minority rights and humanitarian NGOs
Georgia	Increased political scrutiny and funding delays	Politically motivated audits, delays in NGO registration	Pro-democracy and media watchdog groups
Hungary	Laws targeting foreign-funded NGOs; stigmatization	EU intervention; many NGOs face funding cuts and social stigma	Focus on refugee aid and minority rights groups
India	Foreign funding restrictions (FCRA), bureaucratic hurdles	Over 20,000 NGOs lost foreign funding licenses; heightened surveillance	Human rights, religious freedom, and advocacy groups targeted
Indonesia	Bureaucratic hurdles, restrictions on foreign funding	Audits, delays in registration	Environmental and indigenous rights NGOs
Israel	Foreign funding disclosure law, political accusations	Human rights groups delegitimized	Palestinian rights and human rights NGOs
Kenya	Bureaucratic barriers; politicized registration	Funding delays and restrictions on advocacy-related activities
Mexico	Reduced tax incentives, shrinking public budgets	Financial strain on thousands of CSOs; increased violence against activists	Human rights and community organizers targeted
Morocco	Administrative restrictions and surveillance	Funding freezes, denied registrations	Human rights and political reform groups
Myanmar	Military coup crackdown on NGOs and activists	Widespread closures, arrests, and internet shutdowns	Pro-democracy, ethnic minority, and humanitarian groups
Nicaragua	Mass NGO deregistration, “foreign agents” law	Thousands of CSOs forced to shut down	Political opposition and human rights groups
Pakistan	Foreign funding restrictions, license denials	Closure of many international and domestic NGOs	Human rights and women’s rights organizations
Philippines	Anti-terrorism law used to target NGOs	Labeling NGOs as terrorists, arrests, and harassment	Human rights, Indigenous groups, and environmental defenders
Poland	Political interference, defunding of critical NGOs	Feminist, LGBTQ+, and migrant-support groups face funding cuts and public smear campaigns	Women’s rights and minority groups targeted
Russia	“Foreign agent” laws, criminalization of NGOs	Hundreds of organizations labeled foreign agents; closures, prosecutions	Human rights, LGBT+, anti-corruption groups especially targeted
Sudan	Restrictions under transitional government	Crackdown on protest organizers and human rights defenders	Pro-democracy and women’s rights groups
Thailand	Proposed NGO laws requiring financial disclosures	Risk of shutdowns and reduced advocacy space	Human rights and environmental groups
Turkey	Post-coup emergency decrees, restrictions on foreign funding	Thousands of NGOs closed or face harassment	Kurdish rights, political dissent, and human rights groups targeted
Tunisia	Post-revolution political interference	Restriction of NGOs deemed “political”	Human rights and political reform groups
Uganda	NGO Act amendments; revoked licenses	Dozens of CSOs shut down, especially foreign-funded groups
United States	Increased political polarization, donor distrust	Selective withdrawal of funding, increased legal pressures	Racial justice, immigration, and environmental NGOs
Venezuela	Proposed NGO control laws	Legal threats to independent organizing and advocacy	Human rights and democracy defenders
Zimbabwe	PVO Amendment Bill	Legal framework to ban politically active NGOs	Democratic activists and human rights defenders

Although it is depressingly long, it is not comprehensive. The list is also a list of countries where democracy is being weakened. It is also worth noting that this is not a static topic and recent changes may not be reflected in the list above.

Notes:

• Emerging cases include countries like Colombia, Philippines, Myanmar, Sudan, Cameroon, Kazakhstan, Morocco, and Tunisia, where civil society is under growing pressure amid political instability or conflict.
• Thematic restrictions often target environmental defenders, Indigenous rights activists, women’s rights groups, media watchdogs, and human rights defenders.
• Some governments use anti-terrorism, national security, or foreign agent laws as tools to suppress dissent.
• Financial restrictions like tax incentive removal or foreign funding bans appear globally, severely affecting fundraising.

Note on Western Europe and Civil Society Challenges

While Western Europe generally maintains strong legal protections for civil society organizations, CSOs in this region still face significant challenges, primarily related to:

• Financial pressures due to austerity measures, changing government priorities, and reduced public funding.
• Increased administrative and reporting requirements that can strain smaller organizations.
• Political polarization and public skepticism affecting trust in some advocacy groups, particularly those working on migration, climate change, or social justice.
• Restrictions related to foreign funding transparency, though less severe than in other regions, sometimes create burdens.
• Sector-specific challenges, such as heightened scrutiny of environmental activists or migrant support groups.

These challenges, while typically less severe than the formal legal restrictions seen in other parts of the world, still impact the ability of civil society to operate effectively and sustain their missions.