Thousands march in Mexico against electoral reforms

MEXICO CITY (AP) — Tens of thousands of people filled Mexico City’s sprawling main square on Sunday to protest President Andrés Manuel López Obrador’s electoral reforms, which they see as a threat to democracy and could be a comeback backward.

The zócalo is thought to have a capacity of around 100,000 people, but many disgruntled people were unable to reach the place and gathered in the nearby streets.

Most of the demonstrators wore white and pink clothes, the colors of the National Electoral Institute, and shouted slogans such as: “My vote is not affected!” Like a similar and slightly larger protest on November 13, protesters seemed to have a higher economic status than those in your average march.

Changes to election law have caught the attention of the United States government.

Brian A. Nichols, U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for the Western Hemisphere, tweeted: “In Mexico today we are witnessing a great debate about electoral reforms that are testing the independence of electoral institutions and judicial.

“The United States supports independent electoral institutions that have the resources to strengthen democratic processes and the rule of law,” he added.

The electoral reforms proposed by López Obrador were approved last week. Once enacted, they will cut salaries, funding for local election offices, and training for citizens who run and oversee those polling stations. Penalties for candidates who do not declare their campaign expenses will also be reduced.

López Obrador denies that the reforms pose a threat to democracy and assures that the critics are elitist, arguing that the institute spends too much money and that amount should be invested in the poor.

But protester Enrique Bastien, a 64-year-old veterinarian, said with the reforms López Obrador intended to return to the past, when the government controlled elections.

“It was a dependent life,” Bastien said, recalling the 1970s and 1980s when the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI) ruled Mexico with fraud and handouts.

Fernando Gutiérrez, a 55-year-old small entrepreneur, said the president wants to lead Mexico towards a socialist government.

“It shows in the support for Cuba,” he commented.

López Obrador imported COVID-19 vaccines, medical personnel and railroad ballast from Cuba, but showed little interest in implementing socialist policies in his country.

Many other protesters were simply wary of the kind of vote counting error, excessive campaign spending and electoral pressure tactics that were common in Mexico before the independent electoral body was established in the 1990s.

Mexico’s president said Thursday he would enact the reform, although he expects legal challenges. Many participants in Sunday’s protest expressed hope that Mexico’s Supreme Court would strike down parts of the reform, as the courts have done with other presidential initiatives.

Lorenzo Córdova, president of the National Electoral Institute, said the reforms aim to “do without thousands of people responsible for guaranteeing reliable elections every day, which, of course, will jeopardize future elections”.

Mexico’s president appears indifferent to the legal challenges, signaling Thursday that he believed the reforms would be ratified because there was nothing forbidden.

However, on several occasions he frequently attacked the Mexican judicial system, claiming that the judges were part of a conservative plot against his government.

The president’s continued attacks on the judiciary, as well as regulatory and oversight agencies, have fueled fears among some who say he is seeking to reinstate the practices of the former PRI, which tightened rules to retain the presidency of the country for 70 years until his defeat. in the 2000 elections.

Mexican elections are expensive by international standards, in part because nearly all legal campaign finance is, by law, provided by the government. The INE also issues voting cards, the most common form of official identification in Mexico, and oversees elections in remote and often dangerous parts of the country.

López Obrador retains great popularity in the country, with approval ratings approaching 60%. Although he cannot stand for election, his party, Morena, is the frontrunner in next year’s general election as chaos reigns in the opposition.

Part of his popularity stems from his attacks on government bureaucracy and his high salaries, and he doesn’t like the fact that some top election officials are paid more than the president.