Next Sunday, the Mexican opposition will once again mobilize in a hundred locations against the electoral reform validated on February 22 by the Senate, and defended by President Andrés Manuel López Obrador.
The Mexican Senate approved this Wednesday a controversial reform by Andrés Manuel López Obrador (AMLO), called “Plan B”, which reduces the size and budget of the National Electoral Institute (INE), which the president accuses of having allowed past frauds.
The opposition, for whom it is an “attack” against democracy, considers that these cuts will affect the autonomy of the body, which will also see its powers to punish politicians for electoral violations limited.
The opposition bench announced that it will demand the articles before the Supreme Court of Justice, also considering that it would give advantages to the leftist government in the general elections scheduled for mid-2024.
“Dismemberment of the INE”
For José Woldenberg, political scientist and first president of the Federal Electoral Institute (IFE, predecessor of INE), “the most serious thing is the dismemberment of the National Electoral Institute.” “At its base it has 300 district boards, and in each of its districts there are five officials: one who is in charge of the registry, another of the organization, another in the training of officials, there is a member, a president, and a secretary. . And well, they are the ones who really operate the elections on the ground, the ones who make them possible, ”he details.
But, he continues, “according to this law, of the five officials only one would remain. What would happen to that? Surely that person is going to have to hire temporary officials as was done before, officials who are not assigned and whose loyalty is not fundamentally with the Institute, but eventually with the governments of the different entities”.
“Have starting advantages”
The Government also accuses the Institute of having allowed past fraud, something that José Woldenberg denies: “For many, many years, I think since 2006, there have been no post-electoral conflicts in Mexico. If anyone has benefited from the current electoral system, it is precisely President López Obrador and his party: in 20 of the 32 states of the Republic, those who were candidates for Morena, the president’s party, govern ”, he underlines.
So, with regional and national elections approaching, why has AMLO decided to push this unpopular measure now? “I think he is thinking of having starting advantages in the electoral processes. And if his attitude has shown anything, it is that he does not like to coexist with autonomous State bodies, and he would like to have the National Electoral Institute aligned with presidential designs ”, concludes the former president of the IFE.
The opposition has called a demonstration in Mexico City and other locations next Sunday to protest against this electoral reform under the slogan #MiVotoNoSeToca. On November 13, when the constitutional reform proposal was being discussed, a massive opposition protest was held in Mexico City.
And with AFP
