MEXICO CITY – Thousands of people gathered in cities across Mexico on Sunday to protest President Andrés Manuel Lopez Obrador’s move to curtail independent voting rights, arguing the change threatens democracy. He vehemently denies it.
The Mexican Congress approved last week A major overhaul of the National Electoral Administration (INE), Lopez Obrador has repeatedly attacked him for being corrupt and inefficient.
People marching in Mexico City and other major cities against a bill that would slash the INE’s budget and staff.
Veronica Echebarría, a 58-year-old psychologist from Mexico City who is participating in the protests, fears Lopez Obrador’s INE overhaul is an attempt to control electoral officials so he can stay in power. He said that there is
“We are fighting to protect our democracy,” she said, wearing a hat that read “Keep your hands off the INE.”
She and thousands of others gathered in the Zocalo on Sunday morning through the city’s Paseo de la Reforma boulevard. Many of them wore pink, the color of INE.
Video footage on social media showed people approaching the square with banners saying “Stop voting for me.”
According to many political analysts, INE and its predecessors played a key role in creating a pluralist democracy that ended decades of one-party rule in 2000.
Fernando Belaunzaran, an opposition politician who helped organize the protests, said the changes had weakened the electoral system and increased the risk of controversy clouding the 2024 elections to choose Lopez Obrador’s successor. rice field.
“Normally, presidents try to ensure governability and stability for their successors, but presidents are creating uncertainty,” said Beraunzaran. “He’s playing with fire.”
In a tweet on Sunday, Belaunzaran said the marches would take place in more than 100 cities.
The president of Mexico can only serve one six-year term.
https://www.straitstimes.com/world/thousands-protest-against-electoral-overhaul-in-mexico Thousands Protest Mexico’s Electoral Reform