Thousands gathered on a main avenue in Mexico City on Sunday to protest President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador’s proposal to introduce reforms related to the country’s electoral institution, Politico wrote.
The content will continue after the announcement
Advertising
The large number of protesters was a serious counter-argument to the president’s statement that only a relatively small opposition voiced criticism, media noted.
Opposition parties and civil society organizations had called on Mexicans in the capital and other cities to protest electoral reform proposals that would overhaul the National Electoral Institute, a body whose work is lauded Mexican inhabitants.
López Obrador sees the institution as owned by the elite, but critics say his reforms would undermine his independence and make it more politicised. The initiative includes eliminating statewide polling stations, reducing public funding for political parties, and allowing the public to elect electoral bodies instead of members of the lower house of Congress.
The reform would also reduce the number of lawmakers in the lower house of Congress from 500 to 300 and the number of senators from 128 to 96.
The proposal is expected to be debated in the coming weeks in Mexico’s Congress, where the president’s party and allies hold the majority.
