Mexico President Hits Back at Massive Protests Against Electoral Plan: It’s ‘Racist’ and ‘Classist’

Mexico's President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador is planning to overhaul the country's electoral authority. However, these planned reforms were met with massive protests across Mexico, including the capital Mexico City, as well as other big cities like Monterrey.

The protest march was attended by around 50,000-60,000 people. It was considered one of the largest demonstrations against AMLO's policies since he had taken office, according to Reuters. However, protest organizers claim around 200,000 people attended the protests.

Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador Hits Back at Protest Leaders

While tens of thousands joined the march, AMLO merely dismissed these protests as "racist" and "classist." He stated that they were just a form of "political striptease" by his opponents before repeating assertions about his proposal to cut the National Electoral Institute's (INE) budget and change how its electoral board is picked.

AMLO also questioned the democratic credentials of prominent participants of the protests, some of whom are well-known opposition leaders.

The president claims that his intention is to protect and strengthen democracy, not weaken it as the protest organizers claimed. His initiative includes eliminating state-level electoral offices, cutting public financing of political parties, and allowing the public to elect members of the electoral authority. Currently, members of the electoral authority are appointed by the lower chamber of Congress.

ABC News reports that AMLO also aims to reduce the number of legislators in the lower chamber of Congress from 500 to 300 and senators from 128 to 96. He plans to do this by eliminating at-large lawmakers who are not directly elected by voters, but are part of party lists.

The president has been a long-time critic of Mexico's electoral authorities. He has accused them previously of helping engineer his defeats during his failed presidential runs in 2006 and 2012.

The Hill describes his latest political proposal as the "deepest revamp of Mexico's electoral system since the 1990s." This was during a time of massive public protests that forced the Mexican government to decentralize the electoral authority. This eventually led to the end of a one-party system that ruled Mexico for over seven decades.

AMLO's Morena Party and allies hold the advantage in Mexico's Congress, and it will be expected to discuss the proposal in the coming weeks. However, many have pointed out that the party lacks the two-thirds congressional majority needed for the constitutional reform of the INE.

What Critics of AMLO Say About the Proposal

AMLO has so far dismissed every single criticism about his proposal as something neoliberals and conservatives are cooking up to undermine democracy. He has always blamed these groups whenever the public disagrees with any of his plans.

One of those criticizing the move is Ruben Salazar, director of the Etellekt Consultants. He stated that the "march sent a message that the proposed reform did not have the support of a sufficient majority," and added that "the reform as part of a longer-term election strategy and a desire to make sure that Lopez Obrador's party's candidate for president is victorious in 2024."

The proposal also has some critics abroad, including Maureen Meyer, vice president of programs at the Washington Office on Latin America. This is a progressive think tank and not one of the conservative groups the Mexican president often accuses of undermining democracy. She stated that the protests "demonstrate deep concerns of many Mexican citizens" that AMLO's proposed reforms to the electoral institute would "severely weaken its independence, politicize its work, and risk undermining the country's democracy."

This article is owned by Latin Post.

Written by: Rick Martin

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