The National Electoral Institute has invoked a lack of budget to organize the popular consultation in April by the Mexican President, Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, on his retention until 2024.
Le Monde with AFP
The Electoral Authority of Mexico has set off, Friday, December 17, to the referendum project that the Mexican President, Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador (says “Amlo”), wanted to organize in April on his retention in power until the end of his term in 2024.
“These are dilatory tactics”, warned the left president, follower of the popular consultations at his morning press conference before the decision of the National Electoral Institute (INE).
By six votes to five, INE has adopted the preparations for this consultation initially planned on April 10, invoking a lack of budget. “With the money we have, it is simply not possible to organize” a popular consultation on the revocation of the presidential mandate, “said the President of INE, Lorenzo Cordova. It is only a break in the preparations for popular consultation and “no suspension,” he insisted. INE asserts that it will continue to study the signatures that reach it in favor of the referendum.
In terms of the law to organize a referendum on the continuity of the presidential mandate, citizens may request a consultation for the dismissal of the presidential term, subject to the signatures of at least 3% of registered voters. , divided into at least seventeen Mexican states.
“Democratic exercise”
An association close to power, that Siga La Democracia (“Long live democracy”), claims to have collected 3.7 million signatures in favor of this “democratic exercise”. The association denounces “an infringement of the INE against democracy in Mexico”. Leaders from the ruling party, the National Regeneration Movement (Morena), warned that they would grab the Federal Electoral Tribunal.
The Mexican President recalled that the Supreme Court felt that his draft “Revocatory Consultation” respected the Constitution. ELU In 2018 for a single six-year term, the President still has a popularity rating of more than 60%. Since his election, the former Mayor of Mexico has organized several popular consultations. The last, in August, proposed to sue his five predecessors. The participation rate did not exceed 7.1%. The required quorum is 40%.
The National Action Party (PAN, Conservative) believes that this reform is a “cunning” to allow “amlo” to be re-elected, even though it has publicly excluded this possibility.
