The World Briefly
February 20, 2024People Power
Mexico
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Tens of thousands of people took to the streets in Mexico on Sunday, in a so-called “march for democracy,” with protesters outraged by President Andrés Manuel López Obrador’s proposed changes to an electoral agency ahead of elections in June, the Associated Press reported.
During the marches, about 90,000 people called for free and fair elections and denounced corruption, and demanded to “get López out.” The demonstration was called by opposition parties the same day the ruling left-leaning party Morena registered its candidate, former Mexico City Mayor Claudia Sheinbaum.
Sheinbaum is seen as the heir of López Obrador, 70, whose election in 2018 was hailed by supporters as the ousting of the elite from power. He took office after beating the Institutional Revolutionary Party, which had ruled Mexico for seven decades.
López Obrador has defended a plan to cut funding to the National Electoral Institute, an autonomous agency that is tasked with organizing federal elections. His reform proposal includes drastic staff reductions, which he claimed could save taxpayers $150 million a year, the BBC explained. He says that the agency is made up of corrupt establishment leaders.
However, critics say the plan is a danger to democracy and the independence of the electoral system.
López Obrador, who is barred by the constitution from running for a second term, remains largely popular in Mexico, and his protégée Sheinbaum is set to win the June 2 presidential election, according to the latest opinion polls.
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