López Obrador remains in office: Mexico’s president wins referendum
Mexico’s President López Obrador has won a controversial referendum on his stay in office. More than 90 percent of voters voted in favor. However, the turnout was so low that the result is not binding.
Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador has won a referendum on his stay in office. According to a projection by the national electoral authority INE, between 90.3 and 91.9 percent of those taking part in the survey voted for the left-nationalist politician to hold the highest office of state as planned until December 2024. However, the turnout was only between 17.0 and 18.2 percent, which means that the result is not legally binding. A participation of 40 percent would have been required for this.
“The people have recognized his commitment to those most in need,” said the leader of the governing Morena party, Mario Delgado. The almost 15 million votes are a positive result for the head of state. The President said it was a democratic process in which he gave voters an opportunity to express their opinions on his government’s policies. “Nobody should forget that the people call the shots,” said López Obrador when voting.
Criticism of the opposition
There were two options with regard to the 68-year-old Lopez Obrador: “He should be deprived of his mandate because of a lack of confidence” and “He should remain in the office of President of the Republic”. Critics had called for a boycott of the vote. You spoke of a political maneuver with which López Obrador wants to strengthen his position in the middle of his term. They saw it as an unnecessary distraction from the many challenges facing the country. The opposition called the referendum a “populist exercise”.
López Obrador and his Morena party introduced the referendum in 2019 with a constitutional reform to give the president greater democratic legitimacy. An impeachment referendum can be held early in the second half of a president’s term by collecting the signatures of at least 3 percent of eligible voters in 17 states. In recent polls, López Obrador achieved an average approval rating of 58 percent.
Dispute with National Electoral Board
In the run-up to the referendum, López Obrador and his party accused the electoral authorities of being against him and of not promoting the plebiscite enough. The National Electoral Authority initially refused to conduct the poll due to the high cost. In interviews, INE boss Lorenzo Córdova warned against a campaign to discredit the agency. The Supreme Court finally agreed with López Obrador; the referendum took place.
Mexico’s constitution only allows a six-year term for each president. López Obrador, in office since 2018, has initiated a number of major reform projects, such as reversing the liberalization of the energy sector. He has raised the country’s minimum wage and enacted welfare programs. At the same time, he largely avoided restrictions during the corona pandemic. In addition, the country continues to struggle with corruption and drug-related crime.
