Mexico’s president can issue election law reform

MEXICO CITY (Reuters) – Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said on Tuesday his administration could issue an election law reform if his constitutional plan to reform the country’s electoral commission is not approved in Congress.

Lopez Obrador, who introduced the plan in April, has long criticized the country’s electoral authorities, including accusing them of helping engineer his defeats when he ran for president in 2006 and 2012.

He said the reform would allow citizens to elect authorities and limit the influence of economic interests in politics. It would also cut off funding for political parties and limit advertising time.

But it has raised widespread concerns that the changes could herald a power grab because they give the president more control over electoral systems.

His ruling party MORENA and its allies lack the two-thirds majority in Congress needed for constitutional reform. His latest proposal seemed to be geared toward a change in the law that would require only a simple majority.

Thousands took to the streets on Sunday to protest the constitutional initiative, but Lopez Obrador said the demonstrations were a “racist” and “classical” protest and demanded his opponents organize a larger protest.

“They did it in the interest of corruption, in the interest of racism, class and discrimination,” Lopez Obrador said Monday.

It was one of the biggest rallies against Lopez Obrador’s policies to date.

Valentin Hillier reports. Editing by Anthony Esposito and Jonathan Otis

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