By Gustavo A Maranges on February 6, 2022
Mexico’s Official Journal of the Federation (DOF) just published the call to all Mexican citizens to take part in the recall referendum to be held on next April 10th. That day, people will be asked to choose whether they want President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador (AMLO) to be recalled because of the loss of trust or to allow him to finish his tenure. This is the first time in history of Mexico that this type of democratic process has taken place.
The official announcement came after The National Electoral Institute (INE) stated last week that over 2.8 million people asked for the referendum to be held. This accounts for over 3% of the electoral roll, which means that the INE is now compelled to prepare everything to take the referendum forward.
On September 14th, 2021, Mexico’s Congress passed the Federal Law on Revocation of Mandate, which establishes how to proceed with the referendum. It reads that the process has to take place after the third year of the presidential term. However, it is not mandatory, unless 3% of the electoral roll formally demands it. It also states that the result is binding only if over 40% of the electorate takes part in the process. If it happens, the final result will be decided by the absolute majority (50% +1 of the votes), and it has to be implemented immediately.
According to the Law, from now on, any executive official or institution will not be allowed to make any propaganda on any issue except for education, public health or public safety. Likewise, it is forbidden to announce surveys beforehand. However, political parties can advertise to encourage or discourage people from participating, as long as they do not influence the public about the choice they should vote for.
Despite all this, Mexican electoral authorities have not been friendly to AMLO when it is about massive consultations on key political issues for the country. The president is committed to taking democracy as far as possible, but some privileged sectors do not want to create such a precedent. In December 2021, the INE voted unfavorably to the recall referendum (5 vs 6), arguing a lack of financial resources. It seemed to be just an excuse to avoid the process because it is not the first time this kind of issue has been waived to impede broad consultations.
AMLO was also eager to ask people if they want to hold accountable former presidents for acts of corruption or Human Rights violations, but he had to face huge obstacles to take that forward. The opposition ran a campaign accusing AMLO of political revenge when they actually were afraid of facing people’s justice. Meanwhile, the INE only accepted to prepare the referendum after the Supreme Court pressured it by stating that the Presidential petition was entirely constitutional.
First, the electoral body said there was no money to do such a big consultation. Later, it agreed to do it, but deployed an insufficient amount of polling stations. It looked like the fact of deploying as few polling stations as possible would have been intentional. Maybe that’s the reason why INE President Lorenzo Cordoba came up with the disclaimer that “they will dedicate all their time and resources to the process,” which was an evident reference to the budget, and the questions rose by the latest experience.
This crucial referendum faced the same obstacles from the same political sectors, but the commitment to democracy triumphed this time.
Since the beginning of his term, AMLO said he will promote such a referendum as a good and morally compelling exercise of accountability. He even went further, when amid the worst time of the pandemic, he called to bring forward the recall referendum. But this is something that only honest politicians could be confident in doing.
Many critics have been critical of Lopez Obrador because of his strong will of developing the referendum. The most common argument is to accuse him of promoting himself. However, everybody that knows just a little about AMLO knows that he is a man deeply devoted to democracy. If not giving up after running four times for the presidency, amid electoral fraud and campaigns of lies against him, is not enough, then nothing is. It is easy to realize that the accusation is empty, and it comes from those who do not want the people to feel empowered. There are some people in the Mexican political landscape famous for not fulfilling electoral promises and this kind of process of accountability is an antidote to that behavior. That’s why they vehemently attack AMLO’s proposal because it will set precedence for holding politicians feet to fire once elected.
AMLO may have a lot of self confidence, but the only reason he can feel that way is because he has done more than he promised during his campaign. Moreover, this is a pedagogic exercise for the country, since people need to understand that they have power over those they vote for and not the other way around. That is what democracy should look like. Imagine what would happen if Joe Biden had to face this kind of referendum.
Source: Resumen Latinoamericano – English