Mexican president slams mass protests against electoral reforms

By Jorge Antonio Rocha

MEXICO CITY (AA) – Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador slammed protesters opposed to his electoral reforms on Monday, saying that corrupt and undemocratic political dissidents organized a weekend demonstration attended by tens of thousands of people in Mexico City.

Sunday’s march in the city’s main plaza was organized by civil organizations and the political opposition to Lopez Obrador and his Morena party against constitutional reforms approved last week in congress by Morena and its allies, which the protesters say threaten democracy.

The structural changes made to the National Electoral Institute (INE), Mexico's electoral body, will affect its capacity to oversee the presidential elections in 2024.

The controversial law, commonly called “Plan B,” is the president's second attempt to reconfigure the electoral body, reducing the INE’s income by 80%.

Lopez Obrador said the demonstration was groundless, since some of his political adversaries supported the event.

"Most of them have participated in previous governments, (and) have been…defenders of electoral fraud, have been part of the corruption in Mexico, have belonged to the narco-state,” he said.

During his routine press conference, he took the time to single out the leading political figures present at the demonstration, noting that the major personalities behind the event were composed of the Mexican political and business elite, which he accused of convening the protest to attack his government and derail its accomplishments.

"And, of course, yesterday's demonstration and others to come are part of this objective of confronting us, because they do not want the country's transformation. They want to continue stealing, return to their ways, and keep the majority of Mexicans marginalized and in oblivion, impoverishing them," he said.

According to members of Frente Civico Nacional, the civilian organization that organized the mass protest, over 500,000 demonstrators attended the march in Mexico City. However, city authorities have officially accounted for 90,000 protestors.