Mexico's leader survives 1st recall referendum in country's history

By Jorge Antonio Rocha

MEXICO CITY (AA) - Mexicans voted for the first time in the country’s history on whether their president should complete the rest of his term in a referendum that ended Sunday with low participation but broad support for Andrés Manuel López Obrador.

The official quick count reported massive support for López Obrador. Electorate authorities say that over 90% of the votes cast called for the president to continue his presidency for the remaining three years, with only an estimated 6.4%-7.8% voting for his removal.

However, voter turnout ranged from 17% to 18.2%, rendering the referendum legally null and void. For the vote to be legally binding, the referendum required the participation of 40% or 37 million votes.

The registered electorate base comprised 92.8 million eligible voters, meaning that more than eight out of 10 citizens refrained from taking part in the referendum.

Mexican citizens living abroad could vote online through Mexico's Electronic Voting Commission. Out of the 17,809 registered voters, over 8,000 cast a ballot. The electoral system reported broad support for the president, with 76.31% or 6,324 votes backing López Obrador's administration.

For some, the referendum is an opportunity to support López Obrador, whose presidency represents a change from the controversial and unpopular leaders in the past.

"I support my president unconditionally for everything he has done for our country, for defending the resources of our country, for defending the poor, for looking out for the people. Mexico needed a change," said Alejandra Gómez Vicencio, a businesswoman and academic from Tijuana, Mexico.

This is not the first referendum pushed by López Obrador to show such a low level of involvement among Mexican citizens. For example, a referendum held in July 2021 to investigate former presidents for corruption met with 8% participation.

Although López Obrador enjoys wide support among his constituents, with US-based polling company Morning Consult giving the president a 66% approval rating, the recall referendum has been his signature campaign promise, raising criticism from political opponents.

According to political analysts, López Obrador's goal was to consolidate his political power by achieving 30 million votes supporting his presidency, the same number of votes that led to his victory in the 2018 presidential elections, demonstrating that he has not lost support from Mexicans.