International
Thousands of Mexicans protest against electoral reform promoted by Lopez Obrador
February 27 |
The Mexican opposition took to the streets this Sunday in several cities of the country to protest against a controversial electoral reform promoted by President Andrés Manuel López Obrador which, they allege, puts the 2024 general elections at risk.
On Wednesday, the Senate, dominated by the ruling Morena party and its allies, culminated the approval of a reform to the National Electoral Institute (INE) that, among other things, cuts its budget and competencies by closing offices and dismissing officials for millionaire savings.
In Mexico City, thousands of demonstrators filled the capital’s emblematic Zócalo square, the center of Mexican power, and surrounding streets, many of them dressed in pink, the color of the electoral institution that the protests have taken as a symbol.
Among the participants was Alejandro Moreno, president and deputy of one of the main opposition groups, the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI).
“We Mexicans are on the side of democracy, together we make ourselves heard so that the country’s democratic institutions are not destroyed!” said Moreno in a tweet accompanied by a photo of himself in the middle of the protests.
Veronica Echevarria, a 58-year-old psychologist from Mexico City who was participating in the protest, said she was concerned that the INE reform is an attempt by Lopez Obrador to take control of the electoral authority so he can stay in power.
“We are fighting to defend our democracy,” she said, decked out in a cap that read “INE is not touched.”
Late last year, thousands of people also came out to protest against the reform. Once it enters into force, the opposition will appeal the modifications before the Supreme Court of Justice.
The changes have been seen by analysts as an attempt by the president to weaken INE and generate a democratic step backwards. But the president has defended his initiative by assuring that it will strengthen democracy and reduce the influence of economic interests in politics.
“Normally, presidents seek to have governability and stability for their succession. But the president (Lopez Obrador) is generating uncertainty,” said Fernando Belaunzaran, an opposition politician who helped organize the protest.
This Sunday Belaunzarán announced on his social networks that there would be marches in more than 100 cities.
In June next year Mexicans will elect the successor to Lopez Obrador, a 69-year-old leftist who claims he was robbed of the presidency twice before he finally won a landslide victory in the 2018 election.
While the changes approved this week are less ambitious than the original constitutional reform sought by the president, they significantly modify the composition of INE and eliminate 85% of its professional service positions, a mechanism that guarantees equal opportunity in access to public administration based on merit.
According to INE’s own analysis, the reform puts at risk the preparation of the electoral roll, the installation of polling stations, the vote computations and the auditing of political parties and electoral campaigns.
López Obrador said this week that the institution is one of the most expensive electoral bodies, besides having an “anti-democratic” role, and described this Sunday’s protests as “a demonstration to defend the old corrupt regime”.
For many political analysts, INE and its predecessor, IFE, played a key role in helping to create a pluralist democracy that in 2000 ended decades of rule by the once all-powerful Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI).
Polls show that Morena is the heavy favorite to win the 2024 elections. However, critics argue that López Obrador is not so confident that his party can retain power without interfering in the electoral process.
“(The reform) significantly affects INE’s operational capacity, as well as the organization of Election Day, which would be subject to multiple risks, given the weakening of the highest electoral body,” said Senator Gina Cruz, of the opposition National Action Party (PAN). “The ultimate and real purpose of the president is to steal the 2024 elections”.
International
Man arrested after deliberately driving into seven children in Osaka
Japanese police arrested a man on Thursday after he rammed his car into a group of seven schoolchildren in an apparent deliberate attack in the city of Osaka.
The children, who were on their way home from school, sustained injuries and were taken to the hospital. All seven remained conscious, according to local authorities.
An Osaka police officer, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the suspect is a 28-year-old man from Tokyo. The officer shared statements the man made after his arrest: “I was fed up with everything, so I decided to kill people by driving into several elementary school children,” the suspect reportedly said.
The man has been arrested on suspicion of attempted murder.
The injured children, aged between seven and eight, included a seven-year-old girl who suffered a fractured jaw. The six other children—all boys—suffered minor injuries such as bruises and scratches and were undergoing medical evaluation.
Witnesses described the car as “zigzagging” before hitting the children. One witness told Nippon TV that a girl was “covered in blood” and the others appeared to have scratches.
Another witness said the driver, who was wearing a face mask, looked to be in shock when school staff pulled him from the vehicle.
Violent crimes are rare in Japan, though serious incidents do occur from time to time. In 2008, Tomohiro Kato drove a two-ton truck into pedestrians in Tokyo’s Akihabara district, then fatally stabbed several victims. Seven people were killed in that attack.
Internacionales
Clashes erupt during may day protests across France amid calls for better wages
May Day protests in France were marked by a heavy police presence and clashes between demonstrators and law enforcement in several cities.
In Paris, Lyon, and Nantes, thousands took to the streets to demand better wages, fairer working conditions, and to voice their dissatisfaction with President Emmanuel Macron’s government.
While the majority of the demonstrations remained peaceful, isolated confrontations broke out in some areas. Protesters threw objects at the police, prompting the use of tear gas and resulting in several arrests.
Videos showing police crackdowns circulated widely on social media, drawing criticism from labor unions and human rights advocates, who denounced the authorities’ response to the protests.
International
Kristi Noem credits Trump for mass migrant deportations by mexican president
U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem claimed that Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum has deported “more than half a million” migrants due to pressure from former President Donald Trump.
During a cabinet meeting highlighting the “achievements” of Trump’s administration in its first 100 days, Noem asserted that under the Republican leader’s influence, “Mexico has finally come to the table” to negotiate on migration and fentanyl trafficking.
“The president of Mexico told me she has returned just over half a million people before they reached our border,” Noem stated, criticizing media reports that suggest the Biden administration deported more migrants than Trump’s.
“I wish those deportations were counted,” Noem added, “because those people never made it to our border—she sent them back because you made her.” She went on to thank Trump: “They never made it here because they got the message—because you were so aggressive.”
Noem has made controversial claims about Sheinbaum in the past, prompting the Mexican leader to refute them.
On April 1, Sheinbaum responded to one such statement by declaring, “The president answers to only one authority, and that is the people of Mexico,” after Noem said on Fox News that she gave Sheinbaum “a list of things Trump would like to see” and that Mexico’s actions would determine whether Trump granted tariff relief.
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