MEXICO CITY (AP) – Mexico’s electoral institute voted Friday to give the ruling Morena party and its allies about 73% of the seats in the lower house of Congress, even though the coalition won less than 60% of the vote in the June 2 election.
The decision, which can be appealed to a court, would give the ruling coalition the two-thirds majority it needs to allow the House of Representatives to approve changes to Mexico’s constitution. If the decision stands, Morena and its allies would have about 364 seats in the 500-seat body.
Critics said that would give Morena more power in Congress than it won at the polls.
The dispute is over a law that allocates some seats in Congress based on proportional representation. It was designed to give smaller parties seats in Congress based on their national vote percentage, even if they don’t win individual congressional district races.
But the law also stipulates that proportional seats cannot be used to give any party a majority in Congress.
Morena apparently gets around it by “loaning” some of the winning congressional district candidates to two allied smaller parties. Smaller parties are not subject to the non-majority rule, but they vote together with Morena.
The institute’s board voted that the rules on proportional representation only apply to parties individually and without considering possible effects on the majority meeting.
While Morena and its allies are unlikely to get a two-thirds majority in the Senate, whose approval is also needed for constitutional changes, the coalition probably only has a couple of seats in the missing body and could get the necessary votes. from a smaller party.
The issue is important because outgoing President Andrés Manuel López Obrador — and his successor, Morena member Claudia Sheinbaum — have pledged to use a two-thirds majority to implement 20 constitutional changes, including the nomination of all judges.
Critics say that the selection of judges would undermine the independence of the judiciary and promote greater control by the ruling party.
In recent days, the proposal has received criticism from investors and financial institutions, as well as from the US ambassador to Mexico.
Morgan Stanley on Tuesday downgraded its recommendation on investing in Mexico, saying the changes would “increase risk.” In its analysis report, Citibanamex warned that the approval of the proposal could end up “withdrawing liberal democracy”.
US Ambassador Ken Salazar said Thursday that the proposed changes pose a “risk” to Mexico’s democracy and threaten the “historic trade relationship” between the two countries.
In addition, federal courts are mostly closed due to a court workers’ strike that began Monday to protest the court order. Judges and magistrates joined the walkout on Wednesday.
Among other constitutional proposals, Morena is pushing for an amendment that would effectively eliminate all of Mexico’s independent oversight and regulatory bodies. The party argues that they are a waste of money and says that oversight responsibilities should instead be given to ministries so that they can effectively oversee themselves.
López Obrador has tried to push through his pet infrastructure projects, mostly railroads and oil refineries, without oversight, regulation or environmental impact statements, but he has often faced court challenges. Amending the Constitution swept away these barriers.
López Obrador leaves office on September 30, but Sheinbaum – who won the June 2 election to become Mexico’s first female president – has vowed to continue all her policies.
