AMLO’s Electoral ‘Reform’ Has Mexico in the Streets

AMLO’s Electoral ‘Reform’ Has Mexico in the Streets
Demonstrators protest against recent reforms pushed by Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador to the country’s electoral law, in Mexico City, Feb. 26, 2023 (AP photo by Fernando Llano).

On Sunday, huge crowds of demonstrators streamed into Mexico City’s main square, making a powerful statement against a plan that they convincingly argue would undermine the country’s young democracy.

Organizers say some 500,000 people joined the protest at the Zocalo, as the plaza at the center of the city is known. Officials claim a lower number, but either way, the gathering, one of scores of demonstrations held in more than 100 Mexican cities, marks a startlingly strong rebuke to President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, or AMLO.

Paraphrasing the writer Gabriel Garcia Marquez, opponents of AMLO’s controversial changes to the electoral system and the National Electoral Institute, or INE, call the overhaul the “chronicle of a fraud foretold.”

Keep reading for free!

Get instant access to the rest of this article by submitting your email address below. You'll also get access to three articles of your choice each month and our free newsletter:

Or, Subscribe now to get full access.

Already a subscriber? Log in here .

What you’ll get with an All-Access subscription to World Politics Review:

A WPR subscription is like no other resource — it’s like having a personal curator and expert analyst of global affairs news. Subscribe now, and you’ll get:

  • Immediate and instant access to the full searchable library of tens of thousands of articles.
  • Daily articles with original analysis, written by leading topic experts, delivered to you every weekday.
  • Regular in-depth articles with deep dives into important issues and countries.
  • The Daily Review email, with our take on the day’s most important news, the latest WPR analysis, what’s on our radar, and more.
  • The Weekly Review email, with quick summaries of the week’s most important coverage, and what’s to come.
  • Completely ad-free reading.

And all of this is available to you when you subscribe today.

More World Politics Review