By MARK LORENZANA The contentious electoral reform spearheaded by deputies from the leftist National Regeneration Movement (Morena) of Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador (AMLO) has further divided the country, and two groups have emerged thus far: those who have called for a complete transformation — or even scrapping — of the National Electoral Institute (INE), and those who are
Read more
By MARK LORENZANA Only 13 percent of Mexicans believe that the National Electoral Institute (INE) should be eliminated, 31 percent support some sort of electoral reform and 53 percent think that the INE has been doing a good job so far, according to a telephone survey conducted by Mexican daily newspaper Reforma from Wednesday, Oct. 26, to Saturday, Oct. 29.
Read more
By MARK LORENZANA Amid the electoral reform spearheaded by deputies from the leftist National Regeneration Movement (Morena) of Mexican President Manuel López Obrador (AMLO), which seeks to eliminate Mexico’s National Electoral Institute (INE), the Mexican Human Rights Commission (CDNH) has labeled the INE as a “body that sabotages the will of the people,” and has claimed that “for years it
Read more
By MARK LORENZANA Deputies of Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador’s (AMLO) leftist National Regeneration Movement (Morena) on Tuesday, Oct. 25, began the legislative process for the electoral reform that seeks to eliminate Mexico’s National Electoral Institute (INE), which would be replaced by another smaller body whose councilors would be elected by popular vote at the polls. The proposal seeks
Read more
By MARK LORENZANA Mexico’s Special Prosecutor’s Office for Electoral Crimes (FEDE) has concluded that Pío López Obrador, brother of Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador (AMLO), did not commit any electoral crime. Incidentally, José Agustín Ortiz Pinchetti, FEDE head, is a member of AMLO’s leftist National Regeneration Movement (Morena). Ortiz Pinchetti, in his decision, determined that Pío López Obrador allegedly
Read more
By MARK LORENZANA At least for the time being, the proposal to extend the presence of the Armed Forces on the streets for public security tasks until 2028 has been suspended by the Mexican Senate. During the discussion, Ricardo Monreal, leader of the leftist National Regeneration Movement (Morena) majority bloc in the Senate, took the stand on Wednesday, Sept. 21,
Read more
By MARK LORENZANA Raúl Paz Alonzo, a senator from the Mexican state of Yucatán and member of the conservative National Action Party (PAN), has defected to President Andrés Manuel López Obrador’s (AMLO) leftist National Regeneration Movement (Morena). On Tuesday, Sept. 20, Paz Alonzo was received with fanfare by his new Morena colleagues in the Mexican Senate, after accepting a position in
Read more
By MARK LORENZANA The military has long been on the list of untouchables in Mexico. The Mexican National Guard (GN) might soon be added to that list. On Friday, Sept. 9, the Mexican Senate approved a legislation transferring control of the GN to the Secretariat of National Defense (Sedena), a contentious move that has sparked outrage from human rights groups
Read more
By MARK LORENZANA Members of the Va Por México coalition, which consists of the centralist Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI), the conservative National Action Party (PAN) and the left-leaning Party of the Democratic Revolution (PRD), reaffirmed their alliance on Tuesday, Aug. 30, and are set to agree on fielding their chosen candidates in the upcoming 2023 local public elections and the
Read more
By MARK LORENZANA Mexico’s Supreme Court (SCJN) is set to eliminate automatic preventive detention (jail without bail) in the country, arguing that it violates the human rights provided for in international treaties, in addition to the fact that it has been the reason for condemnation of Mexico by the Inter-American Court of Human Rights (IACHR). The move by the SCJN
Read more