This Sunday, April 10, Mexicans of voting age are called for a referendum on the revocation of the presidential mandate. This is the first time such a referendum has been held in the country, set up by a law passed in September last year.
With our correspondent in Mexico, Gwendolina Duval
Across the country, voters will have to choose between either withdrawing or leaving Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador (AMLO) the office of President of Mexico until the end of the six-year term – expected in 2024.
This vote, promised and pushed by AMLO and his party, was the subject of much criticism from opponents, considered a useless expense and deemed a demagogic farce given the strong popularity of the Head of State. .
Few suspense
There is not much suspense regarding the outcome of this vote. If his mandate were revoked, AMLO would be forced to resign, but with a popularity rate that exceeds 60%, the president is almost certain that the result of the referendum will be in his favor. So the only uncertainty concerns the participation rate.
Moreover, the opposition preferred to call for abstention with the idea of making this ballot obsolete: indeed, without a minimum of 40% participation, the vote will not be taken into account and will not have been used to nothing. If President Lopez Obrador and the defenders of this popular consultation wanted his organization so badly, it was officially to give an additional democratic tool to the Mexican people.
In reality, it is above all a question of reaffirming AMLO’s image and allowing it to measure its ability to mobilize the electorate. And if some may fear that a strong victory could encourage him to change the rules of the Constitution to run for a second term, AMLO has repeatedly denied this hypothesis.
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