Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador achieved his controversial goal of overhauling Mexico’s venerated electoral system, but it cost him in the court of public opinion, with Mexicans from across the social spectrum souring on his job performance.
López Obrador has held a grudge against the INE since his close loss in the 2006 presidential election to Felipe Calderón, which he has claimed was fraudulently decided. Nevertheless, it is one of the few institutions that can rival the president’s popularity, as many Mexicans remember the days of single-party rule. For decades, the PRI-dominated Interior Ministry manipulated election results to ensure control, epitomized by the alleged computer crash that stopped vote-counting in the 1988 elections.
The INE’s independence has been lauded by the international community for consistently delivering free and fair elections since 2000 despite mounting challenges. López Obrador’s overhaul will cut the institution’s budget and centralize control over appointments to key positions, which critics say will give the powers that be in Mexico City effective control.
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