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WORLD NEWS Wednesday 13 april 2022

Old-style government practices seen in Mexican recall vote

By MARÍA VERZA movement. Turnout was likely to decrease its auton-
MEXICO CITY (AP) — Ana- about 16.5 million, or only omy and independence.
lysts in Mexico said Mon- about 18% of eligible voters In fact, López Obrador has
day that President Andrés — far below the 40% turn- expressed dislike for inde-
Manuel López Obrador's out needed to make the pendent regulatory and
successful push to hold vote binding. oversight bodies in gener-
the weekend's recall vote The leader of López Obra- al, such as in government
could, paradoxically, dor's party, Mario Delga- transparency and informa-
leave Mexico's democracy do, boasted about driving tion access. He has sought
weaker. around in a van, picking to eliminate some of them.
López Obrador declared up people to take them to Luis Miguel Pérez Juárez,
Sunday's referendum, in polling places, a practice an expert in democratic
which he was strongly sup- that is illegal in Mexico. transitions at the Monter-
ported by the few Mexicans Delgado posted photos in rey Technological Insti-
voters who participated, as his social media accounts Mexico´s President Andres Manuel López Obrador shows his tute, said the president has
"a complete success" and showing him driving a van identification card after voting in a national referendum on never had much affection
"a historic event." painted with the words "Do whether he should end his six-year term barely midway through for the electoral institute,
or continue to the end, outside his polling station in Mexico City,
He described the vote as you want to vote? I'll take Sunday, April 10, 2022. known by its initials as the
a victory for "participative you there!" The van was Associated Press INE, which occasionally
democracy," noting Mexi- later shown loaded with tries to limit what elected
cans had never before people who had voted. pensive and is hostile to his way for López Obrador officials can say in the run-
been allowed to vote on Clara Jusidman, an econo- Morena party. to rally his base midway up to elections.
whether a president should mist and civic activist, said Critics said Sunday's vote through the single term al- "Ever since he came to
be recalled from office. some government employ- was the real waste of mon- lowed Mexico's presidents. power, the INE has both-
But his Morena party used il- ees also were required to ey. They said it cost almost They worry that changes to ered him," Pérez Juárez
legal, old-style electioneer- bring a minimum number $80 million and was just a the electoral institute are said.q
ing tactics to get out the of people to polling places.
vote for what was a largely That is a practice reminis-
symbolic vote. cent of the old Institutional
López Obrador was never Revolutionary Party, which
in doubt of losing the ref- governed Mexico for sev-
erendum Sunday, with his en decades without inter-
approval ratings current- ruption until it lost the 2000
ly hovering around 60%. elections.
Near-final vote tallies Mon- "A lot of rules were broken
day showed that about that had been established
92% of the ballots cast said to protect against gov-
he should remain in office. ernment intervention, the
Still, the president saw get- use of public funds to pro-
ting large numbers of vot- mote (a vote) and 'client'
ers to turn out was the real politics," Jusidman said,
measure of his political referring to people who
feel they have to vote to
ARUBA preserve their government
benefits.

CLEAN And the president himself
has criticized elements of
the electoral system that
emerged after decades
of near one-party rule in
an effort to strengthen de-
mocracy, among them
independent electoral au-
thorities established in the
late 1990s to ensure fair
play and equity in elec-
tions.
IS MORE López Obrador has
pledged to overhaul the
DUSHI National Electoral Institute,
contending that it is too ex-