Tens of thousands of people gathered in Mexico City’s main square on Sunday for a massive demonstration against left-populist President Andrés Manuel López Obrador’s electoral reform. The reform provides for major cuts and limitations in the functions of the National Electoral Institute, the independent body that deals with elections in Mexico: it was definitively approved on Wednesday by the Senate and must be signed by the president before entering into force. According to the demonstrators, who had already protested against the law a few months ago, it would be a threat to democracy.
Sunday was the largest demonstration organized so far against the government of López Obrador, who was elected in 2018 and during his tenure has progressively weakened various state institutions, criticized opposition journalists and ushered in an increasingly concentrated economic policy in the hands of the state. According to the organizers, around 500,000 people took part in the protests, but the administration of Mexico City, governed by the president’s party, says there were 90,000 participants. There were also demonstrations in other cities across the country, including Monterrey and Guadalajara.
