Humanitarian Aid / Electoral Reform

Humanitarian Aid. Minister of National Defense Luis Cresencio Sandoval reported that the Mexican team rescued four people, recovered 37 bodies and provided medical attention to 116 victims in Turkey.

On Feb. 6, 2023, two earthquakes of magnitude 7.8M and 7.5M, just 12 hours apart, struck southern Turkey, near the Syrian border. According to government data, 41,000 deaths have been officially reported, of which 35,418 were in Turkey and at least 5,800 in Syria. These earthquakes are among the worst natural disasters of the century for both countries.

In the same week, Cresencio Sandoval announced that the Mexican government would send 150 people to Turkey to support search and rescue efforts. The group is composed of 90 elements of the Ministry of National Defense (SEDENA), 37 members of the Navy, 15 members of the Red Cross and five diplomats from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (SRE). In addition, Minister of Foreign Affairs Marcelo Ebrard informed that the Mexican government will donate US$6 million to support Syria.

Homicides Decrease. Minister of Security and Citizen Protection Rosa Icela Rodríguez reported that most crimes, especially homicides, show a sustained decrease. Rodríguez highlighted that in January, 46 percent of homicides were registered in the State of Mexico, Guanajuato, Baja California, Chihuahua, Jalisco and Guerrero.

According to INEGI, in 2022 there were 30,968 homicides in the country, with an average of 85 cases per day. In 2021 the average per day was 91. The most violent state was Guanajuato with 3,260 intentional homicides. However, authorities noted that results showed a 7.3 percent decrease in 2021. The government highlighted that this is the third consecutive year that homicides have decreased. The figure reached its highest level in 2009, during the administration of President Felipe Calderón, who declared a war on drugs.

Electoral reform. President Andrés Manuel López Obrador criticized Congress for opposing parts of his Plan B and accused them of acting only based on their interests. "They, in a tendentious and perverse way, began to say that we wanted to eliminate INE... many people believed that and that it was an attack on democracy to remove plurinominal deputies.”

The electoral reform proposed to change 18 articles of the Electoral Law and insert seven transitional articles. The reform failed to reach a qualified majority with 269 votes in favor, 225 against and one abstention. Political opponents highlighted that the reform was rejected for being regressive since it proposed to eliminate the most important democratic institution in the country. However, the president has accused these political parties of rejecting it because they want to maintain a high budget for their political parties. 

Since the reform was rejected, the president announced his Plan B, which proposes an amendment to the electoral law that does not require the approval of two-thirds of Congress. López Obrador has already enacted the first part of the reform. The second part is still stalled due to a misunderstanding between the Legislative and Executive branches over the provision allowing the transfer of votes between coalition parties. Currently the Senate of the Republic has agreed to send a new proposal to the Executive with all the laws, except the one on the transfer of votes.