Referendum Ban/Three More Constitutional Reforms

Priority on Guerrero. President Andrés Manuel López Obrador, speaking in Acapulco, announced that the state of Guerrero is and will continue to be the priority to which federal public investment will be allocated. “Guerrero is one of the priority states that we are going to continue serving in a special way because it has many shortcomings. An investment is being made. There are three states with preferential attention: Chiapas, Oaxaca and Guerrero. We want to thank the Guerrero authorities. We have worked in a coordinated manner.” Guerrero Gov. Héctor Astudillo added that the rate for crimes such as homicide, femicide and kidnapping has fallen in the state. Chilpancingo has seen the greatest decrease in homicides, he said.

Referendum ban. López Obrador clarified that he intends to respect a ban on political discourse related to a referendum to decide if five former presidents can be tried for corruption and will not be doing open tours. He said that he will be respectful and will not talk about the issue leading up to the Aug. 1 public consultation, although he pointed out that he will continue to tour the country to listen to what citizens have to say and to monitor the progress of government development programs. “We are not going to do open tours until the consultation is carried out because it is not easy to separate what is informative from what can be interpreted as a political issue. We are going to be respectful; we are not going to talk about it during this time.”

Constitutional reforms. López Obrador said that he requires three constitutional reforms to consolidate his government. The first reform is focused on the Federal Electricity Commission (CFE). “We have to protect CFE because it is going downhill, and private companies were selling 65 percent of the energy we consume.” Second is The National Guard. “The purpose is for them to be throughout the country taking care of the people but we want them to be under the auspices of the Ministry of National Defense, which will require a constitutional reform.” The final reform relates to the electoral process. “You have to reduce the cost of the elections because they cost a lot. It is the most expensive electoral apparatus in the world, that of the INE. These elections cost MX$20 billion (US$1 billion) and most of that goes to the candidates’ campaigns. Their participation must be reduced.”

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Click HERE for full transcript in Spanish