Revocation of Mandate Referendum/Electrical Reform

Revocation of Mandate Referendum. Yesterday the Mexican people voted for the removal or stay in office of President López Obrador until the end of his six-year term in 2024. This morning AMLO said the revocation was a success since millions of Mexicans acted responsibly and voted.    Between 17 and18 percent of the electorate participated in yesterday´s elections. Approximately 91 percent of voters supported AMLO. Nevertheless, for the results to take legal effect, at least 40 percent of the electorate had to participate. The states with the most participation were Tabasco, Chiapas, Campeche, Veracruz, Tlaxcala, Guerrero, Oaxaca, Yucatán y Quintana Roo.

Electrical Reform. President López Obrador informed that if the Electrical Reform does not get approved by Congress, he will request changes (reform) to the Mining Law with the aim to protect lithium. López Obrador recognized the difficulty of reaching the qualified majority for the approval of the reform. Nonetheless, to modify the mining law only a simple majority is required.

On April 3th, a rushed vote on the new electric reform took place in Congress. The electricity sector faced a major breaking point at the SCJN, as ministers decided on the constitutionality of the Electric Industry Law (LIE), a decision that will shape the future of Mexico’s energy industry. With seven votes favoring the unconstitutionality of the law and four against, the LIE will reactivate providing the Federal Electricity Commission (CFE) with a stronger position in the market, although the lack of a qualified majority means legal routes (lawsuits) remain open for those directly affected by the law.

The court’s vote on the LIE is not over. The debate will continue because other resolutions are still pending regarding the compatibility of the LIE with international environmental and economic treaties, such as the clean energy certificate (CEL) mechanism, the revocation and review of permits, the National Electric System (SEN) and end-user tariffs.

Electoral Reform. Now that the mandate revocation consultation is over, López Obrador promised to continue promoting the electoral reform to further consolidate the country’s democracy. After Sunday´s recall vote the president will seek to reduce the percentage for the results to be legally binding to 30 or even 20 percent because according to him, 40 percent is too high.  

Since López Obrador took office in 2018, he has insisted on the need to remove corruption from the National Electoral Institute (INE) and the Electoral Tribunal of the Judicial Power of the Federation (TEPJF) and transform them into true autonomous and democratic institutions. López Obrador said that since the current electoral bodies have failed in their democratic duties, he will send a proposal to Congress to change its members and configuration.

Click HERE for full transcript in Spanish