The president of Mexico, Claudia Sheinbaum, said this Wednesday (25) that she will send a bill to Congress next week to reform the country’s electoral law.
The government argues that the reform will reduce public spending, but the opposition fears it will allow the ruling party to consolidate power.
“We don’t want a state party or a single party,” declared Sheinbaum. “These are simple and very rational reforms that respond to the demands of the people”, he continued.
The bill, which will be sent to Congress on Monday (2), proposes to cut public spending on electoral processes by 25% and redistribute resources to health, education and other social programs, she added.
Pablo Gómez, head of the electoral reform commission, said Mexico spent $3.55 billion on electoral systems in 2024.
Multi-member deputies, who are currently nominated for political lists by party leaders and allocated to Congress based on each party’s total percentage of votes, would now need to campaign for the popular vote for direct election, Sheinbaum pointed out, highlighting that this was a fundamental demand in public consultations.
They represent 200 of Mexico’s 500 representatives in the Chamber of Deputies and 32 of 128 senators. If the reform is approved, the Senate will be reduced to 96 seats, and state legislative assemblies will be slimmed down.
Reduction in funding for parties
The reform would reduce funding for political parties, limit daily TV and radio time per station per campaign, require labels for content generated by artificial intelligence, ban bots and limit the compensation of elected officials and election workers, some of whom earn more than the president, Sheinbaum signaled.
The number of advisors on Mexico’s National Electoral Commission would remain the same, she said, and measures would be implemented to prevent cash contributions and prevent close family members from immediately running for a seat vacated by a relative.
Consecutive re-election would be banned from 2030, and voting would be simplified for Mexicans living abroad.
The proposal needs the approval of two-thirds of each house of Congress, creating an uphill battle for Sheinbaum’s Morena party unless it can win the support of allies, the Labor Party and the Green Party, who oppose key points of the bill.
“Morena has a very small margin of error in the Senate to approve this project,” said Rodolfo Ramos, an analyst at Bradesco BBI.
“The support of the majority of coalition partners is required, and we believe the chances of approval are relatively low.”
Concerns about the project
The opposition PRI party said the reform would undermine the democratic system by eliminating party representation.
Ricardo Anaya, from the right-wing opposition party PAN, said he believed the government’s arguments about party lists and funding were a “smokescreen”.
“The government’s objective is not to have more democracy, but to control electoral processes”, he said.
For most of the 20th century, Mexican politics was dominated by the PRI, which maintained power through mechanisms such as control of the media and unions, and electoral fraud.
Since then, Mexico has undergone important electoral reforms, and the PRI now operates within a competitive democratic system.
The proposal comes after the reform of judicial elections promoted last year by the ruling Morena party, which, according to the party, would democratize justice, but which, according to critics, could harm it and worsen corruption by opening the courts to political campaigns.
Sheinbaum’s predecessor, Andrés Manuel López Obrador, sought to implement electoral reform several times during his six years in office.
