Mexico’s president proposes dramatic electoral reforms

MEXICO CITY — Mexico’s government on Thursday proposed a dramatic overhaul of the nation’s electoral system and the agency that oversees it — one of the country’s most trusted institutions. It would reduce the size of Congress and state legislatures while having the federal elections board chosen by voters, potentially adding a higher degree of politics to what has been an independent body.

The proposal also would reduce federal funding of political parties and spending on elections in general — a repeated target of President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, who has often feuded with the National Electoral Institute.

The proposals presented by Lopez Obrador and several members of his Cabinet would create a new federal elections authority to replace the institute, as well as eliminating similar state-level bodies.

“There is no intention of imposing a single party,” Lopez Obrador said. “What we want is that there is a true democracy in the country and that electoral frauds end … to leave a true democratic state established.”

But the path for what will surely be a controversial reform package would be difficult. Lopez Obrador’s party and its allies do not have the two-thirds majority in Congress required to make constitutional changes. The main opposition parties have already said they oppose such changes.

Another major constitutional reform proposed by the president, to shake up the energy sector, fell well short of the votes needed last week.

Lopez Obrador appeared to acknowledge that the proposed reforms are unlikely to pass. He called on the Congress to study each element of the proposal, make the public aware and then decide. He said it was his responsibility to present it “even if it’s not approved.”