Mexico's president is facing backlash over his plans for the country's electoral agency. Photo: AAP
Tens of thousands have taken to the streets in Mexico to protest President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador’s plan to overhaul the country’s electoral commission INE, fearing it will concentrate power in the hands of the government.
Mr Lopez Obrador, who put the plan forward in April, has long criticised the country’s electoral authorities, including accusing them of helping engineer his defeats when he ran for the presidency in 2006 and 2012.
He has said the reform would let citizens elect electoral authorities and reduce the influence of economic interests in politics.
It would also cut financing for political parties and limit advertising time.
Congress last week started discussing the plan.
It sparked widespread concerns the changes could foreshadow a power grab because it gives the president more control over the electoral systems.
In the past, Mr Lopez Obrador pursued contentious policies by pitching referendums – including on the cancellation of a part-built airport – to claim popular mandates for his objectives.
Protesters in Mexico City, many holding placards and banners or wearing t-shirts with slogans defending the INE, started at the Angel of Independence monument.
It gathered momentum during the day as protesters moved on Reforma Avenue towards the Monument to the Revolution.
A Reuters witness estimated tens of thousands of protesters had taken part while a police officer on Reforma who witnessed the march estimated 50,000.
Organisers put the number at hundreds of thousands but some political allies of Mr Lopez Obrador gave far lower estimates.
It is one of the biggest marches against Mr Lopez Obrador’s policies so far.
“Democracy in Mexico is in danger,” said Ana Lilia Moreno, an economist who attended the march.
“I hope that many young people – and even those who are normally not interested in politics – will attend, that they will value our institutions and will defend what our parents and grandparents built to mature politically.”
Protesters shared images from other cities on social media.
Mr Lopez Obrador posted a video message on his Twitter as he celebrated his 69th birthday – but did not address the protests.
His ruling Morena party and its allies would need a two-thirds majority in Congress to make changes to the constitution.
Currently, the party is short of that majority.
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