Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador holds referendum to try former presidents for corruption

Mexican justice is in the hands of the people. They vote, Sunday 1er August, as part of a referendum wanted by President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador (“AMLO”) on the advisability of investigating and prosecuting his predecessors for alleged corruption.

The leftist president, self-proclaimed anti-corruption champion, argues that this public consultation will strengthen participatory democracy in Mexico.

The question reads as follows: “Do you agree or not that relevant actions be taken, in accordance with the constitutional and legal framework, to undertake a process of clarification of political decisions taken in recent years by political actors, aimed at guaranteeing justice and rights? potential victims? “

For the result of the vote to be binding, 37.4 million people – or 40% of voters – must participate, a difficult bet given the lack of enthusiasm for this initiative among Mexicans.

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While the “yes” could win up to 90%, it seems difficult to achieve even a 30% participation, believes Roy Campos, director of the Mitofsky polling institute. Some 57,000 ballot boxes were installed by the Electoral Institute, compared to more than 160,000 for the legislative elections in June.

A referendum that is not unanimous

The detractors of the Mexican president see it as a simple political coup. In Mexico, former presidents can be tried like any other citizen, and critics say the referendum is unnecessary.

“Waiting for the results of a consultation is to turn justice into a political circus”, says José Miguel Vivanco, regional director of the NGO Human Rights Watch, based in New York.

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Although the vote is an idea of ​​the head of state, the country’s first left-wing president has ruled out voting himself because he does not want the “Corrupt and hypocritical conservatism” accuses him of retribution.

Omar Garcia, a survivor of the disappearance and alleged murder of 43 students in 2014, allegedly at the hands of corrupt police and drug traffickers, believes, however, that listening to the people is valid even if it is not binding. “This referendum encourages the end of impunity”, he said.

The proposed referendum question points to five of Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador’s predecessors, all right-wingers – Carlos Salinas, Ernesto Zedillo, Vicente Fox, Felipe Calderon and Enrique Pena Nieto – whose terms ranged from 1988 to 2018. The results are expected in the two to three days following the close of the polls.

The World with AFP