The Mexicans said “yes”. But only 7% of the 93 million voters went to the polls, Sunday 1er August, during a referendum on possible legal proceedings against the former presidents of Mexico. A disappointing participation in this unprecedented exercise of participatory democracy, led by the popular reformist president of the center-left, Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador (“AMLO”), who has gone on a crusade against corruption. A snub for AMLO, whose initiative, because of its ambiguity, sparked controversy in the name of the balance of powers, leaving doubt about its scope, much more political than judicial.
Only 6.5 million voters turned out on Sunday, according to preliminary results from the National Electoral Institute (INE) from a country considered one of the most corrupt great powers in the world. However, it was the first time that the INE had organized a nationwide referendum. Between 89% and 96% of voters approved the initiative at the polls, according to the institute. Their participation however remained very far from the minimum of 37.5 million voters (40%) necessary to make the result of this consultation binding for the authorities.
It must be said that the question put to the Mexicans was rather tortuous: “Do you agree or not that relevant actions be taken, in accordance with the constitutional and legal framework, to undertake a process of clarifying political decisions taken in the past by political actors, aimed at guaranteeing justice and rights? potential victims? The initial wording, proposed in September 2020 by AMLO, expressly mentioned the names of its five predecessors: Carlos Salinas de Gortari (1988-1994), Ernesto Zedillo (1994-2000), Vicente Fox (2000-2006), Felipe Calderon ( 2006-2012) and Enrique Peña Nieto (2012-2018). AMLO’s question clearly referred to possible legal action against their alleged wrongdoing, while Mexico is ranked 124th out of 180 in the ranking of corrupt states carried out by the organization Transparency International.
“A political circus”
But the Supreme Court rephrased the question, invoking respect for the separation of powers and the presumption of innocence. The senior magistrates nevertheless validated the holding of the referendum, which occupies a prominent place in the president’s reform agenda. AMLO criticizes in particular the electoral fraud orchestrated, according to him, by Mr. Salinas de Gortari and Mr. Fox, as well as the illicit electoral financing of his predecessor, Mr. Peña Nieto. The president accuses Zedillo of accelerating abusive privatizations. As for Mr. Calderon, AMLO pointed out “His complicity, active or passive”, with organized crime, while its former minister of public security, Genaro Garcia Luna, is being prosecuted in the United States for drug trafficking. AMLO denounces “The undemocratic and corrupt system” established by the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI, center), in power from 1929 to 2000 then from 2012 to 2018, perpetuated by the alternation of the National Action Party (PAN, right) from 2000 to 2012.
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