The American newspaper The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) published an article highlighting that a plan is being made to reform the Constitution, which would end the freedom and prosperity of the country, as happened in Venezuela or Cuba.
In the article titled “Mexico flirts with dictatorship” by journalist Mary Anastasia O’ Grady, she detailed that dictatorships such as those in Venezuela, Bolivia and Nicaragua originated through leaders who came to power through their popularity, which resulted in them eliminating the institutional controls that limited their power.
“Many others (dictatorships) became police states when elected leaders used their popularity to demolish the rights of political minorities and eliminated the institutional controls designed to limit executive power,” she wrote.
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The journalist stressed that knowing the history makes Mexicans who want a free Mexico nervous, because with the arrival of September comes the new legislature in the Congress of the Union, where Morena seeks to reach a majority to approve the reforms of President López Obrador.
She explained that even though Claudia Sheinbaum won the elections, she will take office on October 1, but the new legislators will do so on September 1 “which could give López Obrador, in the course of 30 days, the power that he has not enjoyed until now in his presidency.”
She stressed that if on August 23 the National Electoral Institute (INE) rules that Morena and its allies obtained a majority in the Chamber of Deputies, -and the Electoral Court confirms the decision-, AMLO can “negotiate” the few votes he lacks to achieve that supermajority.
The columnist pointed out that in a radical scenario the president could “take revenge” on the institutions that did not allow him to centralize power.
“AMLO, on the other hand, has a limited command and is taking revenge for how independent institutions prevented him from centralizing power. By leaving, he is making a last attempt to annoy the “neoliberals” who believe in the rule of law,” she stressed.
O’Grady pointed out that of the 20 constitutional reform initiatives, the most damaging is the Judicial Reform, as it seeks to remove 7,293 sitting judges and magistrates, 11 ministers of the Supreme Court of Justice of the Nation (SCJN) and more.
She suggested that to replace the SCJN, the legislature controlled by Morena and the Executive Branch will nominate a list of candidates who will have to pass a “political litmus test” to qualify and where academic credentials and judicial experience will be left in the background.
Finally, he recalled that the candidates for the Court will be elected in the future by popular vote; however, he explained that the majority of the electorate in Mexico has little knowledge of jurisprudence, so it is possible that “the vote will be controlled.”
“It is likely that participation will be low and the vote controlled by different groups such as organized crime, government officials or even businessmen,” he concluded.
Source: eluniversal
