Politics: AMLO intensifies the offensive against the INE
In this, the second part of our coverage of the confrontation between President López Obrador and his party on one side, and the country’s electoral authorities on the other, we look at how much the governing camp has raised the stakes in this dispute and is likely to continue to do so well after the June elections. After the electoral authority (INE) ruled late last month in a vote to cancel the candidacies of 49 candidates of the ruling Morena party for this June’s ballot, including two gubernatorial nominees, most famously Salgado Macedonio in Guerrero, AMLO and other party leaders began a barrage of threats and protests actions against the electoral institute.
Since then, the Federal Electoral Tribunal (TEPJF) essentially ruled in support of the INE’s charges but asked the institute to reconsider whether the penalty was proportionate to the crime of failing to make a campaign financial filing before the legal deadline, although the law does not allow for a lesser sanction. In a special session April 13, the INE ratified its decision in a much closer vote (5 to 4). Now the ball is back in the electoral court, which is likely to rule this week, although it is bound by no specific deadline even though the general campaign is already underway.
Should the TEPJF decide to back the INE’s decision, it would strengthen the institute as an arbiter capable of resisting impositions from the National Palace. It would also signify a major political defeat for President López Obrador, although it might do him the favor of freeing him from a maverick politician who has become toxic politically. In any event, there is little doubt that AMLO will continue to press ahead on various fronts to eliminate any potential sources of institutional resistance to his political designs between now and 2024.
Now read on...
Register to sample a report