In the capital of Oaxaca, pedestrian bridges displayed photos of deputies who voted against the electoral reform presented by President Claudia Sheinbaum Pardo, which was not approved on Wednesday in the plenary session of the Chamber of Deputies. The banners show the faces of legislators from the Labor Party and the Ecologist Green Party with the legend "Traitors of the fatherland." On their faces, a black stripe covers their eyes, and another legend says: "They voted against the electoral reform, they voted against the people."
On Wednesday, the legislators from these parties representing Oaxaca in the Chamber of Deputies decided to thwart the electoral reform, which generated admiration because many of them had come to hold their office through the alliance they had with the Morena party. In this regard, the state leader of the Morena party, Alejandro Velasco Armas, denied having ordered the placement of these banners and emphasized that the PT and the Ecologist Green Party are traitors to the fatherland.
"We are not the same, we are in the transformation of the country, and although they have declared to be allies, they voted against the political-electoral reform. So let's allow some electoral issues to be put to a popular consultation," he proposed. Sheinbaum insisted that her government will continue to promote reforms aimed at reducing political spending and combating what she considers remnants of a system of privileges. "Morena is coming forward as the representative of the 4T in Oaxaca," she expressed.
For his part, the governor of Oaxaca, Salomón Jara Cruz, regretted that President Sheinbaum Pardo's electoral reform was not supported, because he said, its purpose was to reduce public spending on electoral processes.
Sheinbaum: rejection of electoral reform "is not a defeat"
President Claudia Sheinbaum Pardo stated on Thursday that the rejection in the Chamber of Deputies of her electoral reform does not represent "a defeat" for her government and defended that the initiative sought to reduce "privileges" in the political system and expand citizen participation.
"The fact that it was not approved is not a defeat. The people know that one is not willing to negotiate everything," declared the head of state during her morning press conference. On Wednesday, the Chamber of Deputies rejected the reform pushed by Sheinbaum Pardo by failing to reach the required qualified majority. Quite the opposite. The proposal received 259 votes in favor, 234 against, and one abstention, far from the 334 votes needed to amend the Constitution in Congress.
The failure of the initiative was due to the lack of support from legislators of the Labor Party (PT) and the Ecologist Green Party of Mexico (PVEM), allies of the ruling National Regeneration Movement (Morena), which prevented the required majority from being reached.
Plan B
After the legislative setback, Sheinbaum announced that her government is preparing a "Plan B," which will be sent to Congress next Monday, to promote changes that do not require constitutional reforms and can be approved with a simple majority, such as reducing the number of councilors in some municipalities and expanding mechanisms for popular consultation.
"Why don't we ask the people? I am very satisfied." (EFE)
