Mexico president promises ‘Plan B’ after congressional defeat of electoral reforms

Mexico City — Mexico’s President Claudia Scheinbaum played down the defeat of a constitutional reform proposal in Congress on Thursday, her first major legislative setback since taking office, saying she has a “plan B” to make changes to the electoral system.

With defections from some members of the smaller coalition Green and Workers parties, Sheinbaum’s Morena party did not have a large majority to pass the proposal in the Chamber of Deputies on Wednesday evening. Some of the proposed changes, framed by Scheinbaum’s party as budget austerity measures, are seen as reducing the power of smaller parties.

Sheinbaum, who takes office in 2024, warned on Thursday that voters will judge whether politicians from other parties have kept their promises to support his administration’s agenda.

One of the major sticking points is a proposal to eliminate the system that allows parties to fill certain seats in Congress based on proportional representation. It is designed to give smaller parties certain seats in Congress based on their percentage of the national vote, even if they cannot win individual congressional district races.

Sheinbaum called for all members of Congress to be elected by the voters.

The proposal seeks to reduce election expenditure by 25%, including funding for the National Electoral Institute and funds given to all parties. Experts said the changes could jeopardize Mexico’s run-up to elections and strengthen the ruling party.

Georgina de la Fuente, political science professor at the Tecnológico de Monterrey University, said what the vote shows is that “the smaller parties are not going to give their unconditional support (to Morena), they are not going to risk their survival.”

Sheinbaum said Monday he would provide more details on what “Plan B” is, but the objective remains the same: “to continue reducing privileges.”