The electoral posts closed in a large part of the territory at 6:00 p.m. local (11:00 p.m. GMT), but since the country has three time zones, voting will end at 8:00 p.m. local (01:00 GMT on Monday) in the Pacific states.
Later the National Electoral Institute (INE) will give the results of a quick count, announced its president, Lorenzo Córdova.
The official refrained from advancing participation percentages, a key aspect because for the result to be binding, 37 million votes are required (40% of the voters).
“Let no one forget that the people are the ones who rule, the people put and the people take away,” said López Obrador before the press after leaving the electoral precinct.
AMLO, as he is known by the initials of his name, annulled the ballot by writing “Viva Zapata!” (by revolutionary leader Emiliano Zapata) to appear impartial.
The president promoted the consultation after getting it to be included in the Constitution in 2019 as an antidote against “bad governments.”
“It is going to help us so that no one at any level on the scale feels absolute,” added the rulerelected for the period 2018-2024.
The consultancy on electoral issues Integralia estimates an average turnout of 14.8%.
That fact alone would ratify the country’s first leftist president, 68 years old and with 58% approval, in office, according to a consolidated survey by the Oraculus firm. In Mexico, of 26 million inhabitants, there is no compulsory vote.
“I’m happy with him, I hope he continues and repeats,” Carmen Sobrino, 64, told AFP at her polling station, although there is no re-election or extension of mandate in the country.
The head of state has said he will retire from politics when his term ends.
In cities like Guadalajara (west) the influx of voters was low. “It is leading us to ruin,” Guadalupe Pastor, a 60-year-old retired mechanic, told AFP that he voted for the option of AMLO leaving power “due to loss of confidence.”
The opponents called for abstention, alleging that the plebiscite is just an act of “propaganda”.
“He is going to continue as president, I don’t understand why spend the money,” commented Rubén López, a 58-year-old salesman, in the capital.
In a report, Integralia foresees “a resounding majority in favor of López Obrador remaining in office.”
AMLO accuses the INE of sabotaging the referendum in complicity with “the conservatives” (as he calls the opposition), for which he announced a reform so that its members and those of the electoral court are elected by popular vote and not by the Chamber of Deputies. .
“It is completely false that the INE has not complied with its duty to disseminate” the consultation, said Córdova this Sunday, who denounced the “potential use of public resources” by the ruling party to promote the referendum.
Alleging lack of funds, the INE installed 57,500 voting stations against the 161,000 of a federal election.
Without greater risk of having to leave power, the president could take advantage of the plebiscite to air some projects and “start the machinery” of the Morena party towards the 2024 presidential elections, estimates political analyst Martha Anaya.
“It will be a parameter to evaluate the mobilization capacity” of the ruling party, Integralia points out.
In the almost three years that remain in his term, AMLO’s “transformation” project faces several challenges, such as the application of a reform to the electricity sector endorsed by the Supreme Court of Justice this week, in the face of rejection by the United States, Canada and Spain, and the opposition parties PRI, PAN and PRD.
The new framework, which the president hopes to reinforce with a constitutional reform, gives greater weight to the State in power generation.
Some of the bets are going uphill, since the government coalition – the main force in Congress – does not, however, gather enough votes to modify the Constitution and is forced to negotiate.
López Obrador bases his acceptance on social programs to which he allocates 23,000 million dollars this year (6.4% of the budget) and policies such as the improvement of the minimum wage (265 dollars per month).
“You live a little better despite the pandemic. There have been advances, especially in the social field, and corruption has decreased a lot,” says Herlinda Escamilla, a 75-year-old antiques dealer who benefits from a subsidy for older adults. .
According to Coneval, a public body that evaluates social policies, 44% of Mexicans live in poverty, one of the evils that AMLO promised to combat along with corruption.
Among the ruler’s challenges are also the persistent criminal violence, which has left some 340,000 dead since 2006, and an economy hit by covid-19, which this year would only grow 3.4%.
Annualized inflation is at its highest levels in two decades (7.3% in February).
Source: Ambito
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