Politics: AMLO’s moves against legislative branch norms and functioning are a warning sign
A series of reforms approved by the Senate in the last few days of April are being widely viewed and criticized, not so much for their content (as in many of the cases), but rather due to the implications for the future of Mexican democracy inherent in how they were enacted. Critics among opposition parties, intellectuals and the media were alarmed by what they perceived as an open violation of parliamentary procedure and legality. Morena senators, following the lead of President Andrés Manuel López Obrador, sought to rush through their legislative package at the last minute and at all costs. This included not summoning opposition lawmakers to a hastily called session in an alternative venue following a move by opposition senators to seize the presidium, and fudging the issue of whether Morena and its allies actually had the necessary quorum in order to legally proceed with the deliberations.
AMLO’s discourse is becoming more radical, intransigent, polarizing, and intolerant as the Supreme Court and electoral authorities have time and time again put a brake on key legislation promoted by Morena and its allies. While for the time being the President is formally abiding by court rulings that have declared major parts of his bills unconstitutional, AMLO’s wager is that in the 2024 presidential and legislative elections his successor as chief executive will win the vote and Morena will command a sufficiently large majority in Congress to amend the Constitution at whim to ensure the continuity of Fourth Transformation policies without having to worry about the need to take the opposition into account or even adhere to procedural and parliamentary legality. If this comes to pass, the future of Mexican democracy and its system of checks and balances could indeed be grim.
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