Politics: Private sector, foreign governments raise concerns of an authoritarian regression from "Plan C" constitutional reforms
Financial markets reacted negatively to the incumbent coalition’s sweeping election victory June 2, but thanks in part to Claudia Sheinbaum's moving quickly to reassure investors, the turbulence subsided. Even as opinion writers and analysts engaged in considerable debate over whether the election results might presage a power grab by AMLO to further magnify the incoming congressional majority and fast-track a series of highly controversial constitutional reforms to consolidate his regime’s hold on power well into the future, there was hardly a peep from the private sector in Mexico, which for the most part, had only rarely aired minor doubts, using joint public statements during the first five and a half years of President López Obrador’s government. But all that changed once it became increasingly apparent that the incumbent camp was determined to fast-track crucial parts of AMLO’s “Plan C” reforms and engage in a bit of political alchemy to transform its roughly 55% of the vote in congressional and senate races vote into the two-thirds majority in the Chamber of Deputies needed to pass reforms at will.
Now domestic and foreign companies and associations, the financial sector, and foreign governments, including USMCA members Canada and the US, are airing their concerns. In response to a seemingly imminent re-engineering of the Judicial Power, an indefinite walkout by all federal judiciary employees has been organized that has brought the system to a halt.
In this week’s Political Outlook we analyze the broader implications of these developments and what to expect in the coming months.
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