Mexico is bracing itself against potential foreign influence in elections following US President Donald Trump’s interference in the recent campaigns in Honduras and Argentina.
The Mexican parliament approved a constitutional amendment that allows for the annulment of an election in the event of interference by external actors. Congressional elections are due to take place in Mexico in a year’s time.
The reform received 85 votes in favour and 42 against in the Senate, having already been passed by the Chamber of Deputies.
Left-wing President Claudia Sheinbaum expressly supported the controversial initiative put forward by her party, Morena. “I believe it is the right thing to do. We are the ones who decide here – and when I say ‘we’, I mean the Mexican people,” Sheinbaum explained.
Relations between the US and Mexico are strained, with Trump accusing the neighbouring country of not doing enough to combat drug cartels.
The reform is not explicitly directed against any particular government. However, it stipulates that proven foreign interference influencing election results should in future be grounds for annulling an election.
Critics of the reform point out that the grounds for annulment are not defined clearly enough. “We are dealing here with an open-ended provision that can be applied to a wide range of cases,” said Olga Sánchez Cordero, a member of parliament and former Supreme Court judge from the governing party.
To come into force, the constitutional reform must now be ratified by state legislatures, which is considered a certainty.During the presidential election in Honduras in November, Trump openly campaigned in favour of the conservative candidate Nasry Asfura. Although Asfura was not considered the favourite, he ultimately won the election.
In October, Trump also helped secure the election victory of the coalition led by the ultra-liberal President Javier Milei in the mid-term elections in Argentina. Trump had made US financial aid to Argentina contingent on Milei’s victory.
