Mexicans took to the streets across the country Sunday to call on their fellow citizens not to vote in the upcoming referendum on President López Obrador’s leadership.
A revocation of mandate referendum in which citizens will get the opportunity to have their say about whether López Obrador should complete his six-year term will be held this Sunday.
Marches and rallies during which protesters called for citizens to boycott the vote were held in Mexico City and numerous states including Querétaro, Chihuahua, Puebla, Quintana Roo, Jalisco, Nuevo León, Veracruz, Aguascalientes, Yucatán, San Luis Potosí and México state.
The Mexico City march – which started at the Angel of Independence on Reforma Avenue and concluded at the Monument to the Revolution – was organized around the slogan, “¡Terminas y te vas!” or “You finish and you go!”
Citizens who participated in the marches want López Obrador to finish his six-year term in 2024 and leave office. Some observers have claimed that the president could use the results of the recall referendum to extend his grip on power, although López Obrador has repeatedly pledged that he will leave office in 2024, or earlier if a majority of citizens choose to revoke his mandate.
Protesters at the front of the Mexico City march carried a banner urging citizens not to vote on April 10. Some people carried signs expressing their support for the National Electoral Institute (INE), which López Obrador is planning to dismantle.
In Querétaro city, some 300 people urged citizens not to cast a vote in the recall referendum. Protesting queretanos also came out in defense of the INE, which López Obrador says has not adequately promoted the revocation of mandate vote.
Among the other cities where marches and/or rallies against the referendum were held Sunday were Puebla, Guadalajara, Cancún, Mérida, Ciudad Juárez, Xalapa and Toluca.
Opposition lawmakers have also called for a boycott of the vote, which requires a minimum turnout of 40% to be legally binding, although López Obrador has indicated he will comply with the will of the people even if that threshold isn’t met.
