Mexico's ruling party edges closer to a majority in both houses of Congress after 2 senators defect

Morena party gains majority in Congress, pushing controversial constitutional changes, sparking criticism from US Ambassador and opposition.

Following a pair of defections by Opposition senators, Mexico's ruling party said Wednesday (August 28, 2024) it is edging closer to a steamroller two-thirds majority in both houses of Congress.

The ruling Morena party of President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said it had won over two senators from the now-defunct Democratic Revolution Party, or PRD. The PRD disappeared as a national party after failing to win a minimum of 3% of the vote in the June 2 elections.

After being awarded a two-thirds majority in the lower house, the Morena party and its allies are now one vote away from a similar majority in the Senate. Those majorities would allow Morena to push through controversial changes to the Constitution.

Those changes include a proposal to force all judges to stand for election, a move that critics say would concentrate power further in the Presidency, erase the independence of the judiciary, and open it to influence by those who provide cash to fund those election campaigns. The U.S. Ambassador to Mexico publicly voiced similar concerns last week.

After days of speculation, President-elect Claudia Sheinbaum — a member of Lopez Obrador's party — said Wednesday (August 28) that two opposition senators had decided to join the ruling party block in the Senate.

The two senators, Araceli Saucedo and Jose Sabino, were immediately called traitors by their former allies and fellow party members in the opposition.

“History will judge them as traitors who took part in the attack on democracy,” wrote Xochitl Galvez, the former Opposition Presidential candidate, in her social media accounts.