Mexico votes on López Obrador's "transformation" at mid-term
ABC News
Mexicans are electing the entire lower house of Congress, almost half the country's governors and most mayors
MEXICO CITY -- Mexicans on Sunday were electing the entire lower house of Congress, almost half the country’s governors and most mayors in a vote that will determine whether President Andrés Manuel López Obrador’s Morena party gets the legislative majority it needs to continue his “Fourth Transformation” of Mexico. His critics have depicted the elections as a chance to stop the still-popular López Obrador from concentrating more power and weakening checks and balances. The president says the opposition is dominated by conservatives who oppose his campaign against corruption and wasteful spending. López Obrador has complained about courts and independent regulatory agencies that have blocked some of his tougher proposals to empower state-owned industries. Opponents fear that if he wins a majority, he may try to subjugate courts and regulatory agencies created during Mexico's decades-long transition to full democracy. Fifteen of the country's 32 state governorships are at stake, and all 500 seats in the lower house of Congress. Almost 20,000 local posts including mayors and town council seats are being decided in 30 states, and those have often been the most violence-scarred races. About three dozen local candidates have been gunned down.More Related News