The President Councilor of National Electoral Institute (OTHER), Lorenzo Córdova Vianello, and electoral experts from the United States agreed that political attacks on the electoral body directly attack the Mexican democratic system, since they place it at risk.
Leading the conferenceChallenges facing the Mexican electoral authority”, organized by the Woodrow Wilson International Center, counselor Lorenzo Córdova stressed that even when democracy is not reduced only to the electoral issue, it is the basis that allows its recreation.
“It is true, democracy is not only reduced to electoral processes, but it depends on them to become a reality. The electoral processes, said Ortega y Gasset, are the small technical file on which the entire democratic building is sustained and that is why, if the electoral authorities are attacked, the entire democratic system is in danger,” he said.
Budget cuts worry
Lorenzo Córdova asserted that the budget cut to the INE, declared by a majority in the Chamber of Deputies and facing the organization of the Revocation of Mandate, is concerned about what it may mean for the organization of future electoral processes.
He considered it essential that public resources not become a problem for the organization of the elections, without implying that the OTHER request a flow of money without controls.
“What worries us is that this can become a common practice against the integrity of the electoral system and in the face of the largest elections that Mexico will have in 2024. It is an issue of democratic sustainability and that is what is at stake. game”, said the president of the INE.
global challenges
Córdova Vianello affirmed that democracies face global challenges derived from growing poverty, deepening inequality, violence and corruption, as well as the health emergency caused by the covid-19 pandemic, as well as the accusations against the authority from the governmental circuits; threats and attacks on electoral officials, budget cuts that seek to undermine autonomy, and a potential electoral reform aimed at increasing government controls.
In this regard, the specialists convened by the Woodrow Wilson International Center agreed in acknowledging that the INE has managed to consolidate itself as a high-level and progressive technical institution in the regional and global spheres, for which they questioned the fact that it is currently going through a great stress due to the severe budget cuts it faces.
The conference featured comments from Antonio Garrastazu, regional director for Latin America and the Caribbean of the International Republican Institute, and of Deborah Ulmer, regional director for Latin America and the Caribbean of the National Democratic Institute, who agreed on the importance of the OTHER globally as one of the most innovative and prestigious institutions.
In this regard, Antonio Garrastazu, regional director for Latin America and the Caribbean of the International Republican Institute, recalled that, since its creation, the IFE-INE has participated in at least 93 international technical missions in 38 countries where elections have been organized to exchange the experiences that it has developed throughout its history and that it has successfully consolidated.
For her part, Deborah Ullmer assured that OTHER It is a great reference worldwide and especially for those nations that aspire to obtain the trust of their citizens in their electoral systems and in their institutions, thanks to the avant-garde model that it has.
He pointed out that a model that seeks independence, impartiality and institutional professionalization that is complemented by officials who, not being elected by popular vote, guarantee that all political currents have a voice and their interests are considered in all the deliberations that take place. have.
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