This is how they cook the electoral reform in the stove of San Lázaro

The electoral reform, which implies radical changes in the composition of the Congress of the Union, the National Electoral Institute (INE) and the Electoral Tribunal of the Judicial Power of the Federation (TEPJF), constitutes one of the most anticipated dishes at the banquet of the what they call the Fourth Transformation of public life in Mexico.

Until the previous week, it seemed that these foods were cooking over low heat, but the citizen march “to defend the INE”, held last Sunday, November 13 in more than 50 cities in the country, caused the cooks of Morena in the Chamber of Deputies accelerate the mise and place process, that is, the organization of the ingredients and utensils to prepare the dish, in this case, the draft opinion and approve it in commissions, where they only need a simple majority —and they have it—, but Now with a sense of urgency.

The day after the street demonstration, from the Treasury Hall of the National Palace, famous for the banquets that have been served there since the last century, the main diner, President Andrés Manuel López Obrador, urged that his dish be properly prepared. required.

He said that if the stews of San Lázaro fail to prepare the stew that implies changing the Constitution, then he would ask for another dish (he would send a package of reforms to the secondary laws on electoral matters, to insist on the most important points of the blessed stew).

After a series of criticisms, 24 hours later, he admitted that his “Plan B” is not enough for what he wants to snack on: eliminate multi-member deputies and senators, although in the command (initiative) he says that what he ordered was the disappearance of legislators from relative majority so that only multi-members remain. He also admitted that, only with legal reforms, the way of choosing electoral advisers and magistrates cannot be changed either.

Having said that, he announced that he will now lead a march on November 27, which the opposition described as the intention of showing political muscle in getting people out into the streets, because he did not like, not even a bit, the response that They had the social organizations that called to defend the INE from what they consider to be the government’s intention to control the elections, as happened in the good times of the PRI.

They hit the stove

Meanwhile, in the kitchen of San Lázaro, in theory, the 107 initiatives on the subject put on the cooks’ table are analyzed, but, say those well-informed about what happens there, next to the stove, only one was carried out. the main plate (the one requested by the president) and the rest were sent to a corner to one side of the cupboard.

In addition, at least until Friday, the members of the sub-committee designated to analyze the initiatives and from them to prepare the draft constitutional reform opinion had not met.

However, since last Tuesday, before starting the session in the Chamber of Deputies, the coordinator of the Morena legislative fraction in the Chamber of Deputies, Ignacio Mier Velazco, increased the intensity of the stove burners where the aforementioned stew will have to be cooked and he issued an ultimatum to the opposition benches:

The stew from Puebla said that if by next Wednesday, November 23, a consensus is not reached with the opposition benches, then he will appear before the members of the united commissions for Political-Electoral Reform, Constitutional Points, Governance and Population , the project that only the legislators of the ruling party prepare (actually the constitutional reform initiative that the president ordered) and they will approve it in commissions, immediately (on the 28th), to be in a position to put it in the oven, on November , when the plenary must vote on it, although everything seems to indicate that two thirds will not be achieved for it to be approved.

For half a week the kitchen assistants of the cherry party were already aligned, making it clear that the order is to prepare the two stews in parallel.

The secretary of the Political-Electoral Reform commission, the morenista, Hamlet García Almaguer, explained what his party colleagues would do: “We are going to anchor ourselves to the presidential proposals.”

He said that they will insist on the reform presented by President López Obrador and, if it is rejected in plenary session, a route similar to that followed with the electricity reform will be followed: “We would present a proposal for secondary legislation as soon as possible, which does not require any consensus with the opposition (after all) the votes with our allies are enough, to be able to move on a plan B that would be this secondary reform ”.

The idea is that the changes to the secondary laws come out before December 7th.

While in commissions they try to cover the forms. Last Thursday, the members of one of the commissions in charge of approving the opinion, that of Constitutional Points, authorized its president to convene, next week, to settle in permanent session to prepare the project.

Meanwhile, the secretary of the Constitutional Points Commission, the deputy of MC, Salvador Caro Cabrera said that it is evident that the project of reforms to secondary laws is going to be sent by the Secretary of the Interior, Adán Augusto López, “with points and commas , because he does not want them to make mistakes as has happened on the issue of the budget and other legislative issues.

For his part, the president of the Board of Directors of the Chamber of Deputies, Santiago Creel Miranda, explained that none of the substantial changes proposed by the president in his initiative imply only changes to secondary laws.

“The president cannot change absolutely anything that includes the heart of his reform,” he stressed.

Likewise, he warned that if the ruling party legislators (Morena, PT and PVEM) present something that goes against the Constitution, the National Action parliamentary group will present an unconstitutionality action, together with the rest of the opposition.

Meanwhile, the coordinators Jorge Romero Herrera, from the PAN; Luis Espinosa Cházaro, from the PRD and Rubén Moreira Valdez from the PRI, closed ranks and announced the “reunion” of the opposition legislative coalition in the San Lázaro compound

legislative collection

A commission made up of 19 deputies from Morena, PT, PVEM, as well as the PRI, PAN and PRD, gathered the 107 initiatives on the matter presented to Congress; However, the priority for Morena and her allies is the one made by the head of the Financial Intelligence Unit of the Ministry of Finance, Pablo Gómez and sent by President Andrés Manuel López Obrador to the Chamber of Deputies on April 28, 2022. .

This initiative contemplates reforming 18 constitutional articles: which are the following: 35, 41,51, 52, 53, 54, 55, 56, 60, 63, 73, 99, 105, 110, 111, 115, 116 and 112.

Command 1. -Changes proposed by President Andrés Manuel López Obrador that require constitutional reform

1. Conformation of the National Institute of Elections and Consultations and of the Superior Chamber of the Electoral Tribunal of the Judicial Power of the Federation. (articles 41 and 99).

2. Election through a list system by federal entity and reduction in the number of legislators (articles 51,52,53,54,55,56,60,63, 116 and 112).

3. Financing of political parties (article 41).

4. Reduction of members of local congresses, city councils and mayors’ offices (articles 115,116 and 122).

5. Access of the parties to radio and television for electoral purposes (article 41).

6. Unification of the administrative and jurisdictional electoral authorities and extinction of the local public organisms and the electoral tribunals of the federative entities. (articles 41, 73, 99, 105, 110, 111, 116 and 112).

7. Electronic voting (article 35).

Command 2.-Changes proposed in initiatives presented that only require reforms to secondary laws

1. Eliminate parliamentary turncoat.

2. Greater controls on government propaganda.

3. Nullity of elections due to interference by organized crime.

4. Regulate coalition governments.

5. Primary elections.

6. Regulate common candidacies.

7. Oversight issues to eliminate “excessive” sanctions, such as those that warranted the cancellation of Morena’s candidates for governor of Guerrero and Michoacán in 2021.

The ruling party wants, as a dessert, to control the election of the four INE directors who will replace those who conclude their assignment

Hours after the march in defense of the INE on November 13, the ruling party let it be seen that they will not settle for the second-table dish, that is, only with changes to the secondary laws on electoral matters.

The leader of the Morenista bench, Ignacio Mier Velazco, said that the votes they have in the Chamber of Deputies allow them to designate at least three of the four electoral advisers who must replace the four who end their term of service on April 3, 2023.

And he warned: “There will be neither negotiation nor agreement nor distribution of quotas. It will be the plenary session that votes for the quintets and those that guarantee a true representation of the citizens to represent the legality, the transparency, the certainty, the equity in the electoral processes. We prefer a thousand times or more that it be insaculation and not the product of a concertation or concertation ”, he stressed.

In accordance with Article 41 of the Constitution, the INE directors will be elected by a vote of two thirds of the Chamber of Deputies, through the following procedure that establishes the appointment of a technical evaluation committee, made up of seven people of recognized prestige: of which three will be appointed by the Chamber of Deputies, two by the National Human Rights Commission and two by the INAI.

The committee will integrate a quintet for each counselor to choose that will be submitted to the plenary session of the Chamber of Deputies.

If the required vote in plenary is not reached, the Supreme Court of Justice of the Nation will make, in a public session, the designation by means of the list formed by the evaluation committee.

Mier Velazco’s idea is that from the second half of December the process begins with the definition of the Technical Committee, to then submit the evaluation guidelines for consideration by Jucopo and issue the open call to all citizens.

During January it would be the process of registering applicants.

In this sense, the coordinator of the PRI deputies, Rubén Moreira, indicated that, although it is expected that there will be a vote, if the appointments are not made in plenary, the PRI members appeal to dialogue.

In turn, the leader of the PAN deputies, Jorge Romero Herrera, affirmed that the three parties are also going together in this process, while the leader of the PRD legislators, Luis Espinosa Cházaro, said that these appointments should be made “without shirts of force”, nor impositions.

He opined that Morena would make a mistake if, since the constitutional reform pushed by the president is not approved, even with insults, the ruling party seeks to impose the electoral advisers.

“An insaculate cannot carry out the management of the election of a country of 130 million inhabitants,” he said.

The oven is not for buns; the peas have not even started to season the onion and they are already showing eye irritation; the guests at the banquet eat cravings, but they will go out for a walk, while they set the table.

diego.badillo@eleconomista.mx