Mexico’s President Claudia Sheinbaum said Thursday that a “Plan B” would follow the defeat in Congress of a constitutional reform proposal on Mexico’s electoral system, which marked her first major legislative setback since taking office in 2024.
The proposal was defeated in the Chamber of Deputies on Wednesday evening after Sheinbaum’s Morena party failed to secure the supermajority needed to pass it. The AP reported that defections from some members of the smaller allied Green and Workers parties left Morena short of the votes required.
Sheinbaum downplayed the defeat, while warning that voters will judge whether politicians from other parties complied with promises to support her administration’s agenda. The measure had been presented by Morena as an effort to achieve budget austerity, but some critics said the changes would reduce the power of smaller parties.
One of the sticking points involved a planned end to a system that allows parties to fill some seats in Congress through proportional representation. AP reported that the system is designed to give smaller parties seats based on their national vote percentage, even if they cannot win individual district races.
Sheinbaum, according to the report, had pushed for all members of Congress to be elected by voters. The proposal also called for reducing the cost of elections by 25%, including cuts involving the National Electoral Institute and money given to all parties.
Experts cited by AP warned that the changes could endanger the running of Mexico’s elections and strengthen the governing party. AP also reported that Georgina de la Fuente, a political science professor at Tecnológico de Monterrey University, said the vote shows that “the small parties are not going to give their unconditional support (to Morena), they are not going to put their survival at risk.”
Sheinbaum said she would provide more details on what “Plan B” is on Monday. She also said the intent would remain “to continue reducing privileges.”