Hundreds of thousands took to the streets in Mexico today (Monday) to protest a reform promoted by the country's president, Andrés Manuel López Obrador, a member of the Socialist Left Party, which includes far-reaching changes in the electoral commission.
About half a million people gathered in Zacalo Square, the main square in the capital Mexico City, waving Mexican flags and chanting slogans against the president and the left-wing party ruling the country.
"We are fighting to protect our democracy from a power-hungry president," Veronica Echevarria, a resident of the capital, told the Reuters news agency.
The demonstrators chanted "Take your hands off the election commission" and carried signs condemning the president.
The protest adopted the color purple as a symbol and was attended by organizations from the right, the political center and even the liberal left in the country, who are concerned about Obrador's growing control of the political system.
Last week, lawmakers voted for a dramatic cut in the budget of the National Electoral Institute, the election commission in the country, in a decision that also included a significant cut in the organization's staff.
The meaning of the decision is a fatal injury to the organization's ability to monitor the election system and the transfer of control to other organizations directly controlled by the federal government in the country.
The protest against the political reform in Mexico, photo: AP
Protesters in the country are calling on the Supreme Court to overturn the legislation, which passed both houses of the Mexican Congress and is just awaiting the President's signature.
Obrador previously accused the National Electoral Institute of turning a blind eye to fraud against him and of corruption.
The president's opponents believe that this is false rhetoric designed to hide a desire to take over the election process and change it in his favor.
Andrés Manuel López Obrador came to power in the country in 2018 after winning a narrow majority in the presidential elections.
Obrador ran five times for the presidency of the country and several times claimed extensive fraud in the electoral process.
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