AMLO and Sheinbaum Set to Consolidate Morena’s Power in Mexico
- Lower house began debates Tuesday on judicial reform
- Courts are final arm of government not under Morena control
Outgoing President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador is poised to control the only branch of government that still eludes him in Mexico, ensuring the dominance of his Morena party for years to come. Such unchecked power would pose significant political and economic risks to a country that spent most of the 20th century under authoritarian rule.
The ruling party and its allies need to secure just one more vote in the coming days to completely overhaul Mexico’s judicial system, likely subjugating an institution that has blocked Lopez Obrador’s reforms time and time again. Their success, which started with a landslide victory by the president’s protege Claudia Sheinbaum and continued with their winning of large majorities in both houses of Congress, presents a risk to “good governance,” said Jeffrey Weldon, a professor of political science at Mexico’s Autonomous Institute of Technology.