President Obrador Complies with INE Order Amidst Criticisms

President Obrador Complies with INE Order Amidst Criticisms

Compliance with the INE Decision

President Andrés Manuel López Obrador has announced his intention to comply with the decision of the Complaints and Denunciations Commission of the National Electoral Institute (INE). The INE had ordered the removal of a photograph from the President’s social media account. The photograph in question depicted López Obrador handing over the command baton to Claudia Sheinbaum, the new national coordinator of the committees in defense of transformation. Despite agreeing to comply, the President voiced criticisms about the INE’s intervention, especially since the event took place outside his official working hours.

The President questioned INE’s authority to interfere in activities that happen after his official working hours. The handover of the command baton, as shown in the photograph, occurred after 9 pm, outside the National Palace. When queried about the image being disseminated on his official networks during a press conference, the President responded that he was not privy to the details of how the official accounts are paid. He clarified that he does not personally pay for advertising.

Challenging the INE’s Decision

Despite expressing his reservations, President López Obrador reiterated his commitment to comply with the INE’s order. However, he also made it clear that he reserves his right to challenge the decision. The President expressed his surprise at the suggestion that his official social networks were part of the public budget. He questioned whether his account was indeed official and whether it was part of the budget.

The INE’s Arguments

Last week, the Complaints and Denunciations Commission of the INE made a determination that the dissemination of the event on official platforms and social networks was not related to the institutional activities of the Federal Executive. The INE argued that the event was partisan and could potentially influence the 2023-2024 electoral process. Consequently, the President’s office was ordered to remove the posts related to the handover of the “command baton” on the night of September 7 at the El Mayor restaurant in Centro Historico.

The Role of the President in Mexico

The President of Mexico, officially known as the President of the United Mexican States, is the head of state and government. The current President, Andrés Manuel López Obrador, took office on December 1, 2018. The office of the president is revolutionary, with powers derived from the Revolutionary Constitution of 1917. A key legacy of the Mexican Revolution is the Constitution’s ban on re-election. Mexican Presidents are limited to a single six-year term, with no one who has held the post, even on a caretaker basis, allowed to run or serve again.

The constitution and the office of the president closely follow the presidential system of government. To be eligible to serve as president, the constitution specifies several requirements including being a natural-born citizen of Mexico and being a resident of Mexico for at least twenty years, among others. The President is elected by direct popular universal suffrage, and whoever wins a simple plurality of the national vote is elected.