By Sarah Morland and Aida Pelaez-Fernandez
MEXICO CITY, Feb 25 (Reuters) - Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum said on Wednesday she will send a bill to Congress next week to reform the country's electoral law, which the government argues will cut spending but opponents fear will allow the ruling party to consolidate power.
"We don't want a state party or a single party," Sheinbaum said. "They are simple, very rational reforms that respond to the demands of the people."
The bill, to be sent to Congress on Monday, proposes to slash public spending for electoral processes by 25% and redistribute funds to healthcare, education and other social programs, she said.
Pablo Gomez, the head of the electoral reform commission, said Mexico spent $3.55 billion on electoral systems in 2024.
Plurinominal lawmakers, who are currently appointed to political lists by party leaders and assigned to Congress based on each party's total vote share, would now need to campaign for the public vote for direct election, Sheinbaum said, adding this was a key demand in public consultations.
They represent 200 of Mexico's 500 representatives in the lower house, and 32 of 128 senators. If the reform passes, the Senate would be reduced to 96 seats and state legislatures would be slimmed down.
REDUCED FINANCING FOR PARTIES
The reform would cut financing for political parties, limit daily TV and radio time per broadcaster per campaign, require labels for AI-made content, ban bots and cap pay for elected representatives and electoral officials, some of whom earn more than the president, Sheinbaum said.
The number of councillors on Mexico's INE electoral commission would remain the same, she said, and measures would be implemented to stop cash contributions and prevent close family members from immediately competing for a seat vacated by a relative.
Consecutive reelection would be banned from 2030, and voting would be simplified for Mexicans living abroad.
The proposal needs approval of two-thirds of each chamber of Congress, creating an uphill battle for Sheinbaum's Morena party unless it can secure support from its allies, the Labor Party and the Green Party, which oppose key points of the bill.
"Morena has a very narrow margin of error in the Senate for passing this bill," Bradesco BBI analyst Rodolfo Ramos said.
"It requires the support of most of the coalition partners, and we believe the chances of approval are relatively low."
CONCERNS ABOUT UNDERMINING DEMOCRACY.
The opposition PRI party has said the reform would undermine the democratic system by eliminating party representation.
Ricardo Anaya, of the opposition right-wing PAN party, said he believed the government's arguments concerning party lists and funding were a "smokescreen."
"The government's goal is not to have more democracy, it is to have control of the electoral processes," he said.
Mexican politics were, for most of the 20th century, dominated by PRI, which maintained power through mechanisms such as media and union control, and electoral fraud.
Mexico has since undergone major electoral reforms, and PRI now operates within a competitive democratic system.
The proposal follows the ruling Morena party's overhaul last year of judicial elections, which it said would democratize justice, but critics said could jeopardize it and worsen corruption by opening courts to political campaigns.
Sheinbaum's predecessor and mentor, Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, sought to usher in an electoral reform several times during his six-year tenure.
($1 = 17.1840 Mexican pesos)
(Reporting by Sarah Morland, Aida Pelaez-Fernandez, Diego Ore, Raul Cortes and Lizbeth Diaz, Editing by Daina Beth Solomon, Rod Nickel)
