CITIZENS SUPPORT INDEPENDENT ELECTION BODIES Earlier this month in Foreign Policy, IFES Senior Global Adviser Kyle Lemargie warned that Mexico’s Instituto Nacional Electoral was in the “fight for its life” as the president threatened to reduce its mandate and budget. This week, the changes to the electoral body passed. The legislation, which will cut salaries and funding for local election offices and trainings for poll workers, sparked tens of thousands to protest in Mexico this past week. Lemargie writes in his piece the cutbacks are an example of how leaders can spin disinformation to consolidate their power and remove barriers to prolonged incumbency. “The democratic erosion threat posed by duly elected leaders cannot be discounted at a time when a record number of countries are autocratizing,” he says. Read Lemargie’s piece in Foreign Policy. |
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