Lopez Obrador asks the richest businessmen to speak out about overrepresentation in Congress

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President Andrés Manuel López Obrador on Tuesday pressured the country's five richest businessmen to make public their opinion on the possibility that his political party, Morena, and its allies, might be forced to reduce their seats in Congress. The debate, which focuses on the interpretation of what the Constitution dictates on legislative overrepresentation, will culminate with a ruling by the Electoral Tribunal of the Judicial Branch of the Federation (TEPJF) expected before August 30. The overwhelming victory of the ruling party in the June elections, together with the result of allied parties such as the Green Party (PV) and the Labor Party (PT), add up to 373 seats in Congress that allow the coalition to approve reforms to the Constitution with relative ease. The most controversial reform proposed by López Obrador proposes changing judges and magistrates as well as the way they are elected, allowing for a popular election. This has generated strong uncertainty in the private sector, with the news causing the financial markets in the country to plummet. The court's ruling could limit the number of seats in the coalition, complicating approval of the reform. On Monday, the Business Coordinating Council (CCE) issued a statement warning that disproportionate representation could be harmful to the country. «It could distort public debate and harm democratic decision-making, in which minorities are represented and heard,» says the text, which calls for a «sensible, fair, balanced interpretation in accordance with the Constitution and the will of the Mexican people.» The statement seems to have upset the president, who took the podium on Tuesday at the morning conference to ask that the five richest businessmen stop expressing themselves through the organizations that represent them and do so personally. The CCE represents the country’s largest employers, which together generate 80% of the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP). “I would like the most respected in business organizations to be informed about this case,” said López Obrador in reference to the pending ruling, “and I would like to propose five that I would like to know about this argument. The five richest in Mexico, according to Forbes magazine. What is at issue here is how they obtained their wealth. What we want here is for them to be heard and respected and we want them to help us live in a country with an authentic rule of law and for us to make the commitment to banish corruption and impunity. And for them to give us their opinion through whatever means they consider.”President Andrés Manuel López Obrador (center) at a meeting with businessmen from Mexico and the United States in Washington, in July 2022. Presidency López Obrador referred to the possibility that the Court would rule against Morena and its allies as an “emblematic” case of corruption, and said that “in 36 years in the Legislative Branch, not a single law was approved [ley a favor de los mexicanos] And now that a reform to the Constitution is wanted, thinking that justice will be given to all, it turns out that they oppose it, but not only the legislators, but those of the economic and financial organizations oppose it.” The president pointed directly at Carlos Slim, owner of the Grupo Carso conglomerate and the richest man in Mexico, with whom his government has signed several contracts. “It would be very strange, weird, that the one who has the most money in Mexico, Carlos Slim, is in favor of violating the Constitution. But I want your opinion because there is no more pretense that business organizations are used as a shield and that it is nothing more than a formality. So, Carlos Slim, I want your opinion, not from the president, but from the people of Mexico. And there is no need to consult lawyers,” said the president. López Obrador also asked Germán Larrea, Ricardo Salinas Pliego, Fernando Baillères and María Asunción Aramburuzabala for their opinion. Salinas, who has had public confrontations with López Obrador’s government, was the first to respond through a post on the X network in which he opened a survey for his followers. “Is it democratic, correct and constitutional that the party in power and its allies, the PV and the PT, take 75% of the seats in the House of Representatives, when the people gave them ONLY 54% of them?” wrote the owner of Banco Azteca, TV Azteca and other companies. “It is practically the theft of 21% of seats in broad daylight,” he accused. In a separate post, he complained that businessmen are not being respected and listened to as the president suggested. “The CCE, representing the other business organizations, has made clear its position that Morena and its allies should have a 60% representation limit in the Chamber of Deputies, in accordance with its interpretation of the electoral law, which leaves no room for doubt as to whether overrepresentation applies to a single party or a coalition of parties,” says Damian Fraser, former managing director of the investment bank UBS in Mexico and director of the business consultancy Miranda Partners. “Given the almost absolute power of the Morena-controlled government and the rapid erosion of judicial independence, it is quite understandable that businessmen do not want to make individual statements and instead communicate through business associations,” Fraser adds, “in fact, even communicating through business associations is a risky decision, given the current climate in Mexico.” Sign up for free to the EL PAÍS México newsletter and the WhatsApp channel and receive all the keys news reports on current events in this country.