Mexico’s senate passes constitutional amendment to safeguard elections. Critics call it ‘alarming’

Amid fierce criticism from opposition groups, Mexico ’s senate has passed ‌a constitutional amendment to include “foreign interference” as grounds to annul election results in the country. The bill, which was presented by the country’s president, Claudia Sheinbaum , defines foreign interference as “illicit financing, propaganda, the systematic ⁠dissemination of misinformation, digital manipulation, and ⁠the intervention of foreign governments ⁠or agencies”. But critics say that the broadness of the bill’s language means virtually anything could be used to annul the results of an election: an article in a British newspaper, a statement from a US official, a report from an international NGO. “This is one of the most egregious, alarming and retrograde pieces of legislation in Mexico’s young democratic history,” said Arturo Sarukhan, a former Mexican ambassador to the US, on X . “This law doesn’t prevent foreign interference. It hands the government a veto over election outcomes it doesn’t like.” The bill comes as Mexico has faced increased pressure from the US on security, with Donald Trump repeatedly threatening to invade the country and tackle cartels. Last month, the US justice department indicted 10 current and former officials from the state of Sinaloa, including the governor, for ties to a powerful drug-trafficking group. …