As anticipated, President Andres Manuel Lopez marked the occasion of Constitution Day (February 5) by presenting Congress with a package of constitutional reforms that seek to overhaul Mexico’s judiciary, electoral law, pensions, independent watchdog organizations and environmental regulations.
With nine months remaining of his mandate (under a new directive, he will leave the presidency on October 1, two months ahead of the traditional December 1 date), AMLO seems determined to put his final, personal stamp on an administration he has coined the “Fourth Transformation of Mexico.”
He said the underlying aim of the package of 20 reforms is to protect the most disadvantaged Mexican citizens and enhance their development opportunities.
Lopez Obrador wants to change the law to ensure Mexicans earning less than 16,000 pesos a month obtain a pension equivalent to 100 percent of their salaries. He promised seed capital of about $US3.8 billion to achieve this, although did not say where the money might originate from.
The president also proposed making annual hike in the minimum wage always above the inflation rate, and increasing the number of scholarships offered to impoverished children.
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