Seventeen state congresses have approved President Claudia Sheinbaum's Plan B electoral reform package, turning it into law after Senate and Chamber of Deputies passage. The measure, needing 17 local legislatures, aims to cap municipal councilors, state legislative budgets, and electoral officials' salaries. Approvals came in Thursday sessions, led by Tabasco.
Tabasco's Congress led approvals in Thursday's early hours, passing with 29-1 votes. Oaxaca approved unanimously, with Deputy Eva Diego Cruz noting it bolsters austerity and public trust. Quintana Roo, San Luis Potosí, and Yucatán followed with 20-4, 20-4, and 21-13 tallies, respectively.
States including Mexico State, Puebla, Sonora, Baja California Sur, Tlaxcala, and Veracruz also endorsed it, typically by majority amid limited opposition from PAN, PRI, and others. Puebla passed it in under 10 minutes at 34-6; Veracruz at 39-4 after debate. Critics like PRI Deputy Eduardo Zarzosa Sánchez in Mexico State deemed it flawed and not a real electoral overhaul.
The changes amend constitutional articles 115, 116, and 134: capping municipalities at 15 councilors with gender parity, state legislatures at 0.70% of expenditures, and electoral officials' pay matching the president's. Legislatures must align laws by May 30, 2026.
