President Claudia Sheinbaum stated that the mandate revocation referendum is not mandatory and can be decided until January 2027, per the Constitution. She explained that her Plan B electoral reform aims to flex the timing to the third or fourth year of government and allow the executive to speak publicly about the process.
In her morning press conference on March 20, President Claudia Sheinbaum defended the Plan B electoral reform sent to the Senate on March 17. The bill proposes changes to mandate revocation: instead of limiting it to the fourth year of government, it would allow it in the third or fourth year. Sheinbaum stressed that the process is not mandatory and depends on a citizen request with signature collection. It also seeks to authorize the president to speak publicly about it to inform and encourage participation, unlike 2022 when Andrés Manuel López Obrador was restricted. “How can someone facing mandate revocation not even talk about it? So, what we say is that they can speak about it: ‘on such date there will be a mandate revocation’. It is important that people decide if we continue or not in office. That's all,” Sheinbaum said. On costs, she described them as low, mainly ballot printing. The first version was rejected in the Chamber of Deputies by PAN, PRI, MC, PT, and PVEM. Now, it faces PT resistance in the Senate, which demands more precise wording in Article 35 to avoid ambiguities. Senator Alejandro González Yáñez said the PT will suggest corrections before deciding its vote, possibly on Monday 23. Sheinbaum expressed confidence in PT support: “The PT has to agree if they will support or not, it's up to them, but we believe they will support. We'll see their final position.” Senator Geovanna Bañuelos has positioned in favor, but a qualified majority is required.
