Mexico’s Supreme Court on Monday struck down parts of a controversial electoral reform promoted by President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador’s ruling party ahead of key elections next year.
Alleging violations in the legislative process, nine of the 11 judges voted to invalidate changes to two laws regulating the participation of officials in campaigns and official propaganda.
The court has yet to rule on a particularly contentious part of the overhaul reducing the staff and budget of the National Electoral Institute (INE), the independent body in charge of organizing elections.
The electoral reform package, passed by lawmakers earlier this year, drew tens of thousands of Mexicans into the streets protesting what critics see as an attack on democracy.
The opposition argues that the moves would empower the government to interfere in electoral processes and tip the balance in its favor in the 2024 presidential and legislative polls.
Lopez Obrador accuses the INE of wasting money and alleges that it endorsed fraud when he ran unsuccessfully for the presidency in 2006 and 2012, before winning in 2018.
His opponents accuse him of a dangerous tilt towards authoritarianism with attacks on the judiciary and the INE.
The left-wing populist, whose approval rating hovers at about 60 percent, cannot seek reelection as the constitution bars more than one six-year term.