Tens of thousands of Mexicans walked through the streets Sunday to show their support for President Andrés Manuel López Obrador amid some pushback to his political agenda in recent weeks.
MEXICO CITY — Two weeks after tens of thousands of Mexicans protested against proposed electoral changes they say would undermine democracy, Mexico’s president on Sunday marched through the capital accompanied by massive crowds in a display of popular support for his mandate.
In an early taste of the 2024 presidential election, President Andrés Manuel López Obrador’s supporters, some traveling hundreds of miles by bus to the capital, came with Mexican flags, marching bands and even president-shaped stuffed toys as they filled the heart of the capital, chanting, “It’s an honor to be with Obrador.”
Mexico’s political opposition and some members of civil society spoke out against the march, calling it a show of force by a leader they cast as a budding authoritarian who uses state resources — including welfare programs — to maintain his popularity.
The president has denied those accusations, but the sway Mr. López Obrador maintains over many Mexicans was on full display Sunday.
Some said they were there to show support for a president who had benefited them economically through welfare programs, although they were less aware of Mr. López Obrador’s more specific policy goals — including the contentious electoral changes he hopes to get ratified.
The overhaul would give the president more control over Mexico’s electoral systems, but while Mexico’s Congress began discussing the proposal earlier this month, Mr. López Obrador does not have enough votes for it to be adopted.
Opposition members worry that the president will try to push the changes through by other means before the end of the year. Mr. López Obrador has used presidential decrees to adopt some of his more contentious policies recently.
Sunday’s march was a bid by the president to show popular support for his overall mandate as well as for his bid to overhaul the electoral system and increase his power over the body that oversees voting, the National Electoral Institute.