• DECISIVE: Mexico enters a decisive week with the Lower House of Congress poised to elect four new counselors of the country’s National Electoral Institute (INE), the body in charge of organizing the 2021 midterm election that could mark the future of Andrés Manuel López Obrador’s presidency.
• INDEPENDENCE: Considered crucial to guarantee the independent nature of the INE, the election of the four new electoral counselors is scheduled Wednesday once party leaders in Mexico’s Lower House agree on four names from a larger pool of 20 candidates recommended by a group of experts.
• DISAGREEMENT: Despite a five-month selection process that included competency tests, a group of 75 legislators from López Obrador’s governing coalition has already expressed its displeasure with the exercise arguing that most of the 20 finalists are allegedly opposed to the President’s program.
• MIDTERM: Amid a serious economic, security and health crisis, Mexico’s 2021 election will put to test if López Obrador’s governing coalition will be able to hold to his majority in Mexico’s Lower House and if his party can remain competitive in 15 gubernatorial races across the country.
