A lot is at stake in Mexico’s midterm elections on Sunday. With more than 21,000 seats up for grabs, this is the country’s largest poll ever.
Voters will be deciding on all of the 500 deputies in the lower house of Congress as well as state governors. Thousands of state and local officials and mayors will also face off at the polls.
And while President Andrés Manuel López Obrador is not facing election, the vote is very much an evaluation of his agenda.
The leftist veteran politician, known by his initials AMLO, won by a landslide in 2018 after promising major reforms. But to deliver his ambitious program, dubbed “Fourth Transformation,” he needs to retain his majority.
Largest election ever
All of Mexico’s 32 states are holding local and federal votes, with officials on all levels of government up for election.
The number of people voting is also higher than ever before: 95 million citizens have registered to vote, up from 89 million in 2018, according to the Mexico Institute of the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars.
The coronavirus crisis will also mark elections. Voters are asked to wear a mask and maintain social distancing. The National Electoral Institute, which oversees the election, has told voters they are welcome to bring their own pens.
