- TD Bank to pay more than $3 bn to US in money-laundering case
- SAfrica prosecutors drop criminal complaint against president
- 'Good opportunity': Nagelsmann upbeat despite Germany's long injury list
- Hurricane whips up bitter US election battle
- Cameroon bans media talk of president's health amid rumours
- NFL MVP Jackson and rookie phenom Daniels set for showdown
- Chad's capital under threat as floodwaters rise
- Lebanon state media says Israeli strikes hit central Beirut
- No answers on strike on reporters in Lebanon one year on: watchdog
- Ramharack picks four wickets as Windies beat Bangladesh in Women's T20 World Cup
- France's City of Light switches to climate-resilient power cables
- Djokovic hails Nadal 'legacy' as Alcaraz in 'shock' over retirement
- Obama hits campaign trail for Harris
- Delta eyes Election Day travel pullback as profits climb
- Djokovic tells Nadal: 'Your legacy will live forever'
- Ethel Kennedy, wife of RFK, dead at 96
- Zelensky denies ceasefire with Russia under discussion on trip
- Florida battered by hurricane, floods but spared 'worst-case scenario'
- After long fight for glory, Nadal leaves with a legacy of memories
- Home hopes Zheng and Wang through to last-eight in Wuhan Open
- UN peacekeepers say Israel fired on Lebanon HQ, injuring 2
- UK's William and Kate in first joint public engagement since cancer treatment
- Alcaraz out as top players pay tribute to Nadal at Shanghai Masters
- Racing's Farrell 'not thinking' about British and Irish Lions
- Alcaraz, Sinner pay tribute to 'unbelievable' Nadal at Shanghai Masters
- Over 200 women in legal talks with Harrods over Fayed abuse claims
- After K-pop, K-novels? South Korean Nobel win sparks joy, hope at home
- After Nadal exit, Djokovic left to rage against dying of the light
- A very stiff breeze: BBC says sorry for 20,000 kph wind forecast
- Triple centurion Brook happy to break Dad's club record
- Zelensky touts 'victory plan' against Russia in Macron talks
- Musk finally unveiling his long-promised robotaxi
- UN peacekeepers accuses Israel of firing on Lebanon HQ
- London's Frieze art fair goes potty for ceramics
- Southgate taking year out from coaching
- US, Europe stocks fall on US inflation data
- Zelensky meets Macron in Paris as part of European tour
- Hurricane Milton shreds Florida stadium roof
- UN probe accuses Israel of seeking to 'destroy' Gaza healthcare
- US consumer inflation eases to 2.4% in September
- England in sight of victory after Brook's triple hundred
- Juventus readmitted to ECA after failed Super League revolt
- World number 2 Alcaraz knocked out of Shanghai Masters by Machac
- Leaders of Egypt, Eritrea, Somalia meet amid regional tensions
- Klopp's Red Bull decision 'ruined life's work' say Dortmund fans
- Han Kang wins South Korea's first literature Nobel
- S. Korea's Nobel winner Han Kang a modest, thought-provoking writer
- Hurricane Milton tornadoes kill four in Florida amid rescue efforts
- The almost impossible job: Beating Rafael Nadal at the French Open
- New French government faces key test with budget plan
RBGPF | 4.03% | 63.35 | $ | |
CMSD | 0.08% | 24.7 | $ | |
CMSC | 0.12% | 24.55 | $ | |
BCC | -2.63% | 138.745 | $ | |
SCS | -3.74% | 12.56 | $ | |
NGG | 0.38% | 65.88 | $ | |
BCE | -1.63% | 32.775 | $ | |
JRI | -0.11% | 13.205 | $ | |
RELX | -0.71% | 46.38 | $ | |
RYCEF | 0% | 6.9 | $ | |
VOD | -0.26% | 9.705 | $ | |
RIO | 0.75% | 66.85 | $ | |
AZN | -0.87% | 76.84 | $ | |
BP | 1.17% | 32.36 | $ | |
BTI | -0.75% | 35.215 | $ | |
GSK | -2.93% | 39.095 | $ |
In unusual step, Mexico president asks voters if he should go
Mexico will hold its first presidential recall referendum on Sunday, promoted by President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, on whether he should complete his six-year term -- an exercise that has split public opinion.
With an approval rating of nearly 60 percent, the midterm popularity test appears unlikely to result in Lopez Obrador's early departure.
The president argues that submitting himself to the recall referendum is important for democracy, but critics see it as little more than an expensive propaganda exercise.
The 68-year-old self-styled anti-corruption, pro-austerity crusader was elected in 2018 vowing to overhaul Mexico's "neoliberal" economic model.
Lopez Obrador has promised not to seek reelection in 2024, following accusations by opponents that the referendum is a step towards changing the rules to enable him to stay in power beyond then.
The Mexican constitution limits presidents to one term.
Lopez Obrador "seeks, like any populist politician, to maintain the climate of polarization and encourage the narrative that the people are on his side," said political consultant Luis Carlos Ugalde, a former head of Mexico's electoral institute.
But Ugalde is skeptical the vote will smooth the way for Lopez Obrador staying in office beyond 2024.
"Perhaps there will be voices in his party that say he should stay, but the power of that voice will be minimal," Ugalde said.
A successful result on Sunday could inject momentum into Lopez Obrador's policy agenda, including controversial energy reforms.
Lopez Obrador's Morena party lost its absolute majority in the lower house of Congress in legislative elections last year.
The president also has his eye on the 2024 elections and the prospects for his party and possible successors including Mexico City Mayor Claudia Sheinbaum.
- 'Populist exercise' -
Lopez Obrador has overseen a series of referendums since taking office on controversial issues including his "Maya Train" railroad project, and canceling a partially finished airport for Mexico City.
A public consultation held in August on whether to prosecute his predecessors for alleged corruption drew only a small fraction of voters to the polls.
The midterm recall referendum was incorporated into Mexico's constitution in 2019 at Lopez Obrador's initiative.
Some 93 million voters will be able to participate, but many are expected to stay home.
The outcome will be overwhelmingly in favor of Lopez Obrador completing his term, although in any case turnout is likely to be below the 40-percent level needed for the vote to be legally binding, predicted Ugalde.
The opposition parties PAN, PRI and PRD have urged Mexicans to abstain from voting in what they call a "populist exercise."
Lopez Obrador enjoyed an approval rating of 58 percent in March, although that was far below a peak of 81 percent seen in February 2019, according to a poll of polls by the Oraculus firm.
"It's kind of an oxymoron to have a recall process when you have a popular president," said Jorge Buendia, director of public opinion firm Buendia & Marquez.
"The strongest supporters of the president are those that are going to go to the polls," he told a panel discussion.
Lopez Obrador owes much of his popularity to his social welfare programs aimed at helping the poor, and dominates Mexico's news agenda with press conferences lasting up to three hours every weekday.
Lopez Obrador's critics say he is damaging democratic checks and balances with his attacks on bodies including the National Electoral Institute, which the president accuses of undermining the referendum.
"We will defend the National Electoral Institute, which is under attack by the presidency," said Amado Vazquez, a lawyer attending a protest against Sunday's vote in the western city of Guadalajara.
The referendum is biased in favor of the government and "in no way a citizen's vote," he added.
H.E.Young--AMWN