MEXICO CITY—President Andrés Manuel López Obrador’s party and its allies on Monday appeared poised to maintain their majority in Mexico’s lower chamber of the congress, but fell short of a two-thirds majority as some voters boosted the opposition, according to initial election results.
Electoral authorities released “quick count” results based on voting samples that allow estimates of the voting trends to determine the rough potential makeup of the Chamber of Deputies late Sunday.
López Obrador’s Morena party will have to rely on votes from its allies in the Workers Party and Green Party, but together they were expected to capture between 265 and 292 seats in the 500-seat chamber. Morena alone was expected to win 190 to 203 seats.
That would signal a significant decline for the president’s party. In the current congress, Morena has a simple majority, holding 253 seats on its own. It would also deprive the president of a qualified majority of two-thirds required to approve constitutional reforms.
López Obrador appeared to acknowledge that new reality Monday. He praised the election as “free, clean” and said Mexicans had shown a degree of political maturity “never seen.”
“You voted for two different and opposed plans, above all in the federal election,” he said. “Those of the transformation plan are going to have the majority in the Chamber of Deputies and this means guaranteeing the sufficient budget for the most in need.”
The results give the president sufficient budgetary control to continue his train and refinery-building plans and cash handout programs, but may deny him congressional backing to escalate his ongoing spats with the courts and regulatory agencies.
The opposition alliance made up of the Institutional Revolutionary Party, National Action Party and Party of the Democratic Revolution were estimated to win between 181 and 213 seats. Those would be gains for those parties, which have often appeared rudderless in the face of López Obrador’s popularity.
