Mexican president disparages pro-democracy demonstrators
MEXICO CITY (AP) — Mexico’s president lashed out Monday at demonstrators who protested cuts to election funding over the weekend, belittling their concerns about threats to democracy and dashing any hopes that he would try to ease rising political tensions.
President Andrés Manuel López Obrador seemed to revel in the conflict, hurling insults at the tens of thousands of people who demonstrated in Mexico City’s main plaza, calling them thieves and allies of drug traffickers.
“There was an increase in the number of pick pockets stealing wallets here in the Zocalo, but what do you want, with so many white-collar criminals in one place?” López Obrador said at his daily morning press briefing.
At the root of the conflict are plans by López Obrador, which were approved last week by Mexico's Senate, to cut salaries and funding for local election offices, and scale back training for citizens who operate and oversee polling stations. The changes would also reduce sanctions for candidates who fail to report campaign spending.
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/mexican-president-disparages-pro-democracy-demonstrators/ar-AA1801A9