Next Sunday, millions of Mexicans will take part in a referendum that could bring five neoliberal-era presidents to trial.
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For the first time in the Mexican political history, the Popular Consultation Law will create a direct mechanism for citizen participation in policy making.
This option has been actively promoted by President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador (AMLO), whom the Mexican right wing accuses of making leftist propaganda by putting the decision on a "technical" and judicial issue in the hands of the common people.
Through this popular consultation, citizens will say "yes" or "no" to the judicial investigation of the actions carried out by former presidents Carlos Salinas de Gortari (1988-1994), Ernesto Zedillo (1994-2000), Vicente Fox (2000-2006), Felipe Calderon (2006-2012), and Enrique Peña Nieto (2012-2018).
After being reviewed and corrected by the Supreme Court (SCJN), the final referendum question will be the following:
"Do you agree or disagree that, under the laws and the constitution, the pertinent actions be carried out to undertake a process of clarification of the political decisions made in the past years by the political actors, which is aimed at guaranteeing justice and the rights of the possible victims?"
The National Electoral Institute (INE) will install 57,000 voting tables that will be controlled by over 285,000 officials. Once the electoral process is concluded, the INE General Council will count the votes for and against the above mentioned question. The result will be subsequently communicated to the Supreme Court.
If 40 percent of the 93.6 million citizens vote in favor, Salinas de Gortari, Zedillo, Fox, Caldero, and Peña Nieto could be subject to trials involving crimes ranging from corruption to human rights violations.