Revocation of mandate: is AMLO’s vote valid with the legend “Viva Zapata!” on your ballot?

Mexico votes on AMLO’s mandate revocation consultation 2:37 (CNN Spanish) — In Mexico, this Sunday, April 10, the mandate revocation consultation is being held and the President of the Republic, Andrés Manuel López Obrador, issued your early vote. López Obrador wrote a tweet shortly before 10 am (Mexico City time): “We participate in the historic democratic exercise that is taking place throughout the country today. Democracy must be a way of life, a habit of the Mexicans so that no one feels absolute. The people are the ones who rule.” In said message, the president of Mexico added a photo where it can be seen that he did not mark either of the two options on the ballot, and instead wrote “Viva Zapata!” in reference to Emiliano Zapata, character of the Mexican Revolution who fought in favor of the peasants and their lands. We participate in the historic democratic exercise that is taking place today throughout the country. Democracy must be a way of life, a habit of Mexicans so that no one feels absolute. The people are the ones who rule. pic.twitter.com/0JbJrNPXn0 – Andrés Manuel (@lopezobrador_) April 10, 2022 Is AMLO’s vote valid with the legend “Viva Zapata!”? Voting in Mexico is free and secret, so you can cast your vote the way you like. However, even if you have that freedom, there are rules to follow to determine if a vote is valid or invalid. According to the 2022 Mandate Revocation Operational Manual, in matters of Electoral Organization, a vote will count as valid “by the mark made by the citizen in a single box that clearly determines its meaning.” It should be remembered that the two options on the ballot are the following: a) that the mandate be revoked due to loss of confidence; and b) that he continue in the Presidency of the Republic. Meanwhile, says the Manual, it counts as a null vote “when the citizen marks the ballot in a different way from that indicated (…), when it is not possible to know the exact meaning of it, and when he or she deposits it blank or alter the text of the ballot with legends”. Taking into account these rules, López Obrador’s vote is not valid and is counted as null, since it alters the text of the ballot with a legend. However, this could be interpreted as a premeditated action on the part of AMLO, whose government sympathizes with Zapata’s political ideals and even decreed 2019 as the “Year of the Caudillo Del Sur, Emiliano Zapata Salazar.”