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MEXICO CITY: A Mexican constitutional reform to require presidential candidates to renounce any dual citizenships is fast-tracking toward final approval, despite criticism that the measure backed by the ruling party infringes on political rights and aims to block opposition rivals.
President Claudia Sheinbaum has defended the initiative — which would also apply to state governors and the Mexico City mayor — as a safeguard against foreign interference.
“Presidents of Mexico can only have one flag, one homeland, one people to defend,” Sheinbaum said during her daily news conference on Wednesday.
Its critics, however, say it erects hurdles for dual-national politicians and could hamper generational succession within Sheinbaum’s ruling Morena party and those of its allies, where several figures hold foreign passports.
The constitutional changes were swiftly approved this week by a majority of Mexico’s 32 state legislatures, backed by Morena lawmakers and their coalition after passing both chambers of the national Congress. Lawmakers must now issue a formal “declaration of constitutionality” before publishing the text in the official gazette.
Mexico’s current constitution does not explicitly bar presidents and governors from holding dual citizenship. In Latin America, only two countries have such bans: Cuba and Venezuela.
