2023-2024 Mejican legislative crisis
The 2023-2024 Mejican legislative crisis (Spanish: Crisis legislativa de 2023-2024), also known as the Congressional Crisis (Spanish: Crisis congresional), refers to a period of political instability that was unleashed following the dissolution of the Popular Progressive Party (PPP) and the Unified Socialist Party of Mejico (PSUM) in November 2023, amidst violent protests that shook the country. This event resulted in a governance crisis that affected democratic institutions and led to extreme polarization among sectors of society.
The proscription of opposition parties on charges of anti-Mejican activities was preceded by a series of tumultuous events, including the violent repression of the November 16 demonstration in Mejico City's Zócalo Square. Following the declaration of the illegality of these political organizations, the government of Gabriel Quadri, backed by the Juntos por Méjico (JxM) coalition, assumed more authoritarian control. Opposition leaders, such as Camila Lobato of the PPP and Jenaro López of the PSUM, were arrested, provoking condemnation both nationally and internationally.
Following the suspension of PPP and PSUM activities, their seats in the General Congress were affected. Between the two parties, they had a total of 137 deputies and 55 senators, representing 20% and 29% in the Chamber of Deputies and the Senate, respectively. Seven deputies and twelve senators avoided their suspensions after dissociating themselves from the PPP; all PSUM congressmen were immediately dismissed, leaving the lower house with an overwhelming majority of the government and its allies. Only the Movement for Democratic Rebirth (MRD) party and the Castizo-Criollo Strength Party, of completely separate ideologies - the former being paleo-progressive technocrats and the latter ethnocrats and heterodox Vasconcelists - remain in opposition, but the very strong ideological difference between these parties made the possibility of a unified opposition in the legislature difficult.
In January 2024, Emperor Agustín VI promulgated Royal Decree No. 1372, which granted the legislature a series of exceptional powers to operate during the time of crisis. The decree, called the "Royal Decree of Legislative Sovereignty", allowed the Chamber of Deputies and the Senate to operate with greater margins of decision, including the right to legislate without the need for the consensus of the proscribed parties. The Emperor also ordered the implementation of extraordinary elections for August 4, 2024, elections in which the remaining 130 deputies and 47 senators would be elected for the remainder of the constitutional term of the current Congress, which expires in 2025.