Will a ‘dry law’ be implemented this weekend in time for a national referendum?
Uncertainty surrounds whether or not a “dry law” will be in effect Sunday when people across Mexico head to the polls.
The prohibition of liquor sales is established in the Mexican constitution as a measure to try to maintain order during all elections.
According to Yucatán’s state government, liquor sales will continue normally, as this is technically not an election but rather a referendum.
This, however, will not be the case in Nayarit, Nuevo León, San Luis Potosí, Zacatecas, Tabasco and Mexico City.
But dry laws in Mexico have also been controversially implemented as a public health measure, especially over the past couple of years.
Earlier: What Mexico’s upcoming presidential referendum actually means
The upcoming vote, called for by President Andrés Manuel López Obrador is a referendum on whether or not he should be permitted to continue his constitutional term until its expiry in 2024.
The president is expected to win the referendum by a landslide, as few people, save his most ardent supporters seem to be taking it seriously.
“This is just stupid, as a country we are spending 500 million pesos to stroke the ego of the president, and in the middle of a recession,” Edwin Tzuc said on Facebook.
As a result, turnout at the referendum is expected to be low.
The referendum scheduled for April 10 has been called a farce by Mexico’s opposition as it’s not legally binding and has no precedent in the nation’s history.
Senior Editor Carlos Rosado van der Gracht is a Mexican expedition/Canadian photographer and adventure leader. Born in Mérida, Carlos holds multimedia, philosophy, and translation degrees from universities in Mexico, Canada and Norway.
