Final approval is awaited for a constitutional reform in Mexico that would require presidential candidates to renounce their second citizenship.
“Elchi” reports, citing Reuters.
The initiative will also apply to state governors and the mayor of Mexico City. President Claudia Sheinbaum stated that this measure is aimed at protecting Mexico from foreign interference.
“Mexican presidents can only have one flag, one homeland, and one people to protect,” Sheinbaum said at a daily press conference.
Critics of the reform believe that this change restricts the political rights of individuals with dual citizenship and could create obstacles for some representatives of the ruling “Morena” party and its political allies.
The amendments have already been approved by both chambers of the Mexican Congress and subsequently received the support of the majority of the legislative assemblies in the country’s 32 states.
Lawmakers must now issue a formal declaration of constitutionality, after which the changes will be published in the official gazette and come into effect.
Currently, the Mexican Constitution does not directly prohibit presidents and governors from holding dual citizenship.