5.- The IP factor: To attack the electricity reform, private companies have formed a front that does not exist to defend the INE. There are many interests affected by the electricity reform, money invested, companies defended by foreign governments and international treaty clauses potentially violated. In this sense, the electrical reform faces contenders with muscle. On the other hand, the INE does not have more support than that of the citizens; there are no companies or countries that defend it, but, for the same reason, its defense is more genuine. The defense of the INE is the defense of citizen participation. For millions of Mexicans, the INE, six-year period after six-year period, party after party, has been a bastion of freedom and of the electoral system that, with all its defects, we decided to give ourselves. The INE assures us that the electoral rights of all Mexicans, sympathize with the party they sympathize with, are respected.
6.- The cost factor: democracy and light have a high cost. The first is expensive because we Mexicans have decided to pay for the operation of political parties, instead of private interests (companies, associations, or organized crime) financing them. But the reform of the INE represents a risk for the political parties because it opens the door to questioning the billions of pesos transferred to them for their operation. In the case of the CFE, we Mexicans think that the high cost of electricity is the product of inefficiencies, bureaucracy and corruption within the government. If, as President López Obrador says, the OXXO store chain pays less for electricity, many Mexicans would like to pay the same as OXXO. The presidential speech on the cost of electricity leads many Mexicans to ask themselves “Why don’t I pay the same as an OXXO store? I want to pay less for my light, at least what OXXO pays.” Although the two reforms affect our pockets, the electricity reform is closer to the concerns of families. A bad electricity reform will end up costing everyone.
The six factors described may explain why the electricity reform may be more attractive to public opinion than the INE reform. They also explain why the president wants his cabinet to launch a nationwide campaign to persuade Mexicans of its benefits.
