Mexico's president-elect says no decision yet on constitutional reforms

MEXICO : Mexico's President-elect Claudia Sheinbaum said late on Thursday no decision had been made on a package of constitutional reforms put forward by outgoing President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, local media reported.

The specter that Sheinbaum's leftist Morena party and its allies were within earshot of securing the two-thirds, super-majority needed in both chambers of Congress to pass the controversial measures unopposed roiled Mexican markets this week.

When asked about the reforms, Sheinbaum said "there has been no decision. My position is that dialogue needs to happen, the proposal has to be evaluated."

Critics have warned that some of the reforms would eliminate crucial oversight bodies, erode judicial independence and concentrate more power in the executive branch.

Morena and its junior partners, the Green Party and Labor Party, will likely have 83 seats in the Senate, of a total 128, when the next Congress takes office in September, the interior minister said on Wednesday, citing preliminary results.

While that is just shy of the two-thirds majority needed to change the constitution, Morena could cut potentially cut deals with the other parties to get the votes it needs.

In the 500-member lower house of Congress, the ruling leftist coalition will likely have 372 seats, a super-majority.