- Man Utd, Spurs eye respite from domestic woes in Europa League
- Guatemala picks Supreme Court judges with focus on anti-graft fight
- Jill Biden announces $500 million for women's health research
- Injured All Blacks centre Jordie Barrett out of Australia Test
- 'Lead the future': youth challenge world leaders at UN
- Goosebumps and stars as Paris Fashion Week kicks off
- Boeing boosts pay offer in effort to end strike
- Global markets inch higher on hopes of further rate cuts
- Amazon forest loses area the size of Germany and France, fueling fires
- 'Curious' Dupont eyes position change after claiming Top 14 award
- Man Utd stadium regeneration could add £7.3bn to British economy
- At COP16, Colombia seeks to lead by example on biodiversity
- Dupont caps off Olympic gold season with Top 14 player award
- Leeds to expand Elland Road to 53,000 capacity
- Mysterious 18th century diamond necklace set for auction
- World's oceans near critical acidification level: report
- California sues oil giant Exxon over plastic recycling 'myth'
- As wars rage, UN's critics say global body is failing its mission
- Amazon forest has lost an area the size of Germany and France
- Nadal, Alcaraz and Sinner in Davis Cup finals teams
- Telegram's Durov announces new crackdown on illegal content
- African players in Europe: Ice-cool Jackson strikes twice
- Man City's Rodri 'out for season' after ACL injury: reports
- Venezuelan court issues arrest warrant for Argentina's Milei
- Arsenal not yet a match for Man City-Liverpool rivalry, says Silva
- Iran's new president calls Israel warmonger as he seeks talks with West
- Berlin warns UniCredit against Commerzbank takeover attempt
- Black Eyed Peas star harnesses AI for novel radio product
- England cricket captain Knight reprimanded over 'blackface' photo
- Barca goalkeeper Ter Stegen set to miss season after knee operation
- 'I lived a lie', tearful witness tells French mass rape trial
- 274 dead in Israeli strikes on Hezbollah strongholds in Lebanon
- Gunman revealed Trump plot months before golf course arrest: DOJ
- Trial opens in Italy student murder case that opened eyes to femicide
- Iran president accuses Israel of seeking conflict, says opposes war
- Swedish battery maker Northvolt to slash 1,600 jobs, quarter of staff
- Joshua says boxing career 'far from over' after Dubois defeat
- Stock markets inch higher on rate hopes
- 182 dead in Israeli strikes on Hezbollah strongholds in Lebanon
- Friedkin Group reach deal to buy Everton
- UniCredit ups stake in Commerzbank to 21 percent
- Big rate cut was 'appropriate' first step: Fed official
- Stock markets diverge as eurozone economy struggles
- Lebanon says 100 dead in Israeli strikes on Hezbollah strongholds
- Man City's Akanji sends defiant title message after Arsenal battle
- Madrid's 'many styles' key to unbeaten streak: Ancelotti
- UK's Labour pledges economic rebuild amid free gifts row
- Barca goalkeeper Ter Stegen to undergo knee operation
- French mass rape trial moves on to new defendants
- Israel warns Lebanese as intense strikes target Hezbollah
Mexico president survives recall vote marked by low turnout
Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador on Sunday easily survived a divisive referendum on whether he should step down or complete his term -- a vote marked by low turnout, initial results showed.
With an approval rating of nearly 60 percent, Lopez Obrador's presidency had never appeared seriously at risk, and the left-wing populist was himself one of the vote's biggest cheerleaders.
The 68-year-old president, elected in 2018 for a six-year term, won a majority of around 90.3-91.9 percent in favor of his staying in office until 2024, according to a preliminary vote count by the National Electoral Institute.
The turnout rate was between 17 and 18.2 percent, meaning that even if Lopez Obrador had lost, the result would not have been legally binding.
Supporters of the referendum -- the first of its kind in Mexico -- said it was a way of increasing democratic accountability, giving voters the opportunity to remove the president due to loss of confidence.
"Now we have the chance to change what's not right. There have been presidents who, after being elected by the people, ended up serving other interests," Benigno Gasca, a 57-year-old mathematician and musician, told AFP.
- 'Useless exercise' -
But critics saw it as expensive propaganda and an unnecessary distraction from the many challenges facing the country, including drug-related violence, poverty and the rising cost of living.
"It's a useless exercise -- money thrown away," said Laura Gonzalez, a 62-year-old retired teacher.
Lopez Obrador cast his vote early Sunday with his wife at a polling station near the presidential palace.
"Let no one forget that the people are in charge," he declared afterward.
Mexico's constitution limits presidents to one term, and Lopez Obrador has vowed to retire in 2024, following accusations by opponents that the referendum was a step towards trying to stay in power beyond then.
Mario Delgado, leader of the ruling party Morena, said voters had recognized Lopez Obrador's "dedication to the most needy and the enormous moral authority with which he governs.
"Only an indomitable, unwavering democrat like him can subject himself to a recall process," he added.
But Marko Cortes, of the conservative opposition party PAN, said the vote was marked "by illegality, lies, manipulation and the diversion of public resources."
Alejandro Moreno of the PRI, which ruled Mexico for seven decades until 2000, tweeted that Morena had turned the referendum into a "mockery" to "satisfy its own ego and continue deceiving Mexicans."
- 'Sustenance of democracy' -
Some 93 million voters were eligible to participate in the midterm referendum, which was incorporated into Mexico's constitution in 2019 at Lopez Obrador's initiative.
Most of the signatures that were collected in order for the vote to happen came from his supporters.
Experts had predicted that a win could give impetus to Lopez Obrador's policy agenda, such as controversial energy reforms.
The president also has his eye on the 2024 elections and the prospects for his party and possible successors, including Mexico City Mayor Claudia Sheinbaum.
Lopez Obrador enjoyed an approval rating of 58 percent in March, although that was far below a peak of 81 percent seen in February 2019, according to a poll of polls by the Oraculus firm.
Carmen Sobrino, a 64-year-old housewife, said she heeded the call to vote because she was happy with Lopez Obrador.
"I hope he continues," she said after casting her ballot in the capital.
Another voter, 59-year-old economist Flor Mercedes Rodriguez, saw the referendum as a chance to "resume the culture of citizen participation... It's the sustenance of democracy."
The president accused the National Electoral Institute before the vote of sabotaging the exercise in collusion with his political opponents by failing to do enough to promote it.
K.Brown--BTB