Mexican Candidates Turn to U.S. Migrants for Vote: Report

Mexican presidential candidates have turned to US migrants for support in the upcoming 2024 elections.

“[Mexican migrants] have a voice and the ability to influence and advise their family who lives in Mexico,” said Marco Cortes, national president of the Mexican centre-right party PAN, at an event near Dallas, Texas.

Remittances, money sent by citizens living and working abroad to families in their home countries, play an important role as a critical source of income for countries like Mexico, and with that comes the right to vote in key elections. Mexican citizens who have left the country can vote in presidential elections, but usually only a small fraction of them register to vote.

Mexico is the second largest recipient of money transfers in the world in 2022, which is approximately $58.9 billion, up nearly 13% from the previous year, according to the IMF. Nearly 11 million Mexican citizens live abroad, most of them in the US.

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A new president will be elected in the 2024 elections. President of Mexico Andres Manuel López Obrador will complete his term and will no longer be able to run, even if they hold the post on an interim basis. Recent opinion polls indicate strong support for Obrador’s MORENA party, but it remains unclear who the party might ultimately nominate as a candidate.

The National Electoral Institute of Mexico is visible in January.  December 25, 2023 in Mexico City, Mexico.

The National Electoral Institute of Mexico is visible in January. December 25, 2023 in Mexico City, Mexico. (Louis Barron/Eyepix Group/Future Publishing via Getty Images.)

As the Texas Tribune reports, the parties have already begun their outreach efforts, and some are looking overseas to tap into this sizable foreign contingent for support. About 2.5 million immigrants in Texas—about half of the total in the state—came from Mexico.

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Change Mexican constitution will see an opportunity to grant Mexican citizenship to all persons of Mexican origin, even those born abroad.

Thousands of supporters of the Movement of National Revival party during the congressional elections in the Army Hall of Ciudad Deportiva in Mexico City.  July 30, 2022 in Mexico City, Mexico.

Thousands of supporters of the Movement of National Revival party during the congressional elections in the Army Hall of Ciudad Deportiva in Mexico City. July 30, 2022 in Mexico City, Mexico. (Louis Barron/Eyepix Group/Future Publishing via Getty Images.)

Cortes addressed a crowd of about 50 people at a restaurant in Oak Cliff, accompanied by his party’s 2018 candidate Ricardo Anaya, who is seeking to wrest control of the country from the ruling MORENA party.

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In the last presidential election, more than 80% of the nearly 182,000 foreign Mexicans cast their votes from the US, with more than half of those votes going to MORENA, while support for PAN fell.

Mexican President Andres Manuel López Obrador during a press conference in Mexico City, Mexico on Tuesday, November 11.  15, 2022.

Mexican President Andres Manuel López Obrador during a press conference in Mexico City, Mexico on Tuesday, November 11. 15, 2022. (Alejandro Segarra/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

Hamlet Almaguer, federal congressman for MORENA, said it is “very important to get citizens involved abroad and encourage voting ahead of 2024.”

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“It will be important for our party to organize a campaign abroad and guarantee the massive participation of Mexicans abroad,” he added.