Senate approves Political Reform: Surprising yet truly significant changes

The Mexican senate yesterday voted to approve what is commonly known simply as La Reforma Política, or a long-pending political reform. It is immensely significant, as includes the following sections:

* Independent or non-party "citizen" candidacies for the 2012 federal election

* Allows for relection of federal and state legislators

* Establishes the mechanism of a popular referendum

* Mechanism for replacing the national president should he die/be incapacitated etc
* Ratification by the senate of regulatory organs
* Gives president more veto powers over budget legislation

Of course, this does not mean the reform has passed; it will now move on to the Chamber of Deputies, and then for ratification of a majority of Mexico's state governments. It is hard to keep one's hope up too high here.

But these are truly profound changes, should they be implemented.