Mexicans have been voting in a highly unusual referendum on whether their president should stay in office.
President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador claims the so-called recall referendum is vital for him to have a democratic mandate to govern.
The opposition say it is a costly distraction from the country’s major problems.
Yet both his critics and supporters agree that he is likely to win easily.
Costing millions of dollars and heavily publicised in the capital, the referendum asks Mexicans if Mr Lopez Obrador’s mandate should be revoked ‘due to loss of trust’ – or whether he should conclude his term as scheduled on September 30, 2024.
That has fuelled speculation about whether he could be opening the door to extending presidential term limits Mexico, where the head of state is only allowed to serve for a single six-year period.
Mr Lopez Obrador denies he wants to extend his term, but he has used the referendum to fire up supporters and pan the opposition, many of whose leaders have encouraged Mexicans to ignore the vote as a propaganda exercise for the president.
Elected just over three years ago in December 2018, the President, is seen as a charismatic centre left figure, but he has been criticised for embracing what many see as populism and authoritarianism.
And though he is popular in Mexico, he has also been condemned for his response to the Covid crisis, management of the economy and failure to crack down on drug cartels.
But his successful roll-out of welfare programs and relentless claims of being a moral defender of the poor against a corrupt, wealthy elite has helped strengthen his position.
Opinion polls suggest turnout is likely to fall short of the 40% threshold required to make the ballot binding, although Lopez Obrador has said he will respect the outcome regardless.
‘Democracy has to become a habit in Mexico,’ the president announced to a crowd after he left the voting booth, ‘so that no one forgets that the people are the ones who govern.’
The plebiscite is also a test of the president’s strength ahead of elections in June.
Many Mexicans still regard their leader as a welcome departure from previous leaders often seen as aloof from the broader population in a society that remains highly unequal.
Two-thirds of Mexicans surveyed in a poll by newspaper El Financiero earlier this month said they wanted the president to stay in office. One third wanted him out.
Andrea Miranda, a Mexico City bakery worker who voted for Mr Lopez Obrador to become president in 2018, said: ‘I want the president to finish his government.
‘It’s the first time we’ve had the chance to decide on this. You have to take advantage of it.’
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Mr Lopez Obrador has used referendums to pursue contentious policies, bringing about the cancellation of a partly built Mexico City airport before he even took office with a vote in which only a tiny fraction of the public participated.
The president has accused the National Electoral Institute of trying to stymie the referendum, which it denies. He has implied he will blame it if turnout is low.
Mr Lopez Obrador was elected by a landslide in 2018, winning more than 30 million votes, easily the biggest total in Mexican history. The closer the turnout gets to that number, the more successful the referendum will be deemed, analysts say.
Polls are open between 8am and 6pm local time (2pm and midnight British time).
Electoral authorities are then due to publish a preliminary estimate of the result in the evening.
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