Political group to defend life in Mexico

Political group to defend life in Mexico A press conference hosted by Suma de Actores Sociales

The new umbrella group, Suma de Actores Sociales (SUMAS), is calling Mexican citizens to stand up against efforts by president-elect Andrés Manuel López Obrador to legalise abortion, euthanasia and marijuana.

SUMAS was launched in Mexico City and unites 700 organisations around the country.

Juan Dabdoub Giacoman, a founding member, said the new group seeks “to join together the greatest number of associations possible who are willing to fight to defend life, the family and the freedom of Mexicans”.

Dabdoub Giacoman denounced an “ideological onslaught” by the president’s team and their members in congress.

Mr Lopez Obrador won the Mexican presidential elections on July 1 with 53% of the valid votes and will take office on December 1.

The Morena party, of which the president is a member, gained the majority in both houses of the federal Congress. The new lawmakers took office on September 1.

Party members have introduced initiatives to legalise abortion throughout the country.

Currently, abortion is illegal on a federal level except in cases of rape.

Olga Sánchez Cordero, a Morena senator whom the president has appointed as the next Secretary of the Interior, has said that in the coming months she would promote the legalisation of abortion, marijuana, and euthanasia measures.