Mexico's lower house of Congress approved an alternative overhaul of electoral laws early Wednesday, just hours after President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador's initial, more ambitious bill failed to win the two-thirds majority it needed.
The so-called "plan B", which would shrink the budget of the national electoral authority (INE) and water down its faculties, has drawn heated criticism from opposition lawmakers, who fear the changes would give too much power to the government.
Lawmakers approved the bill in a fast-track vote requiring only a simple majority, because in contrast to the other plan, the proposals did not envisage constitutional changes.
