China approves the constitutional reform that allows the president to govern for the period he wishes to

There was no place for surprise, with an overwhelming majority (99.8% of the vote), the Chinese Legislative gave free rein to its president, Xi Jinping, extend its mandate until it considers necessary.

Leer en español: Xi Jinping, luz verde para perpetuarse en el poder

This historic decision eliminates the limit of two terms of five years that until now had the presidents of the Asian giant. The 2,958 deputies of the Chinese Communist Party voted and the results are conclusive: 2,953 voted "yes", two voted "no", three voted blank and one vote was null.

These numbers are the sample of the immense power that Xi Jinping has accumulated in the last five years, managing to eliminate the criticisms, at least the public ones, and leading China to be the second economic power in the world, reducing year after year the distance with the United States.

However, the reactions against did not take long. Professor Willy Lam, of the Chinese University of Hong Kong, has it clear: "it is a blow to the institutions and to the political reform. We have returned to where we were at the beginning, in a Maoist style with a one-person mandate".

The recently approved reform ends the era of collective leadership promoted by Deng Xiaoping in 1982, which sought to put an end to the excesses of Mao Zedong's era. The predecessors of Xi Jinping, Jiang Zemin and Hu Jintao, left power after two terms, but the current president will no longer have to leave office in 2023, as he would, and many analysts estimate that it will stay until 2028 or even 2033.

China justifies this change arguing that, in addition to the head of the State, there are two other positions that make up the triad of power in the country and have no limit on the duration of the mandates – the presidency of the Central Military Committee and the General Secretariat of the Party Chinese Communist- so it has been decided to equate the three powers. The defenders of this measure understand that the current president needs more time to execute the ambitious economic plans that he has for the country and that are under his vision of a "Chinese Dream" that becomes a reality by the middle of the century.

The official support for this indefinite extension of Xi Jinping's mandate contrasts with criticism from a sector of the population, which has flooded social networks, quickly being eliminated by the Government's censorship machinery. In fact, these platforms have been filled with memes in which black humor has been the protagonist. Many users questioned the identity of the six rebels who did not vote "yes" to this reform and the fate they would face if they were discovered, although the vote is supposed to be absolutely secret.

Xi Jinping thus sees his goal of extending his power over time fulfilled. The president enlarged his figure by leading an intense campaign against corruption within the Communist Party, which involved the dismissal of more than 1.5 million public officials, as well as that of some of his main political enemies. If this measure was applauded, its persecution of civil rights leaders has been rejected by the international community.

Now it remains to be seen if this decision allows the president to place China as the world's leading power.

Latin American Post | José María González Alonso

Translated from "Xi Jinping, luz verde para perpetuarse en el poder"