Thursday, June 29, 2006

Countdown to Mexican Election Day: 3 days left

Yesterday marked the last official day of campaigning in Mexico and each of the three main candidates made sure to end their campaigns with a bang. Ex-Mexico City mayor Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador (PRD) emphasized improving the economy at a rally (image) at the Plaza de Zocalo in front of over 100,000 sympathizers. Officialist candidate Felipe Calderon (PAN) ended campaigning in the state of Jalisco where he held a massive rally over the weekend at a soccer stadium. Ex-governor Roberto Madrazo (PRI-Partido Verde) finished campaigning in Mexico City where he emphasized begin the most moderate candidate.

The following are several headlines of interest from the past few days on the election:

-Few ex-pats will vote: Mexican election officials are expecting very few Mexicans living abroad to vote on Sunday. This may be due to tough rules surrounding expatriates’ right to vote and candidates campaigning outside of Mexico.

-Promise vs. Fear: A New York Times article implies that the election boils down to a referendum on left-wing candidate Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador. Voters are either taken by his idealism and promise to improve the lives of all Mexicans or fearful of populist reforms that could polarize the country.

-The Chavez Factor: A post from the blog of Foreign Policy magazine looks at how the image of Hugo Chavez is used by Felipe Calderon to hurt Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador. The post goes on to say that a Lopez Obrador victory would not lead to the divisive populism demonstrated by Chavez.

-Nightmare on the horizon?: Reuters examines the possible worse-case scenario that could result from a closely-won and disputed victory by one of the candidates including “millions of angry protestors… (and)…financial markets collapsing”.

-“Voto Joven” may decide race: The Washington Post’s special blog on the elections examines how Mexico’s youth vote may very well be the deciding factor on Election Day and candidates have spared no expense in attracting young voters. The blog post even has embedded video on Mexico’s “voto joven.”

-Leftist to win mayoral election: Polls have shown PRD candidate Marcelo Ebard with a 19-point lead ahead of his nearest rival in the elections for Mexico City mayor. Ebard is a former Mexico City police chief and a “close confidant” of Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador.

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2 comments:

  1. Anonymous5:57 PM

    This is a landmark election in Mexico, not so much because of the candidates themselves, but because of the investment of the people and the fact that they are empowered by a real choice. As discussed in a recent post regarding the election on my "Going Global" blog, I consider this a very positive sign of Mexico's continuing march toward being a fully developed economy.

    Craig Maginness
    Going Global

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  2. Erwin C.12:59 AM

    Good point. Hopefully democracy in Mexico can continue to be realized after Sunday's election.

    ReplyDelete