Mexico elects successor to Fox

Today is Election Day for Mexico in which voters will choose senators, federal officials, and most importantly the president. Throughout today, we will provide constant updates of elections in Mexico and hopefully have a winner confirmed by tonight. (All times are EST, unless mentioned otherwise).

(Updates from early in the evening of the election can be seen here and from late in the evening here).

6:05pm- Univision's local newscast (New York City) reports that absentionism in the New York metropolitan area is high. One Mexican barber interviewed says the "lack of information" discouraged Mexican expats to vote. Meanwhile, Telemundo's local newscast interviewed Mexican expats who acknowledged that they harbor distrust against the presidential candidates. Reuters says that only 40,000 of the millions of Mexicans living abroad voted via absentee ballot.

5:50pm- CNN en Español repeated that something I forgot to mention a while ago- the Zapatistas are having a small rally in Mexico City urging abstentionism from today's elections. It looks doubtful that that will be the case as one electino expert interviewed predicted that today's turnout may supercede the 75% mark from 6 years ago.

4:55pm- So what have bloggers been saying lately on the Mexican elections over the past few days?

-VivirLatino linked to an article from AlterNet describing why it is important to pay attention to Mexico’s election.

-Latin America News Review mentions a Reuters article describing how a win by Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador would signal a continuing shift to the political left in Latin America.

-The Washington Post’s special blog on the Mexican elections posts about the calm between Thursday and Saturday due to the law banning all official campaigning during that time.

-Want to see Felipe Calderon’s controversial ads against Lopez Obrador? Check this post for links to YouTube videos.

-A detailed post expanding on what we mentioned a few days ago on the teachers’ strike in Oaxaca and how it could affect the election.

-Two differing views on Lopez Obrador playing the “Jesus card” in his campaign rhetoric.

-Greg Palast conjures a conspiracy theory that has the Bush administration rigging today’s election.

Later today we will link to what bloggers have been saying today on the elections. Please feel free to leave a note in the comments if you have a post that you would like us to link to.

4:10pm- CNN en Español reports that there seems to be a higher voter turnout today; at least 60% and possibly higher, according to their reporters. There have been very few incidents of violence in “isolated areas” as well as few problems surrounding “logistical” problems. The main candidates- Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador (PRD), Felipe Calderon (PAN), and Roberto Madrazo (PRI/Partido Verde) - voted this morning. A graphic mentions that thousands of Mexicans residing along the border crossed into Tijuana in order to vote.

Election officials will start a “quick count” of the votes for president around 9pm.

mexico, election