Mexico: Media and bloggers have a lot to say in the electoral aftermath

The following are what some of the news outlets have been saying on the Mexican elections:

-Felipe Calderon says “I won the election” and it seems like the English-language media outside of Mexico has agreed with him if you read the rest of the links included this post. (Compare that to the more muted coverage out of Mexico via El Universal). Meanwhile, supporters of Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador (AMLO) have yet to give up.

-CNN en Español reports that Felipe Calderon has a 1% lead over AMLO. More specifically, they report that it’s 36.3% for Calderon and 35.3% for AMLO with approximately 98% of ballots counted. (These figures are supported by an article posted by the Associated Press). People interviewed in Mexico City have mixed reactions to the statistical dead heat between Calderon and AMLO with some patient waiting for results while others feel “deceived” by not knowing who the official winner is.

-It has been reported that extreme left candidate Patricia Mercado received between 2% and 3% of the vote and finished in fourth place. Would her votes have gone to AMLO if she were not in the election?

-Though a vast majority of Mexicans living abroad neglected to vote, the small percentage that did may be the deciding factor in this election as nearly 60% of absentee ballots were marked in favor of Calderon.

-Amongst all the talk surrounding Calderon and AMLO has drowned out the other “major candidate”- Roberto Madrazo of the PRI/Partido Verde alliance. Madrazo ended a distant third and, according to the Associated Press showed that the PRI’s “historic defeat six years ago was not a fluke.” Is it any wonder that the president of the PRI rejected data from exit polls as the polls were closing?

-Also lost in the hoopla over the presidential tie is the near equal division of the Mexican congress between the three major parties after yesterdays’ voting. This will certainly cause problems for whoever wins the presidency regardless of their party affiliation.

-Large gains were made by Mexican stocks, bonds, and currency today in the hope that Calderon will be declared the victor. These hopes are also shared by Wall Street movers and shakers.

-The Bush administration has been relatively quiet about publicly discussing the Mexican election except to say that they will wait for official results to be announced.

And what have bloggers been saying about the Mexican election?

-Bloggings by Boz hits on 5 key points to take from the presidential election.

-The comparisons between the goings-on in Mexico to the 2000 U.S. presidential election are mounting. Or for a real curveball, try comparing it to the 1896 U.S. presidential election (not a typo!)-Who will save Mexico from the political chaos that could happen? No not El Chapulín Colorado, but 1988 presidential “winner” Cuauhtémoc Cardenas.

-An inside look at Mexico City on Election Day from an author and a researcher from the U.S.

-The observations of a family voting in Morelia (left image)can be read here. Meanwhile, a blogger in Toluca congratulates the IFE (Mexican electoral board) and quotes author Carlos Fuentes’ observation: “Today the candidates don’t count, it is the voters who count.”

-Mark in Mexico explains the mess in Oaxaca since a teacher’s strike took place before and during the election period. (See “Update II” in his post).

Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, Roberto Madrazo, Felipe Calderon, mexico, election