MEXICAN FOLLIES
Despite narrowly losing the election last July, López Obrador has ignored rulings by the Mexican Federal Election Commission and the courts and now promises to head a "parallel government."
I have called the presidential detail, nice men in long white coats, to escort you away. Will you keep the presidential sash on or would you prefer to change into a Napoleon uniform for the Inaugural Ball?
posted by ilias at 07:26
4 Comments:
I don't understand what the irony is all about. It is not the first time that fraud is alleged in a close mexican presidential election. And once more it is the leftist candidate (who has also been a very succesful and popular mayor of Mexico City)that has been defeated. These allegations deserve to be investigated, not made fun of.
Thank you for your thoughtful comments and for reading me GSH. By the way, feel free to post in Greek anytime.
Firstly, let me say I was in Mexico City when AMLO (as he is often referred to) kicked off his fiery campaign for the presidency of Mexico. And thus, I am not the casual mud-slinger.
I am in full agreement with you that allegations of electoral fraud, especially in such a close election, deserve to be investigated.
The problem is these allegations have been investigated. The Federal Electoral Institute has ruled. The Federal Electoral Tribunal has validated the election results. Short of staging a coup, anyone in his place would have more or less graciously conceded and moved on.
So he lost the vote by a margin of 0,58 per cent. Too bad. To drag this for so long means AMLO puts his own interests above those of Mexico. It shows disrespect for democratic institutions and the rule of law.
In the wake of such behavior, his party has suffered electoral defeats and popular support has slipped. Only 19% of Mexicans polled approve of Monday's inauguration travesty.
Far from making fun of the situation, I am pointing, admittedly with a dash of raw humor, at a potentially dangerous situation.
Ok a few things that need to be considered
a)this is not the first time a very popular candidate of the left has lost by a whisker. It also happened back in 1988. In fact, despite its huge social inequalities and unlike most major latin-american nations Mexico has never had a leftist government
b)the mayor of Mexico was considered so popular and succesful that the previous government tried (and failed) to prevent his candidacy by bringing up corruption charges
c) Mexico is "so far fom God, so close to the United States". And a lot of people suspect that the U.S. wouldn't tolerate even a moderately leftist government so close to its border
d)by investigating I mean an independent, international investigation.
Thanks again.
a)The 1988 election when Cuauhtémoc Cárdenas "lost" is an apt analogy, although back then the electoral authority was the Ministry of the Interior. Since the mid-1990s, independent electoral institutions exist.
b)Yes, there were corruption charges, there was mud-slinging, big money was against AMLO; regrettable as we may find these, they do not nullify an election; it happens all the time in democratic societies (corruption charges are part and parcel of elections in France and the US, for example).
c) Agreed. But with his antics, AMLO has given fodder to his critics who may now seem right when they claim he has no respect for the law and he is no moderate. I certainly have lost whatever respect I may have had for him.
d) Since the electoral institutions now in place in Mexico are independent and all parties are represented, why would they have to submit to an international investigation?
1988 was one thing; this however is sour grapes. And these sour grapes have backfired. The Mexicans sure think so apparently. If the elections were held today, AMLO would lose in a big way (see the current issue of The Economist which has a 16-page survey on Mexico).
Post a Comment
<< Home