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Mexican Protests.. Largest World Has Seen


Ajijic

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From the Wikipedia entry on Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador:

"López Obrador was president of the PRI in his home state. He resigned his post working for the government of this state in 1988 to join the new dissenting left wing of the PRI, then called the Democratic Current, led by Cuauhtémoc Cárdenas. This movement formed the National Democratic Front and later became the PRD."

Cuauhtemoc Cardenas, who was the frist leader of the PRD and its first presidential candidate is the son of Lazaro Cardenas, the man who founded the PRI.

Here's an excerpt from the Wikipedia entry on Cardenas:

"Cuauhtémoc Cárdenas served as a senator for the state of Michoacán from 1974 to 1980 and as governor of that same state from 1980 to 1986. He won election to these two posts as a member of the then-ruling Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI).".

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Went out for cigarillos. Please allow me to continue....

To clarify my point, let's draw a hypothetical analogy to American politics. Let's suppose that the progressive wing of the Democratic party broke away from the main body of that party and, together with a smattering of socialists, formed a new party. They then run former independent socialist Sen. Bernie Sanders for President. Win or lose, is this new party closer in ideology and practice to the Democrats or the Republicans? What would be your best guess?

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Ah, you should have gone for puros!

I would say the left wing of the PRI broke away and joined an even more left group and those who were left behind more closely resembled the PAN, which could hardly be described as a hard right party.

Had an interesting get together with the first PRI voter I've encountered. She is a very successful business woman. I asked her why she didn't vote PAN and she said because they have followed a failed strategy and offered nothing new. I asked her why she didn't vote PRD and she said, too leftist and she felt that Sr. Obrador lacks self control.

I asked her why she voted PRI and she said because they know how to run things the Mexican way and will restore peace. However, she did vote PAN in Chapala.

Don't shoot the messenger here, I am just relating what she said. She is the first PRI voter we've met, the rest all voted PAN or PRD.

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In fact, the PAN is always described as a hard-right party.

Your one Priista friend certainly proves my point that this election was a referendum on and repudiation of the policies of the PAN party. To characterize the election as a repudiation of the PRD would be quite disingenuous. Afterall, the PRD received 31% of the vote compared to 26% for the PAN.

My own circle of Mexican friends and neighbors seemed to be evenly divided among the three major parites. And, like your Priista friend, some of them split their ballot and voted in favor of Joaquin Huerta for mayor. When asked why they split their ballot, they said they knew and trusted "Joaquin." I will not repeat what they had to say about his opponent.

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Regards the local election, boy that's for sure. Our friends all voted for Huerta regardless of leanings for other votes and had some very blunt things to say as to why. :)

Now that the IFE has ruled, is that pretty much it or are there going to be court case(s) as well? Anybody??

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More, it was reported in this week's Guadalajara Reporter.

Evidence Election was "bought" is insufficient, authorities say

Any hope Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador retained of overturning the election of Enrique Peña Nieto appeared to vanish when the Federal Electoral Institute (IFE) dismissed the evidence of vote buying he presented on Wednesday.

The Party of the Democratic Revolution (PRD) candidate has accused the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI) of exceeding spending limits and laundering illicit campaign funds through Banco Monex.

Lopez Obrador claimed this money was then spent on pre-paid gift cards for use in Soriana stores. He alleged that the PRI gave these gift cards to voters in return for them backing Peña Nieto in the election.

But IFE President Leonardo Valdes said there was no evidence the cards had been handed out conditionally. Providing gifts for the electorate is not illegal in Mexico, as long as the party involved fully discloses its expenses and there is no stipulation that recipients must vote for the party’s candidate in return.

Moreover, IFE noted that with Peña Nieto having beaten Lopez Obrador by a margin of three million votes, a few thousand gift cards could not have decisively swung the election in his favor.

Nonetheless, in a press conference Thursday Valdez said the prosecutor for Electoral Crimes was investigating the allegations and IFE would impose the appropriate sanctions on the PRI were the party to be found guilty of any wrongdoing.

The PRI responded strongly to Lopez Obrador’s accusations, with a party statement declaring, “we reject as inadmissible the accusations of money laundering, which constitute a flagrant defamation.”

The ruling National Action Party (PAN) which came third in the election, has refused to join the PRD in calling for the results to be overturned. President Felipe Calderon was joined by the president-elect at his official residence, Los Pinos, on Tuesday evening, symbolizing the peaceful transition of power from the PAN to the PRI.

Lopez Obrador aside, the biggest victim of the vote-buying scandal has been the Soriana supermarket chain. Boycotted by angry voters, Soriana has seen its stock fall by 414 million dollars this month.

Soriana has denied any wrongdoing but as a result of the accusations and recent protests, its value on the Mexican Stock Exchange (BMV) dropped from 5.561 billion dollars on July 1 to 5.147 billion on July 9.

The allegations against Soriana and the PRI remain under investigation

Guadalajara Reporter, July 20, 2012

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I'd prefer to see a link from El Informador, El Universal, La Jornada, or another responsible Spanish-language newspaper based in Mexico that states unequivocally that Enrique Peña Nieto has been ratified as the person who will be sworn in as President of Mexico on December 1.

While I appreciate the paragraphs from the Guadalajara Reporter, the information is more about what IFE said about possible vote-buying than about the results of the election per se.

I only ask because I read several of Mexico's Spanish-language newspapers every day and have seen nothing saying that IFE has made the statement that is alleged by another poster.

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More Liana,

I understand what you are saying. I read the Mexican press and haven't seen any other mention of this either. In fact, I was under the impression that the presentation of evidence and request to annul the election had just been formally presented to the election authorities. There should be an investigation of the claims and and then a judgment issued sometime in the future.

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I'd prefer to see a link from El Informador, El Universal, La Jornada, or another responsible Spanish-language newspaper based in Mexico that states unequivocally that Enrique Peña Nieto has been ratified as the person who will be sworn in as President of Mexico on December 1.

While I appreciate the paragraphs from the Guadalajara Reporter, the information is more about what IFE said about possible vote-buying than about the results of the election per se.

I only ask because I read several of Mexico's Spanish-language newspapers every day and have seen nothing saying that IFE has made the statement that is alleged by another poster.

Let's be clear here. I'm not alleging anything. You asked a question as to the source, I posted the source in its entirety. BTW, hasn't there been some concern that the Mexican press has been avoiding or censoring this story?

Here's the link to the Guadalajara Reporter. Why don't you contact them directly and ask them to verify the source:

http://www.theguadalajarareporter.com/

I've found that when I email them with questions like this I get a prompt response.

You're welcome.

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MC, I read what you quoted from the Guadalajara Reporter. I also read the link you posted this morning. Thank you for both.

The Guadalajara Reporter article does not mention that IFE has ratified the July 1 election. The article is about the buying of the election, not about declaring a winner.

To date, Enrique Peña Nieto has not been ratified as president. No winner has been declared.

The Mexican media is not suppressing news of this announcement. It simply hasn't happened yet.

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Yes, the Mexican press did of course report the same information that you posted.

However, my point was that in your original post, you (not your news source) stated that the election had been decided. It has not.

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More, Liana I think I stated an opinion that it was "pretty much a done deal." That is not stating that IFE has formally declared the election decided. I am aware that the formal declaration has not been made as of yet.

I do recall, however, that there was also a very large recount of the balloting by IFE and they stated the results were pretty much the same. Is this correct?

If so, we've had both a recount previously and the IFE has formally rejected the PRD's complaints as of last Wednesday. The election has not been formally certified at this point but it SEEMS to me, that is a formality now.

I really am skeptical that street demonstrations are going to change that unless you all envision this getting to the point where there is a revolution in this country and the government is brought down. That could have all sorts of unintended consequences, particularly with thousands of narcos running around armed to the teeth.

Revolutions in this country tend to get pretty messy. I hope you all don't think that is a good idea.

Given IFE's previous findings, what mechanisms remain to change the results/declare a new election? How likely is that? If none or not likely, isn't the election pretty much decided in a practical sense?

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Yes, the election is a done deal. It's all over but for some whining. Throughout the campaign, Mr. Lopez Obrador repeatedly stated that the election was rigged to prevent him from being elected. Had he taken a more positive attitude and run a viable campaign, he may well have won. However, I believe the investigation of irregularities has not been completed...in fact, I believe it has just begun. In the end, the PRI may well be fined for their transgressions but the results of the election will not be changed. Mr. Pena Nieto will, indeed, be the new Presidente.

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