Mexico election too close to call (exit poll released)

Reuters ^ | 7/2/06 | Kieran Murray and Alistair Bell

[lauriehelds]

Kieran Murray and Alistair Bell

MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - Mexico's presidential election is too close to call between a leftist anti-poverty campaigner and the conservative ruling party candidate locked in a tie, a respected exit poll said on Sunday.

The extremely close vote raised fears of a political crisis if any of the main candidates challenge the results and call street protests.

Pre-election polls had showed Felipe Calderon of the ruling party and Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, the left-wing former mayor of Mexico City, in a virtual tie. Exit polls from Mexico's two main television station and the El Universal newspaper said they could not declare a winner.

El Universal said the race was between Lopez Obrador and Calderon. Neither of the TV stations mentioned Roberto Madrazo of the Institutional Revolutionary Party, or PRI, which ruled Mexico for most of the 20th century.

The Federal Electoral Institute was expected to announce official results at around 11 p.m. If it is unable to call a winner, Mexico could face days or weeks of legal wrangling and protests similar to the fight that followed the U.S. presidential election in 2000.

[John Valentine]

Mexico IS a multi racial society.

And, with respect to China and India, I am not confusing race and ethnicity, as you suggest. I am well aware of the difference.

You know from your common sense knowledge that race and ethnicity often parallel one another as breeding populations also transmit ethnic and cultural characteristics, so some confusion is not surprising,and you could reasonably think I might be confused on the subject. But, I am not.

I will point out that not only does India harbor different races, but the races of India are less closely related than are Europeans and black Africans, since both Africans and Europeans are representatives of "post-Toba" populations, but some southern Indian racial group(s) belong to "pre-Toba" populations. There aren't too many of these populations left anywhere on earth. You have the Andaman Islanders, some hill tribes in Malaysia and Indonesia, and some southern Indain groups and that's about it.

The distinction between pre and post Toba human populations is purely racial and derives from different genetic material. That these groups might have differing cultural or ethnic traits paralleling their racial ones is acknowledged, but that was not my point.

[Richard-SIA]

Less than a 1% margin?

Hmm, maybe Mex. will finally have a real revolution, throw the kleptocrats out, and institute a Jeffersonian democracy?

Nah, they actually like their morbidly corrupt regime, if they did not it would have been reformed a long time ago.

[conservative in nyc]

74.18%:

Party	Actual	Actual %		Projected (by State)	Projected %
Calderon	11,390,208	37.14%		15,195,356	37.44%
Dinosaur	6,094,014	19.87%		8,298,538	20.45%
Socialist	11,123,890	36.27%		14,367,810	35.40%
New Alliance	301,279	0.98%		398,142	0.98%
Alternative	938,179	3.06%		1,211,794	2.99%
Write-in	226,647	0.74%		308,249	0.76%
Null Votes	593,100	1.93%		801,633	1.98%
Total	30,667,317			40,581,522
Precincts Reporting	97,012
Total Precincts	130,788
PR%	74.18%

[MikefromOhio]

Nah, they actually like their morbidly corrupt regime, if they did not it would have been reformed a long time ago.

Gee THAT'S why they are coming to THIS country instead of staying in their own. Because they like it there SO MUCH that they want to leave. That comment took a special kind of stupid. I'm going to bed.

[ARealMothersSonForever]

On the other hand, maybe having an openly leftist thug running Mex. might force congress to admit that Mex. really is not our ally

Are you Mental? We need a halfway stable government in Mexico. Otherwise, there will be griping about when we pull our troops out of Mexico. Do not get me wrong, we should use force on Mexico. But only as a last resort. It is expensive, and great Americans die and are injured. Better we thrash our congresscritters.

[La Enchiladita]

Who's that dood, "Subcomandante Marcos", black palestinian type face mask addressing crowd in Mexico?

[BunnySlippers]

I noticed him too. I thought that was in some South American country. I shudder to think it is Mexico.

[BunnySlippers]

What did Obrador just say? Is he conceding defeat?

[La Enchiladita]

I am struggling to understand this too. He said he's going to the Zocalo, the "town square."

He's talking about the struggles of the poor people, the Indians, the artist, the revisionists.

HIs demeanor suggested he was conceding.

Now we have Felipe Calderon.

[ArmstedFragg]

That looked like a replay from the speech a few hours ago when he said he won.

[ArmstedFragg]

The Obrador speech, I mean.

[La Enchiladita]

"Hemos ganada el eleccion"

El candidato a la Presidencia por el PAN, Felipe Calderón, se proclamó vencedor en el proceso electoral, de acuerdo cifras de encuestadoras.

[La Enchiladita]

Hmmm, you may be right...re the Lopez Obrador speech...

It seems Calderon has just given a (cautious) victory speech.

[conservative in nyc]

With 76.74%, the Dinosaur has cracked 20%, as projected. Still a less than 1% lead by Calderon:

	Actual	Actual %		Projected (by State)	Projected %
Calderon	11,731,606	37.11%		15,133,394	37.38%
Dinosaur	6,325,822	20.01%		8,317,810	20.55%
Socialist	11,431,713	36.17%		14,322,984	35.38%
New Alliance	310,914	0.98%		397,388	0.98%
Alternative	959,070	3.03%		1,200,532	2.97%
Write-in	233,515	0.74%		306,281	0.76%
Null Votes	616,201	1.95%		805,140	1.99%
Total	31,608,841			40,483,529
Precincts Reporting	100,370
Total Precincts	130,788
PR%	76.74%

[BillyBoy]

The current "conservative" government of Mexico has opposed Bush on virtually every significant issue from Iraq to the death penalty. Mexico will be governed by socialists who support the welfare state no matter who wins. To see Ignorant, Ignorant, Ignorant, look in the mirror.

[conservative in nyc]

In English, is Calderon claiming he won, too?

[La Enchiladita]

Just googled. Marcos is the leader of the Zapatista Army of National Liberation in Mexico.

[La Enchiladita]

In the passive voice, it is saying he has been declared the winner.

I copied it from here: http://www.reforma.com/

Scroll down a bit on the left.

[BunnySlippers]

Well, I brought my laptop to bed with me. Now I have to turn on the TV.

[La Enchiladita]

I wonder if the Mexican congress had something to do with Mexico's opposition to the Iraq war.