Imagine that.
Posted on 07/02/2006 5:45:55 PM PDT by garbageseeker
MEXICO CITY - Mexicans voted Sunday in a tight presidential race to decide whether their country becomes the latest Latin American nation to move to the left, choosing between a shopkeeper's son promising to save the poor and a conservative calling his rival's free-spending populism dangerous.
The campaign, which exposed Mexico's painful class divisions, was the first since Vicente Fox's stunning victory six years ago ended 71 years of rule by the Institutional Revolutionary Party, or PRI.
Polls predicted a close race between conservative Felipe Calderon, 43, of Fox's National Action Party, and leftist Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, 52, a former Mexico City mayor from the Democratic Revolution Party. The PRI's Roberto Madrazo, 53, was running a distant third, ahead of two minor candidates.
All three candidates promised to improve relations with the United States while opposing increased border security measures unpopular in Mexico.
More than 24,000 observers were monitoring the vote, which also will determine three governors, Mexico City's mayor, and both houses of Congress. The congressional races are key, determining whether the next president will face the same battle Fox did in trying to push through reforms.
Exit polls by the two major Mexican television networks showed Marcelo Ebrard of Lopez Obrador's party easily winning the Mexico City mayor's race, and Calderon's party holding on to Fox's home state of Guanajuato and the western state of Jalisco, where the race had been expected to be tighter.
In the third governor's race, Morelos, one poll showed Calderon's party slightly ahead, while the other said it was too close to call.
Voters waited in long lines during the day, some complaining that there weren't enough ballots. One group even briefly blocked a major Mexico City thoroughfare in frustration at being turned away. Several polling centers in southern Oaxaca state, the scene of violent clashes last month, did not open because of security concerns.
"We have not seen widespread problems, but we've seen a lot of confusion," said Ted Lewis, who was coordinating a team of 25 observers from the San Francisco-based Global Exchange.
In neighboring Guerrero state, two poll workers were shot to death before the polls opened, according to Lopez Obrador's party. Electoral officials said they were investigating, but the killings appeared unrelated to the vote.
Officials hoped to announce a new president a few hours after the last poll closed at 9 p.m. EDT, based on a quick count. But they cautioned they would wait if no candidate had a strong enough lead.
After a six-month campaign marked by mudslinging and a polarized electorate, Mexicans greeted Sunday's vote with relief. "Finally, a decision!" read the front-page headline in the Reforma newspaper.
Many polling stations were late in setting up, forcing voters to wait more than an hour before casting their ballots.
Carolina Nougue, 35, a perfume factory manager, sat frustrated outside a poll in an upscale Mexico City neighborhood. Nougue, who reluctantly voted for Calderon, described herself as a leftist but said she worried Lopez Obrador would govern like radical Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, and was turned off by his pledge to put the poor first.
"The division isn't between the rich and the poor," she said. "It's between the ignorant people and those who think."
In Mexico City's Nezahualcoyotl slum, polls were delayed by flooding from a powerful hailstorm Saturday night. Juana Velasquez, 63, and other residents spent the morning bailing water from their homes before voting.
"Every year, it's the same. You just vote for someone who doesn't do anything," said Velasquez, who was casting a protest vote for Roberto Campa of the minor New Alliance Party.
Others simply refused to take part.
"We aren't going to vote," said protester Maria del Carmen, a 24-year-old student marching down Mexico City's Reforma Avenue with Zapatista rebel leader Subcomandante Marcos and hundreds of supporters. "We don't believe in the system, and we are going to show our strength."
Early riser Lopez Obrador, dressed in a brown leather jacket, was the first candidate to cast his ballot, and had to wait nearly an hour before volunteers were ready.
"We did our part," he said. "We are going to wait to see what the people of Mexico decide."
During his campaign, Lopez Obrador accused Calderon of catering to the rich and promised that he would govern for Mexico's 50 million poor. Many followed his message like a religion, crowning him with flowers at rallies and plastering cars with his slogan: "Smile. We are going to win."
Calderon has warned that Lopez Obrador's proposals, including handouts for the elderly and poor, would bankrupt the nation. Wearing a suit and tie, he showed his right palm before voting in Mexico City, a reference to his "clean hands" campaign slogan.
"It has been a tense, competitive campaign," he said. "Tomorrow, we have to start a new era of reconciliation."
Madrazo has painted himself as the alternative to the "radical left and intolerant right" — but many have questioned how long his party, which has suffered infighting and defections, would survive past the election.
Mexican law limits presidents to one term, and Fox plans to retire to his ranch in December after his successor is sworn in.
On Sunday, which happened to be his 64th birthday, Fox gave an ink-stained thumbs-up to prove he voted and said: "I know that there are no Mexicans who want to go against democracy."
About 71 million of Mexico's 103 million people were eligible to vote.
The estimated 11 million Mexicans living in the United States were allowed to vote from abroad for the first time, but the 32,632 ballots they cast weren't likely to make much of a difference.
Thousands who missed out on the new mail-in vote — including farm workers and construction laborers living in California — traveled to Mexican border cities on Sunday to cast their ballots at polling stations.
I think there should be a barrier, but I'm more apt to say that workforce enforcement like Japan would work. In fact in the enforcement bill, they document how well enforcement worked in Swiss and Japan...and would work here.
I believe japan only has an illegal population of 1.5%. The barrier would be a good way of making drugs hard to get through, and would make others hesitate to get through.
As long there is a institutionalized corrupt governmental system that allows the wealthy to pocket the riches while the government exports its problems to the U.S and while drug barons operate with the nod of law enforcement, it will be only lip service from who ever wins. When they do something concrete about their problems I will be absolutely shocked. Every presidential candidate has promised to fix these problems for 70 years and nobody has followed through.
I would go for a physical barrier and tough employment enforcement with teeth. With teeth, I mean severe jail time and fines.
'Fox remarked that the constitution had received almost 400 revision by the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI) during its 71 year rule over Mexico'
Imagine that in America.
I'm not promoting this guy, but I found this interesting list, even though I 'm sure most of us find some of it at odds with us.
http://www.banderasnews.com/0502/nr-doinggood.htm
Mexico City — Statistics show that under the Vicente Fox Quezada administration the Mexican people are enjoying a life of peace, prosperity, democracy and freedom in the Republic of Mexico.
Statistics for changes in Mexico during the Fox administration:
1. The peso has remained solid, maintaining an exchange rate of between 10-$11 pesos per $1 USD over the last 4 years.
2. A sum total of 4% annual inflation.
3. The Mexican Bolsa [Stock Market] is strong and profitable, with some of the best quality investment opportunities in history.
5. Mexico has $52 billion USD in reserve.
6. Mexican citizens enjoy freedom of press, T.V. and thought.
7. Strengthened the equality of the three powers of the Union.
8. Mexico has paid off all of it's debt to the International Monetary Fund.
9. The IFAI was established, and for the first time ever, the Mexican people know what their tax dollars are being spent on - and how much.
10. Under Fox's management nationals that work in the US can now send money to their relatives in Mexico for half the cost.
11. The majority of 2003 annual income taxes were paid in the first month and a half of 2004.
12. Cigarrette and alcohol have been banned from advertising on public television stations.
13. Through the "Seguro Popular" program, Mexico's federal government is offering low-cost and efficient medical services to poor families. Children with cancer are automatically covered without additional cost or bureaucratic red tape.
14. In February 2005, Mexico had its first US-style public trial, replacing a slow and secretive judicial process conducted on paper, and moving Mexico a step closer toward reforms President Vicente Fox is seeking nationwide.
15. President Vicente Fox has set a goal of boosting the number of mortgages provided in Mexico to 750,000 during his last year in office to help meet the country's need for an estimated 4 million to 5 million more homes - a goal that many now view as achievable.
They say the same thing here. Go Calderon!
"will remain a third-world cesspool ..."
Some cesspools are better than others, if we're talking metaphorically. In politics, the choice is usually between less-bads. It makes a big difference who wins the Mexican election. At the moment, it is looking bad for Calderon. And that would also be bad news for the U.S. Perhaps extremely bad. Perhaps a Grade A, gold-plated disaster.
" Their constitution is written in pencil."
Dims think the same thing of our own.
Imagine that.
Yeah, no matter how much I feel a repub is misbehaving and being a rhino, it's still scary the thought of giving it to them. I really wish the dems were moderate (sane), then it wouldn't be like running up a hill. Of coarse that won't happen till we marginalize them a bit more.
If you could find a way to break their oil industry, we win. That and their extremely corrupt police and judicial system.
No problem, eh?
You can. Mexican oil is runned by PEMEX,which is a monopoly by the Mexican government. If they opened up their fields to the oil companies then you might see a change.
I might be wrong, but I believe Fox wanted to change the Constitution to allow private investment....could be wrong.
It would be a good thing. Same thing with Russia, which I believe doing it to some degree.
Illegal Aliens: A Few Myths to Keep in Mind . . .
GEORGE GRAYSON
Mexico City. Last Tuesday the Pew Hispanic Center announced that 41 percent of Mexicans surveyed in February and 46 percent questioned in May stated they would live in the United States if given "the means and opportunity." Indeed, two out of 10 people interviewed said they were prepared to enter the U.S. illegally. These figures could have amazing consequences because our Spanish- speaking neighbor has a population of nearly 106 million inhabitants.
Recent Virginia news stories have focused on the issue of illegals attending college in the U.S. Although we can sympathize with individuals, it might be useful to look at half-truths -- or, in some cases, myths -- that have suffused the immigration debate.
(1)Mexico has no good universities. True, many schools in the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM) -- with 350,000-plus students -- are highly politicized. However, ITESM, known as "Monterrey Tech," has a network of excellent campuses throughout the country.
(2)Welcoming the 65,000 illegal aliens who graduate from high school to American colleges is cost-free. In fact, there are a limited number of places in freshman classes. Should individuals who have broken the law be preferred over applicants who have played by the rules?
(3)DIVERSITY HAS enriched the United States, which -- as a "nation of immigrants" -- has a moral obligation to extend a helping hand to the less fortunate of other lands. Times have changed. Exploding populations in poor countries and advances in transportation and communication have made America a "promised land" for millions upon millions of "have-nots." The U.S. has responded with the world's most liberal immigration policies. Yet, uncomfortably high domestic unemployment and overcrowded schools, highways, and hospitals mean that only a small fraction of those clamoring for admission can be accommodated without greatly sacrificing the quality of life of Americans, especially the poor.
(4)Illegal aliens are younger than the U.S. population as a whole and are, therefore, an economic asset. While there is an element of truth to this proposition, it overlooks the competition that immigrants pose to younger workers in the U.S., notably African-Americans and Chicanos, who suffer the highest rates of joblessness.
(5)Because they pay taxes, contribute to Social Security, and don't apply for welfare, illegal aliens put in more than they take from government coffers. Officials in Arizona find this proposition nonsensical: Illegal immigrants cost their state -- for education, health care, and prisons -- approximately $1.3 billion more annually than they pay in taxes. A study by the Center for Immigration Reform (CIS) found that the burden of such unlawful residents on the 2002 federal budget was $10.4 billion -- with Medicaid, health care, and prisons constituting the high-ticket items.
(6)Mexicans and other illegals perform menial work spurned by Americans. In some instances this is true; however, in March, 2003, there were 8.8 million Americans working full-time without a high-school education, 1.3 million school drop-outs unemployed, and a further 6.8 million not even in the workforce. "There is a good deal of evidence that these workers are in direct competition with Mexican immigrants -- i.e., these are jobs that Americans are doing already," according to immigration expert Mark Krikorian.
(7)AS IS THE case with most problems in a democracy, pressures will eventually compel American politicians to limit the flow of illegal aliens. In pursuit of political clout, many Hispanic-American groups welcome the influx of Spanish-speaking people.
The Electoral College magnifies the influence of ethnic groups viewed as power brokers in pivotal states such as California, Texas, Florida, and New York. Postponing action on unlawful immigration will strengthen those special pleaders who oppose enforcing U.S. laws.
(8)The guest worker plan that operated between 1942 and 1964 -- along with the 1986 amnesty -- proved successful in reducing illegal immigration and fostering bilateral cooperation. In fact, a robust stream of unlawful immigration paralleled the legal guest-worker program. Rather than end unlawful entries, the amnesty legislation gave rise to a snowballing of unlawful newcomers who believed that the first amnesty would beget a second amnesty, and so forth.
Continuing a porous border will see the current flood of illegals become a tidal wave and possibly spark an anti-foreign backlash in view of the two-thirds of Americans who oppose amnesty. The Statue of Liberty may hold the torch of freedom in one hand, but she has a book of laws in the other.
George Grayson, who represented the 97th District in Virginia's House of Delegates, teaches Latin American politics at the College of William & Mary
"Fox was stopped by the institutionalized corruption in the Mexican government."
I believe that's what I read. Pemex was the backbone of PRI for such a long period of time. Really shows you how powerful nationalizing oil is.
Yep. Just imagine if they opened up their oil markets to the oil companies.
"Yep. Just imagine if they opened up their oil markets to the oil companies."
We should have made that a demand for saving their @ss a while ago. It's like everyone is geared to not producing more oil.
If there was more open investment/capability throughout the world, we'd not be in such a problem with energy. And it truely is sad we lost the oil in the middle east...mostly the french and british, but us to.
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