Mexican Election Protests Turn Violent

The Mexican police broke out the tear gas and riot gear to deal with protests over the recent presidential election earlier this week. The supporters of the leftish Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador are trying to get a full recount, while the alleged rightist victor, Felipe Calderon, and his people are trying to get the victory they believe they won certified. This could well get worse before it gets better.

A partial recount of around 9% of the votes from some polling centers may show evidence of fraud, which could lead to further recounts, but the folks on the left want the other 81% counted as a matter of course. They believe that the 240,000 vote margin, just 0.6% of the votes cast, was the result of fraud. As Mr. Lopez Obrador said, “The Mexican people do not want only part of the truth.” He has warned that he is prepared for this protest to last years.

The protests have been widespread, covering the square outside the Mexican congress, banks, and even toll booths. Employees at two branches of Banamex, the second biggest bank in Mexico and owned by Citibank, have been prevented from getting to their offices. The protests against Banamex appear to be directed at the bank because of the US connection.

Meanwhile, Mr. Calderon’s National Action Party (PAN) has called for calm and is confident that it will prevail. To counter the street protests, it has called on all Mexicans to wear white T-shirts to show their disagreement with Mr. Lopez Obrador. This is a fine piece of deceit since white T-shirts are the most common sort and a great many Mexicans don’t have a terribly extensive wardrobe owing to the failure of the government to get the economy going. Indeed, many only have white Ts.

The next date to watch for is September 1, a Friday, when outgoing President Vicente Fox gives his last state-of-the-nation speech. The week-end that follows could determine the future of Mexico, as the Federal Election Tribunal must certify a winner on September 6 or annul the election. Either way, there will be a loser who may not accept defeat.

© Copyright 2006 by The Kensington Review, Jeff Myhre, PhD, Editor. No part of this publication may be reproduced without written consent. Produced using Fedora Linux.

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