Our whole time in Mexico has been 'blessed' with lots of roadside banners, painted walls, and VW bugs with large, low quality speakers mounted on the rack blasting the virtues of one candidate or another. Because not everyone reads the paper (can read the paper) or has access to television, lots of campaigning happens here on the streets: signs, speakers, billboards, etc. This public space communication is far more prevalent (and thus more annoying…) than in the states.
This is a big election cycle because a new President will be elected. This only happens every six years. A president in Mexico can only serve one term.
The state and evolution of Mexico's democracy is very much a topic of discussion in the media - that it has made strides in recent decades, but that it also has a long ways to go. What is interesting for me is that the state of democracy in Mexico is an explicit discussion - with prescriptions for what is still needed, and what still imperils it. (This is hardly a discussion in big media the United States, but so very necessary today, in my humble opinion...).
Since the Mexican Revolution nearly 100 years ago, until the 1990s, Mexico's "democracy" has stretched the limits of the definition of the word. It has been one-party rule by PRI - Partido Revolucionario Institucional. Other parties did not exist or were irrelevant. Reforms in the 1980s laid the groundwork for the evolution of multiple competing parties. Vicente Fox's election in 2000 was considered historic, since PRI (I think that he was with PAN) lost for the first time since its inception 70+ years prior.
Mexico still has a ways to go. One example: A number of different people independently have described to us how the votes of people who fail to vote in an election get assigned to PRI candidates. This sounds completely ridiculous, but several different people have described this, saying that it is thus really important that everyone vote, or your vote will be used by others.
My impression is that while the economy seems pretty stable here, without extreme swings up or down (nor is it growing or accessible to many), most people have little faith that politics can improve their lives. The last Presidential election is considered by many to be fraudulent (a large number of votes disappeared and reappeared with a different, ultimately winning candidate (Calderon) in the lead), and there is little faith that the people's choice will actually win, or much change will occur. In this final week before the election, lots of papers and media are urging people to stand by election outcomes, apparently anticipating dissatisfaction. Interestingly, though there seems to be less calls for election transparency and integrity.
There are four Presidential candidates competing in the election:
Enrique Pena Nieto: PRI (leading in the polls according to the media), described by many as a return to the old days; would rollback progressive reforms from the last 2 decades. Good-looking and telegenic. Interestingly, the Green Party has aligned itself with Pena Nieto. Not sure of their strength here in Mexico, or their platform.
Manuel Lopez Obrador: Many consider him the legitimate winner of the previous election. He represents the Left, PRD.
Josefina Mota: She represents the party of the current President, PAN. super-conservative. People are not happy with current Adminstration (Calderon) so she seems an unlikely candidate to win. TO note, she is the first female Presidential candidate in Mexico.
Quadri: the far left candidate, I think, polling in single digits. Not competitive.
Looks like Pena Nieto will win. Many people we talk to distrust the polls that show him in the lead, that the polls/media are setting up for a fraudulent outcome before election day.
Tight media control, and the media's collaboration with powerful parties and interests is a big concern of many people in Mexico. Think of two Fox News stations collaborating with the Republicans in the United States, and no other significant national media presence. It indeed appears a serious problem. The internet as a source of independent information is really critical, but still inaccessible to many, many people in Mexico.
Anyways, that's my quick take. On July 1, we'll know more. It will certainly be interesting to be here for the election. Some people are anticipating unrest. I think that it unlikely, but what do I know...?
Below are some photos from a rally in the zocalo in San Cristobal the evening that we left.
Manuel Velasco - just 32 years old; never held elective office; is running for governor of the state of Chiapas representing the PRI. He obviously has the backing of big money, since his picture is ALL over Chiapas. Amy and I thought his banner photos were a little creepy, frankly, but that's just us...
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