With the final results of the Mexican presidential election expected as early as tomorrow or as late as the weekend, depending on which news source you read, the leftist Democratic Revolutionary Party (PRD) and their candidate, Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, are prepping for the worse by not backing down. As votes continue to be counted and as the gap between Lopez Obrador and Felipe Calderon lessens (with Calderon leading according to sources), an article posted today on AlterNet states:
Lopez Obrador has said he will honor the results of a fair election, even if he loses by one vote. But if history is any lesson, Lopez Obrador is no Al Gore. He won’t walk away from a stolen election without a protest. His political rise has been characterized by having to respond to dirty tricks. And if anyone is justified in being a “firebrand” about stolen elections, it is Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador.
The article points to Lopez Obrador’s role in the 1988 presidential campaign of leftist candidate Cuauhtemoc Cardena, who was ahead until a mysterious computer crash. Lopez Obrador led marches to civil disobedience actions to protest the announced Carlos Salinas win.
There are rumblings of fraud already in this election including reports of PRI officials bribing and guiding voters in smaller villages.
Regardless of the results, hopefully instances of coercion and fraud are investigated making the final decision one that will benefit all Mexicans. For now we wait and see.
Via/ AlterNet
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1 Response to Lopez Obrador is no Al Gore
Felipe
July 4th, 2006 at 3:03 pm
No, there’s virtually no comparison here. Also, Mexico’s election system, revamped after the 1988 debacle, mandates that the independent Federal Elections Commission conducts the investigation. They have traditionally been open-minded and tough, throwing out questionable ballot boxes and even overturning election results and calling for new elections. If Lopez Obrador and his supporters continue the struggle, there is a significant chance that he will be the next President of Mexico.