One hundred percent of the Mexican voting districts have reported in and the results, not yet officially finalized, are pretty much final: Calderón leads López Obrador by a miniscule .57% of a point.

Does this mean that Calderón will be declared president? Who knows. López Obrador is not giving up the fight, planning to formally refute the results and organizing supporters for a protest in Mexico City’s main square this weekend.

My question is: with so many irregularities, anomalies, votes in the garbage, et al how could this minute advantage on the part of the PAN be declared a legal win? What happened between now and two days ago that would prove that this victory is legitimate? Why should the Mexican people trust these results?

The issues of trust, corruption and the declaration of victory on the part of a ruling party are delicate ones for Mexico, and I fear that while López Obrador may call on his supporters to exhibit restraint in their reaction to the official results, there may be incidents of violence on the part of a large group of outraged citizens. Americans might have felt just as outraged during Gore-Bush, but we aren’t known to take to the streets like citizens of other countries.

Let’s hope that the truth finally prevails and that no one gets hurt in the process.

Image via El Universal