Whither Mexico?

On September 16, over one million people voted to recognize center-left leader Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador as the “legitimate president” of Mexico. These delegates to the National Democratic Convention (NDC) agreed to inaugurate their president on November 21—nine days before the inauguration of the officially recognized candidate, Felipe Calderon.

After months of protesting fraud, the convention represented a change in direction. The distinction between the demand for a fair vote count and the need to redress deeply felt social wrongs has been subsumed into a general movement for fundamental reforms.

The Mexican election results remain murky because:

• The official results showed obvious flaws: a high number of nullified votes, numerical differences between tally sheets and actual ballots, additional and missing ballots, and adulterated official results.
• Electoral officials have unaccountably refused any public review of ballots.
• The Electoral Tribunal has allowed the recount of only 9% of the precincts and has nullified certain polling place results without releasing clear, specific data to back up their decisions.

Lopez Obrador has offered an alternative through anti-poverty measures and a rejection of hardline neoliberal policies. His plan is far from radical, but it has drawn the fire of powerful business interests at home and abroad. The Bush administration would rather not have another defection from the ranks of economic orthodoxy at a time when much of Latin America shows signs of leaving the fold.

Even if Calderon were miraculously able to consolidate power over the coming months, a broad movement calling for major institutional reforms will be on the political scene for a long time to come.

For the full article, go to Mexico's Two Presidents.