Reuters
By Dave Graham
June 25, 2013
From the moment he took office in December, Pena Nieto has had to deny accusations he plans to privatize the company, repeatedly forcing him on the defensive over a reform his government plans to present by September at the latest.
Leading leftist politicians, such as Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, the runner-up in the last two Mexican presidential elections, have pledged to oppose the reform vigorously.
Street protests are likely to be launched against the liberalization of Pemex in the coming weeks. Read more.
The MexicoBlog of the CIP Americas Program monitors and analyzes international press on Mexico with a focus on the US-backed War on Drugs in Mexico and the struggle in Mexico to strengthen the rule of law, justice and protection of human rights. Relevant political developments in both countries are also covered.
Showing posts with label Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador. Show all posts
Feb 20, 2013
Mexico Mired in Oil Debates
IPS by By Emilio Godoy
MEXICO CITY, Feb 20 2013 - Oil, the symbol of modern Mexico, is once again stirring up local political waters, with turbulent debates on the fate of the state-owned oil monopoly and conflicts over the privatisation of key economic and strategic areas.
The leading issues of contention revolve around the reform of Mexico’s state oil company Pemex (Petróleos Mexicanos), pitting advocates of full state control, who call for only minor changes in the company’s administration, against proponents of opening the industry up to private capital in prospecting, crude refining, petrochemical and other activities.
“We have to get back to discussing these issues urgently, with a frank and open debate on the need to modernise, backed by solid arguments. Addressing safety, health, environmental and other practices in Pemex is a pressing matter,” Miriam Grunstein, a researcher with the state Economic Research and Teaching Centre, told IPS.
Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto, of the traditional Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI), is in favour of a constitutional reform, proposed last year as part of his campaign platform. The reform would allow Pemex to receive investments from individuals and to partner up with private companies for crude petroleum exploration and extraction, without privatising the company. Read more.
MEXICO CITY, Feb 20 2013 - Oil, the symbol of modern Mexico, is once again stirring up local political waters, with turbulent debates on the fate of the state-owned oil monopoly and conflicts over the privatisation of key economic and strategic areas.
The leading issues of contention revolve around the reform of Mexico’s state oil company Pemex (Petróleos Mexicanos), pitting advocates of full state control, who call for only minor changes in the company’s administration, against proponents of opening the industry up to private capital in prospecting, crude refining, petrochemical and other activities.
“We have to get back to discussing these issues urgently, with a frank and open debate on the need to modernise, backed by solid arguments. Addressing safety, health, environmental and other practices in Pemex is a pressing matter,” Miriam Grunstein, a researcher with the state Economic Research and Teaching Centre, told IPS.
Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto, of the traditional Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI), is in favour of a constitutional reform, proposed last year as part of his campaign platform. The reform would allow Pemex to receive investments from individuals and to partner up with private companies for crude petroleum exploration and extraction, without privatising the company. Read more.
Sep 14, 2012
Mexico City mayor seeks to unite left after split
Dave Graham and Anahi Rama
Reuters: September 13, 2012
MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - Mexico City Mayor Marcelo Ebrard is trying to rally Mexico's left behind him after rival Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said he would break with the established parties following his defeat in July's presidential election.
Lopez Obrador led a three-party leftist alliance to second place in the election, but on Sunday he told a massive crowd in Mexico City he would form a new political group, potentially opening up a serious rift in the left.
In an interview with Reuters, Ebrard said on Thursday he aims to bring the left back together, contrasting himself with Lopez Obrador, who has strong support among the poor and came close to winning the last two elections but alienated centrist voters with his combative style.
Lopez Obrador staged massive, disruptive protests in the capital to contest his narrow presidential loss to Felipe Calderon in 2006 and this time around he is refusing to accept defeat to President-elect Enrique Pena Nieto.
By going solo with a new party, Lopez Obrador has laid bare tensions in the left between moderates ready to work in Congress and accept Pena Nieto's win, and those firmly opposed to cooperating with his Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI).
Lopez Obrador's decision was "utterly predictable" and had not helped the cause, Ebrard said, noting it would be "absurd" if the left did not run on a joint ticket in future elections.
"What we must avoid is having the left destroy itself, that we lose votes next year, that we're no longer second strongest force in 2015 (when legislative elections are held)," said Ebrard, 52, who plans to run for the presidency in 2018. Read more.
Reuters: September 13, 2012
MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - Mexico City Mayor Marcelo Ebrard is trying to rally Mexico's left behind him after rival Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said he would break with the established parties following his defeat in July's presidential election.
Lopez Obrador led a three-party leftist alliance to second place in the election, but on Sunday he told a massive crowd in Mexico City he would form a new political group, potentially opening up a serious rift in the left.
In an interview with Reuters, Ebrard said on Thursday he aims to bring the left back together, contrasting himself with Lopez Obrador, who has strong support among the poor and came close to winning the last two elections but alienated centrist voters with his combative style.
Lopez Obrador staged massive, disruptive protests in the capital to contest his narrow presidential loss to Felipe Calderon in 2006 and this time around he is refusing to accept defeat to President-elect Enrique Pena Nieto.
By going solo with a new party, Lopez Obrador has laid bare tensions in the left between moderates ready to work in Congress and accept Pena Nieto's win, and those firmly opposed to cooperating with his Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI).
Lopez Obrador's decision was "utterly predictable" and had not helped the cause, Ebrard said, noting it would be "absurd" if the left did not run on a joint ticket in future elections.
"What we must avoid is having the left destroy itself, that we lose votes next year, that we're no longer second strongest force in 2015 (when legislative elections are held)," said Ebrard, 52, who plans to run for the presidency in 2018. Read more.
Sep 9, 2012
Ex-candidate quits Mexico's main leftist party
Sunday, September 9, 2012
Houston Chronicle: MEXICO CITY (AP) — The man who led Mexico's main leftist party in the past two presidential elections announced Sunday he is leaving it behind and may start a new party, throwing uncertainty over the future of the nation's political left.
Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador told supporters at a rally at Mexico City's main plaza that he is leaving the Democratic Revolution Party "on the best of terms." He also announced he is leaving the smaller Labor Party andCitizens' Movement, which also backed him in the July presidential election, when he finished second.
Lopez Obrador said he will begin consultations that would create a new party out of another, less formal organization that backed him, the Movement for National Regeneration.
The motives for the break were not clear, but it could complicate efforts for the left to rally again around a single candidate as it has in every election since 1988.
Lopez Obrador has been the most prominent figure within Democratic Revolution in recent years, one of only two people it has ever run for the presidency since forming in the wake of the fraud-tainted 1988 election. Read more.
Aug 28, 2012
#Yo Soy 132 Garners International Support
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| #YoSoy132 New York in Action. |
Just after the group’s inception the #YoSoy132 movement began
forming groups, or “cells”, beyond Mexico´s borders. Mexican youth and their supporters have organized actions of international solidarity in Argentina, Barcelona and Paris and
dozens of other cities.The protests against the return of the Institutional
Revolutionary Party (PRI), election fraud, and biases in elections reporting by
the mainstream Mexican media, now find their way into newspapers on several
continents.
Jul 25, 2012
Mexico's PRI says left violated campaign finance rules
Fox News Latino: Leftist presidential candidate Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador's campaign should be investigated for using grassroots organizations as "parallel structures" to evade campaign finance rules, Mexico's Institutional Revolutionary Party, or PRI, said.
Both the leftist Progressive Movement and its presidential candidate received funds that they hid from election officials, "triangulating them via grassroots organizations, such as Austeridad Republicana and Honestidad Valiente, among others," PRI leaders said in a press conference on Monday. Read more.
Both the leftist Progressive Movement and its presidential candidate received funds that they hid from election officials, "triangulating them via grassroots organizations, such as Austeridad Republicana and Honestidad Valiente, among others," PRI leaders said in a press conference on Monday. Read more.
Jul 21, 2012
Mexico presidential runner-up unveils plan to turn up heat on rival
Reuters: Mexico's presidential runner-up said on Friday he would launch a media offensive and stage rallies around Mexico to try to overturn the victory of Enrique Pena Nieto, whom he accuses of buying votes to win the presidency.
Unveiling his plan for a "defense of democracy," leftist Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said television and radio spots would be used to inform the public of the vote buying and money laundering he said was behind Pena Nieto's win. Read more.
Unveiling his plan for a "defense of democracy," leftist Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said television and radio spots would be used to inform the public of the vote buying and money laundering he said was behind Pena Nieto's win. Read more.
Jul 18, 2012
Mexico sees start of election challenge process
AP: Mexico's highest electoral court has formally received the legal challenges filed by the second-place leftist candidate seeking to annul the July 1 presidential elections.
The challenges filed by leftist candidate Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador appear to face an uphill struggle given the 6.6.-percent margin of victory for the winner of the race, Enrique Pena Nieto. Read more.
The challenges filed by leftist candidate Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador appear to face an uphill struggle given the 6.6.-percent margin of victory for the winner of the race, Enrique Pena Nieto. Read more.
Jul 13, 2012
Leftist candidate to challenge Mexico's election
AP: MEXICO CITY -- Leftist presidential candidate Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador and his party formally filed a petition Thursday asking Mexico's electoral court to invalidate the results of the July 1 presidential ballot, charging there was vote buying and campaign overspending by the winner of official vote counts.
Lopez Obrador's campaign coordinator, Ricardo Monreal, and Jesus Zambrano, president of the Democratic Revolution Party, turned in the petition along with at least 20 boxes containing alleged proof of vote-buying by members of the Institutional Revolutionary Party, or PRI. Read more.
Lopez Obrador's campaign coordinator, Ricardo Monreal, and Jesus Zambrano, president of the Democratic Revolution Party, turned in the petition along with at least 20 boxes containing alleged proof of vote-buying by members of the Institutional Revolutionary Party, or PRI. Read more.
Jul 11, 2012
Irregularities reveal Mexico's election far from fair With Peña Nieto's election marred by media bias and voter fraud, Mexico's ailing economy is hobbled by democratic deficit
If Mexicans do not have much faith in a fair electoral process in the 2012 election , it can be explained by the poorly handled recount in 2006.
Guardian: The media rewrites history every day, and in so doing, it often impedes our understanding of the present. Mexico's presidential election of a week ago is a case in point. Press reports tell us that Felipe Calderón, the outgoing president from the PAN (National Action party), "won the 2006 election by a narrow margin".
But this is not quite true, and without knowing what actually happened in 2006, it is perhaps more difficult to understand the widespread skepticism of the Mexican people toward the results of the current election. The official results show Institutional Revolutionary party (PRI) candidate Enrique Peña Nieto winning 38.2% of the vote, to 31.6% for Andrés Manuel López Obrador, of the party of the Democratic Revolution (PRD) and 25.4% for Josefina Vázquez Mota of the PAN. It does not help that the current election has been marred by widespread reports of vote-buying. Read more.
Guardian: The media rewrites history every day, and in so doing, it often impedes our understanding of the present. Mexico's presidential election of a week ago is a case in point. Press reports tell us that Felipe Calderón, the outgoing president from the PAN (National Action party), "won the 2006 election by a narrow margin".
But this is not quite true, and without knowing what actually happened in 2006, it is perhaps more difficult to understand the widespread skepticism of the Mexican people toward the results of the current election. The official results show Institutional Revolutionary party (PRI) candidate Enrique Peña Nieto winning 38.2% of the vote, to 31.6% for Andrés Manuel López Obrador, of the party of the Democratic Revolution (PRD) and 25.4% for Josefina Vázquez Mota of the PAN. It does not help that the current election has been marred by widespread reports of vote-buying. Read more.
Mexico's PRI falls short of congressional majority in vote count
latimes.com: MEXICO CITY -- Mexican President-elect Enrique Peña Nieto's party has fallen short of an absolute majority in Congress, election officials said Tuesday, complicating his ability to push through reforms and possibly forcing him to negotiate with opposition politicians.
The Institutional Revolutionary Party, or PRI, and its tiny ally, the Green Party, will have 240 seats in a 500-member lower house of Congress, the Federal Electoral Institute said, based on the final vote count. The alliance will have 61 seats in the 128-member Senate. Read more.
The Institutional Revolutionary Party, or PRI, and its tiny ally, the Green Party, will have 240 seats in a 500-member lower house of Congress, the Federal Electoral Institute said, based on the final vote count. The alliance will have 61 seats in the 128-member Senate. Read more.
Polls, a false reflection of the electoral reality
La Jornada: Americas Program Original Translation
See Spanish Original.
It is an understatement to say these factors create a negative public opinion of the candidate from Mexico, that began before his campaign registration: on December 3rd of last year, when the pre-candidate suffered from a mistake at the International Book Fair in Guadalajara.
The social networks buzzed with sarcastic comments, which were made worse by an unfortunate response from the politician's daughter and were fed, throughout the month, with subsequent nonsense from the own Peña Nieto: his not knowing the minimum wage or the price of the tortilla (saying that he was not the woman of the house). Then came the severe defamation by Carlos Fuentes: This man has no right to be president of Mexico because of his ignorance.
At the beginning of December of last year, the surveys were giving the candidate from Mexico 50 per cent of the votes, or more, although by then Humberto Moreira had already been dismissed as the national president of the PRI for his alleged responsibility in the state Coahuila that he governed for its indebtedness scandal. However, on January 10th of this year, BGC-Ulises Beltrán and Associates continued giving him half of the intended votes (compared to 26 and 24 per cent, Josefina Vázquez Mota and Andrés Manuel López Obrador respectively). While, at the end of this month Consulta Mitofsky reduced his standing by three points, to situate him in 50 per cent of voter preferences (28 for JVM and 22 for AMLO). Roy Campos acknowledged that the fall of the PRI could be a consequence of its own errors in December (Graph 1: surveys in January).
See Spanish Original.
 |
| Electoral preferences according to surveys (January 2012) La Jornada |
- Everyone gave the PRI candidate, Enrique Peña, a large lead
- After learning the official figures their inaccuracies became clear
The bad publicity against Enrique Peña Nieto would be enough to send any candidate to the bottom of the polls, but not in Mexico, wrote Randal C. Archibald, correspondent for The New York Times, on June 12th. The writer was referring to the extramarital affairs of the aspiring presidential PRI candidate, the indications of corruption various PRI leaders were involved in, the PAN members that warned of the negotiations between the public and the organized crime were Peña Nieto to become President, and the marches and protests against him led by students.
- After learning the official figures their inaccuracies became clear
The bad publicity against Enrique Peña Nieto would be enough to send any candidate to the bottom of the polls, but not in Mexico, wrote Randal C. Archibald, correspondent for The New York Times, on June 12th. The writer was referring to the extramarital affairs of the aspiring presidential PRI candidate, the indications of corruption various PRI leaders were involved in, the PAN members that warned of the negotiations between the public and the organized crime were Peña Nieto to become President, and the marches and protests against him led by students.
It is an understatement to say these factors create a negative public opinion of the candidate from Mexico, that began before his campaign registration: on December 3rd of last year, when the pre-candidate suffered from a mistake at the International Book Fair in Guadalajara.
At the beginning of December of last year, the surveys were giving the candidate from Mexico 50 per cent of the votes, or more, although by then Humberto Moreira had already been dismissed as the national president of the PRI for his alleged responsibility in the state Coahuila that he governed for its indebtedness scandal. However, on January 10th of this year, BGC-Ulises Beltrán and Associates continued giving him half of the intended votes (compared to 26 and 24 per cent, Josefina Vázquez Mota and Andrés Manuel López Obrador respectively). While, at the end of this month Consulta Mitofsky reduced his standing by three points, to situate him in 50 per cent of voter preferences (28 for JVM and 22 for AMLO). Roy Campos acknowledged that the fall of the PRI could be a consequence of its own errors in December (Graph 1: surveys in January).
Jul 9, 2012
Another Rigged Vote? The Big Sham in Mexico
Counter Punch: Paul Imison. Mexico City. Mexico could be forgiven for partying like it’s 2006. Following the election on Sunday, where Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI) candidate Enrique Peña Nieto appeared to win the presidency by a 6.5% margin over leftist Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador (AMLO), the result is being hotly contested. Just as in 2006, when he lost by a mere 0.56% to Felipe “drug warrior” Calderon, AMLO demanded a full recount based on evidence of irregularities in no fewer than – wait for it – 113,855 voting booths around the country.
The authority trusted (or not) with clearing up this mess is Mexico’s Federal Electoral Institute (IFE), which on Tuesday granted a partial recount of ballots from 78,000 voting booths, or casillas (54.5% of the total vote). Compare that to the just 3,000 ballots recounted in 2006 when the result was even tighter. The concession was surely an attempt to dampen the mobilization of AMLO’s considerable (and angry) support base that rocked the nation’s streets six years ago – not to mention the rolling thunder of the #YoSoy132 student movement. Read more.
The authority trusted (or not) with clearing up this mess is Mexico’s Federal Electoral Institute (IFE), which on Tuesday granted a partial recount of ballots from 78,000 voting booths, or casillas (54.5% of the total vote). Compare that to the just 3,000 ballots recounted in 2006 when the result was even tighter. The concession was surely an attempt to dampen the mobilization of AMLO’s considerable (and angry) support base that rocked the nation’s streets six years ago – not to mention the rolling thunder of the #YoSoy132 student movement. Read more.
Jul 6, 2012
Mexico's Lopez Obrador Says Recount of Ballots Is Unsatisfactory
The partial recount of presidential ballots has confirmed Enrique Peña Nieto's win, but opposition candidate Andrés Manuel López Obrador is maintaining that the vote was tainted by widespread vote-buying by Peña Nieto's party, the PRI.
BusinessWeek: Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, the second-place finisher in Mexico’s July 1 presidential vote, said he is not satisfied with electoral authorities’ partial recount of ballots that has confirmed Enrique Pena Nieto’s victory.
Lopez Obrador reiterated claims that Pena Nieto’s Institutional Revolutionary Party, or PRI, used gift cards and other “well-designed” strategies to buy millions of votes. He will “act in a responsible way, following legal procedure” in registering complaints with electoral authorities, he said. Read more.
Posted by Ryan Gentzler.
BusinessWeek: Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, the second-place finisher in Mexico’s July 1 presidential vote, said he is not satisfied with electoral authorities’ partial recount of ballots that has confirmed Enrique Pena Nieto’s victory.
Lopez Obrador reiterated claims that Pena Nieto’s Institutional Revolutionary Party, or PRI, used gift cards and other “well-designed” strategies to buy millions of votes. He will “act in a responsible way, following legal procedure” in registering complaints with electoral authorities, he said. Read more.
Posted by Ryan Gentzler.
Final recount: EPN 38.21%, AMLO 31.59%, and JVM 25.41%
The official recall votes are in, with Enrique Pena Nieto winning the most votes. A final report is to be submitted today by IFE, and a total of the votes will be presented to the Council on Sunday. The results are still not definitive and require the Electoral Tribunal of Judicial Power of the Federation (TEPJF) to declare the elections valid and the new president.
El Universal: Americas Program Original Translation Excerpt
See Spanish Original.
The Federal Electoral Institute concluded the voting recount from the elections this past July 1st, and according to the results, the candidate of the PRI-PVEM, Enrique Pena Nieto, led his closest competitor by 6.62%, Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador.
With the count of 100 per cent of the voting booths completed, the candidate of Commitment to Mexico Coalition, Enrique Pena Nieto, has been confirmed for obtaining the greatest number of votes in the election, 19,219,919, that represents 38.21% of the votes issued, a number consistent with the rapid count carried out on election day and with the Preliminary Electoral Results Program (PREP).
Also it maintained the difference, that at the end remained at 6.62% above the closest candidate, the contender of the Progressive Movement Coalition, Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, who gained 31.59% of votes in the election, or 15,891,107 votes.
In votes, the percentage 6.62% between both candidates represents 3,328,812 votes.
The PAN candidate, Josefina Vazquez Mota remained in third place, with 25.41% of votes and 12.8 points below the winner. The linesman of New Alliance, Gabriel Quadri, earned 2.29% of the votes, in which the party maintained registered as a national party, but was surpassed by the 2.47% of void votes.
El Universal: Americas Program Original Translation Excerpt
See Spanish Original.
The Federal Electoral Institute concluded the voting recount from the elections this past July 1st, and according to the results, the candidate of the PRI-PVEM, Enrique Pena Nieto, led his closest competitor by 6.62%, Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador.
With the count of 100 per cent of the voting booths completed, the candidate of Commitment to Mexico Coalition, Enrique Pena Nieto, has been confirmed for obtaining the greatest number of votes in the election, 19,219,919, that represents 38.21% of the votes issued, a number consistent with the rapid count carried out on election day and with the Preliminary Electoral Results Program (PREP).
Also it maintained the difference, that at the end remained at 6.62% above the closest candidate, the contender of the Progressive Movement Coalition, Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, who gained 31.59% of votes in the election, or 15,891,107 votes.
In votes, the percentage 6.62% between both candidates represents 3,328,812 votes.
The PAN candidate, Josefina Vazquez Mota remained in third place, with 25.41% of votes and 12.8 points below the winner. The linesman of New Alliance, Gabriel Quadri, earned 2.29% of the votes, in which the party maintained registered as a national party, but was surpassed by the 2.47% of void votes.
Translation Summary by Bonnie Ho, Americas Program
Jul 5, 2012
Mexico: Recounts for more than half the ballot boxes
The Federal Election Institute is conducting the recount of ballots in specific cases, which are detailed below, and the final count should be completed by Sunday.
That represents 78,012 ballot boxes, Edmundo Jacobo Molina told reporters.
The political parties will supervise, review and watch over the recount, which will be carried out by the election institute, he said.
The announcement came as the official ballot count in Mexico's presidential elections began Wednesday and as the presumptive president-elect sought to consolidate his reported victory even as a challenger refused to concede. Read more.
CNN: Mexico City -- More than half of the ballot boxes from last weekend's Mexican presidential election -- 54.5% -- will be individually recounted, the executive secretary of Mexico's Federal Election Institute said Wednesday.
That represents 78,012 ballot boxes, Edmundo Jacobo Molina told reporters.
The political parties will supervise, review and watch over the recount, which will be carried out by the election institute, he said.
The announcement came as the official ballot count in Mexico's presidential elections began Wednesday and as the presumptive president-elect sought to consolidate his reported victory even as a challenger refused to concede. Read more.
Mexico's presidential election tainted by claims of vote buying
As the recount is going underway, this article makes the distinction that the frustration with the election results and the call for the recount "has less to do with the overall vote tally than the way the presidency was won."
Washington Post: MEXICO CITY — In their eagerness to assure the world that Sunday’s election was free and fair, Mexican President Felipe Calderon and the country’s top electoral officials seem to have glossed over a few dirty details.
The election, it appears, might not have been so squeaky clean after all.
That is the suspicion emerging here, in the days after preliminary vote tallies by Mexico’s Federal Election Institute (IFE)gave Enrique Peña Nieto a six percentage point win over second-place finisher Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, who represents the country’s left.
The initial count shows Peña Nieto’s margin of victory was more than 3 million votes, an advantage that should be wide enough to overcome any legal challenge to his win, including Lopez Obrador’s demand for a full recount of the ballots. Read more.
Washington Post: MEXICO CITY — In their eagerness to assure the world that Sunday’s election was free and fair, Mexican President Felipe Calderon and the country’s top electoral officials seem to have glossed over a few dirty details.
The election, it appears, might not have been so squeaky clean after all.
That is the suspicion emerging here, in the days after preliminary vote tallies by Mexico’s Federal Election Institute (IFE)gave Enrique Peña Nieto a six percentage point win over second-place finisher Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, who represents the country’s left.
The initial count shows Peña Nieto’s margin of victory was more than 3 million votes, an advantage that should be wide enough to overcome any legal challenge to his win, including Lopez Obrador’s demand for a full recount of the ballots. Read more.
Election recount begins at more than half of Mexico polls
latimes.com: MEXICO CITY -- Mexico is recounting votes cast at more than half its polling places during Sunday's presidential election, the electoral body said Wednesday, as reports of vote-buying marred the apparent win of the former ruling Institutional Revolutionary Party, or PRI.
Ballots from more than 54% of polling places will be recounted within 72 hours, the Federal Electoral Institute (IFE) said. The figure marks a huge increase over the 9% of ballots that were recounted in the long and contentious aftermath of the disputed 2006 election.
The recount began early Wednesday as part of the IFE's normal procedure of validating results gathered from the institute's 300 electoral districts. By law, ballots are recounted when a polling place shows irregularities, such as more votes cast than there are registered voters, a complete sweep by a single candidate or party, or a 1-percentage-point or smaller margin between first and second place.
Separately, the PRI is facing growing accusations that campaigns gave potential voters supermarket debit cards in exchange for their votes, among other allegations. Read more.
Ballots from more than 54% of polling places will be recounted within 72 hours, the Federal Electoral Institute (IFE) said. The figure marks a huge increase over the 9% of ballots that were recounted in the long and contentious aftermath of the disputed 2006 election.
The recount began early Wednesday as part of the IFE's normal procedure of validating results gathered from the institute's 300 electoral districts. By law, ballots are recounted when a polling place shows irregularities, such as more votes cast than there are registered voters, a complete sweep by a single candidate or party, or a 1-percentage-point or smaller margin between first and second place.
Separately, the PRI is facing growing accusations that campaigns gave potential voters supermarket debit cards in exchange for their votes, among other allegations. Read more.
Jul 4, 2012
Mexico elections: Enrique Peña Nieto outlines ambitious reforms agenda
The Guardian: Unconfirmed winner of Mexico polls unveils plans for economic growth as rival claims voting was plagued with irregularities
Enrique Peña Nieto, the virtual winner of Mexico's presidential vote on Sunday, has outlined an ambitious reform agenda aimed at "recuperating the road of peace, security, economic growth and effective action against poverty".
But his ability to push this through will be limited by a newly elected legislature which early figures suggest his Institutional Revolutionary party, known as the PRI, will not control.
Peña Nieto may also face a legal challenge to his still unconfirmed victory by seven percentage points over his closest rival, Andrés Manuel López Obrador. The leftwing candidate claims the election was plagued with irregularities, such as vote buying, and marred by media bias in his favour. Read more.
Enrique Peña Nieto, the virtual winner of Mexico's presidential vote on Sunday, has outlined an ambitious reform agenda aimed at "recuperating the road of peace, security, economic growth and effective action against poverty".
But his ability to push this through will be limited by a newly elected legislature which early figures suggest his Institutional Revolutionary party, known as the PRI, will not control.
Peña Nieto may also face a legal challenge to his still unconfirmed victory by seven percentage points over his closest rival, Andrés Manuel López Obrador. The leftwing candidate claims the election was plagued with irregularities, such as vote buying, and marred by media bias in his favour. Read more.
Mexico election candidate Lopez Obrador seeks recount
BBC: The runner-up in Sunday's presidential poll in Mexico has said he will demand a total recount of the vote.
"For the good of democracy and of the country, all the votes must be counted," Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, of the leftist PRD, told reporters.
He had refused to concede victory after the official preliminary count gave Enrique Pena Nieto of the PRI victory by more than six points.
Mr Lopez Obrador has accused Mr Pena Nieto of breaking electoral rules.
Speaking on Tuesday, Mr Lopez Obrador, the candidate of the Party of the Democratic Revolution (PRD) said he had evidence of widespread irregularities. Read more.
"For the good of democracy and of the country, all the votes must be counted," Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, of the leftist PRD, told reporters.
He had refused to concede victory after the official preliminary count gave Enrique Pena Nieto of the PRI victory by more than six points.
Mr Lopez Obrador has accused Mr Pena Nieto of breaking electoral rules.
Speaking on Tuesday, Mr Lopez Obrador, the candidate of the Party of the Democratic Revolution (PRD) said he had evidence of widespread irregularities. Read more.
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