Reuters
July 14, 2013
Mexico's opposition parties on Sunday blasted the government for failing to combat political corruption and threatened to walk away from a pact that aims to strengthen the economy unless President Enrique Pena Nieto makes swift concessions on electoral reform.
After taking office in December, Pena Nieto announced a pact with the opposition to pass reforms aimed at boosting the country's tax revenues and buoying production at state-owned oil giant Pemex
The pact, signed by the leftist Party of the Democratic Revolution (PRD), the conservative National Action Party (PAN) and Pena Nieto's ruling Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI), appeared under threat last week after campaigns for state and local elections deteriorated into mud-slinging and violence. Read more.
The MexicoBlog of the Americas Program, a fiscally sponsored program of the Center for Economic and Policy Research (CEPR), is written by Laura Carlsen. I monitor and analyze international press on Mexico, with a focus on security, immigration, human rights and social movements for peace and justice, from a feminist perspective. And sometimes I simply muse.
Showing posts with label electoral fraud. Show all posts
Showing posts with label electoral fraud. Show all posts
Jun 26, 2013
How Mexico Became So Corrupt
The Atlantic
Lawrence Weiner
June 25 2013
Grupo Televisa, the world's largest Spanish-language media company, is famous for its logo, a gold-colored eye gazing at the world through a television screen. According to The Guardian, this logo "captures the company's success at controlling and dominating what Mexicans watch".
In a country where newspaper readership is tiny and the reach of the Internet and cable is still largely limited to the middle classes, Televisa -- and its rival TV Azteca -- exert a powerful influence over national politics. Through its scores of stations and repeater towers, the former accounts for roughly two-thirds of the nation's free-to-air television; most of the rest belong to Azteca. Read more.
Lawrence Weiner
June 25 2013
Grupo Televisa, the world's largest Spanish-language media company, is famous for its logo, a gold-colored eye gazing at the world through a television screen. According to The Guardian, this logo "captures the company's success at controlling and dominating what Mexicans watch".
In a country where newspaper readership is tiny and the reach of the Internet and cable is still largely limited to the middle classes, Televisa -- and its rival TV Azteca -- exert a powerful influence over national politics. Through its scores of stations and repeater towers, the former accounts for roughly two-thirds of the nation's free-to-air television; most of the rest belong to Azteca. Read more.
May 2, 2013
The Mexico Bubble
Foreign Policy
By John Ackerman
When U.S. President Barack Obama travels to Mexico this Thursday for his first summit with new President Enrique Peña Nieto, he's going to hear a lot about the country's uptick in international portfolio investment, its recent discovery of vast new petroleum reserves, and its new political grand bargain, called the "Pact for Mexico," in which the leaders of the three largest political parties have gone behind closed doors to hammer out deals on tax, education, energy, banking and telecom reform, among other areas.
But instead of giving priority to the interests of Wall Street and of Mexico's discredited political class, Obama should turn his gaze to Main Street and listen to the voices of the Mexican people on both sides of the Rio Grande. Otherwise, he risks committing the United States to a highly risky political game run by Latin American cronies that could soon end in disaster, with an impact that could be felt across North America. Read more.
By John Ackerman
When U.S. President Barack Obama travels to Mexico this Thursday for his first summit with new President Enrique Peña Nieto, he's going to hear a lot about the country's uptick in international portfolio investment, its recent discovery of vast new petroleum reserves, and its new political grand bargain, called the "Pact for Mexico," in which the leaders of the three largest political parties have gone behind closed doors to hammer out deals on tax, education, energy, banking and telecom reform, among other areas.
But instead of giving priority to the interests of Wall Street and of Mexico's discredited political class, Obama should turn his gaze to Main Street and listen to the voices of the Mexican people on both sides of the Rio Grande. Otherwise, he risks committing the United States to a highly risky political game run by Latin American cronies that could soon end in disaster, with an impact that could be felt across North America. Read more.
Apr 24, 2013
Mexico vote-buying scandal threatens president's agenda of reforms
Los Angeles Times
By Tracy Wilkinson
April 23, 2013
Mexico City - Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto on Tuesday faced the most serious political crisis of his young government, an explosive dispute with rival parties over electoral dirty tricks that could imperil his ambitious reform plans.
Peña Nieto's highly touted Pact for Mexico, a kind of blueprint for his administration's agenda that had seemed to have won consensus from most major political groups, was on the verge of collapse after fresh reports of vote-buying by the president's Institutional Revolutionary Party, or PRI.
The government was forced to cancel a series of public events under the auspices of the Pact for Mexico to avoid the embarrassment of a boycott by the main opposition factions.
The first casualty would appear to be a broad reform to overhaul Mexico's financial sector, which was scheduled to be unveiled Tuesday. Read more.
By Tracy Wilkinson
April 23, 2013
Mexico City - Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto on Tuesday faced the most serious political crisis of his young government, an explosive dispute with rival parties over electoral dirty tricks that could imperil his ambitious reform plans.
Peña Nieto's highly touted Pact for Mexico, a kind of blueprint for his administration's agenda that had seemed to have won consensus from most major political groups, was on the verge of collapse after fresh reports of vote-buying by the president's Institutional Revolutionary Party, or PRI.
The government was forced to cancel a series of public events under the auspices of the Pact for Mexico to avoid the embarrassment of a boycott by the main opposition factions.
The first casualty would appear to be a broad reform to overhaul Mexico's financial sector, which was scheduled to be unveiled Tuesday. Read more.
Apr 20, 2013
Mexico fires 7 for allegedly planning to use aid programs to promote ruling party in elections
The Washington Post
April 18, 2013
MEXICO CITY — The head of Mexico’s Social Development department dismissed seven officials Thursday after some of them were mentioned in taped discussions about how to use anti-poverty programs to promote the governing party in upcoming local elections.
The dirty tricks discussed at the meetings included kicking opposition supporters off a federal program that provides small monthly stipends to poor families and handing out government-supplied wheelchairs in the name of the ruling party.
It reads like a laundry list of abuses from the past of the Institutional Revolutionary Party, known as the PRI, which ruled Mexico for seven decades with graft and handouts until it lost the presidency in the 2000 and the 2006 elections.
When Enrique Pena Nieto’s regained the presidency for the PRI last year, he said the party had reformed itself. But the tapes released by the conservative National Action Party reveal officials from the Gulf coast state of Veracruz, which is governed by the PRI, discussing how to get National Action supporters off government social programs and insert PRI supporters. Read more.
April 18, 2013
MEXICO CITY — The head of Mexico’s Social Development department dismissed seven officials Thursday after some of them were mentioned in taped discussions about how to use anti-poverty programs to promote the governing party in upcoming local elections.
The dirty tricks discussed at the meetings included kicking opposition supporters off a federal program that provides small monthly stipends to poor families and handing out government-supplied wheelchairs in the name of the ruling party.
It reads like a laundry list of abuses from the past of the Institutional Revolutionary Party, known as the PRI, which ruled Mexico for seven decades with graft and handouts until it lost the presidency in the 2000 and the 2006 elections.
When Enrique Pena Nieto’s regained the presidency for the PRI last year, he said the party had reformed itself. But the tapes released by the conservative National Action Party reveal officials from the Gulf coast state of Veracruz, which is governed by the PRI, discussing how to get National Action supporters off government social programs and insert PRI supporters. Read more.
Jan 25, 2013
Mexico election council finds ruling party used $5.2 million in cash cards
The Washington Post
Updated: Thursday, January 24, 6:22 PM
MEXICO CITY — Mexico’s Federal Electoral Institute has confirmed that President Enrique Pena Nieto’s party spent about $5.2 million through electronic cash cards during last year’s presidential campaign.
While opposition parties had charged the money represented illicit campaign financing, the institute said it found no evidence of that.
Pena Nieto’s Institutional Revolutionary Party has said the money was used for normal party personnel expenses, but the funds aroused suspicion, because the money appeared to have been triangulated through several shadowy companies instead of being disbursed directly from party coffers. Opponents also said they suspected that corporations may have used the cards to make campaign donations, something that is prohibited under Mexican law. Read more.
Updated: Thursday, January 24, 6:22 PM
MEXICO CITY — Mexico’s Federal Electoral Institute has confirmed that President Enrique Pena Nieto’s party spent about $5.2 million through electronic cash cards during last year’s presidential campaign.
While opposition parties had charged the money represented illicit campaign financing, the institute said it found no evidence of that.
Pena Nieto’s Institutional Revolutionary Party has said the money was used for normal party personnel expenses, but the funds aroused suspicion, because the money appeared to have been triangulated through several shadowy companies instead of being disbursed directly from party coffers. Opponents also said they suspected that corporations may have used the cards to make campaign donations, something that is prohibited under Mexican law. Read more.
Dec 4, 2012
69 People Jailed Following Violent Mexico Protests
ABC News By Manuel Rueda
Dec. 4, 2012
Sixty-nine people have been sent to jail in Mexico City, for allegedly destroying businesses and public property during protests held on Saturday against Mexico's new president.
These detainees, who were in temporary detention centers until Monday, have been charged with "rioting," and "disturbing the public peace," and if convicted could face five to 30 years in jail.
But the charges brought against these 69 individuals have been vehemently rejected by social movements who participated in Saturday's protests against Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto. These groups are accusing police of using excessive force on Saturday and of imprisoning the 69 protesters as an intimidation tactic.
On Monday afternoon, members of the YoSoy132 Student Movement, the Communist Party and a half dozen more political groups held a rally at Mexico City's Independence Monument to call for the liberation of these detainees.
"They weren't doing anything but voicing their opposition against an imposed president who is bad for the country," said Aura Sorita, holding a poster with the pictures of two university students. Sorita's friends, Mary Montezuma and Obed Palgod, were detained during Saturday's protests and are now being held in separate Mexico City penitentiaries. Read more.
Dec. 4, 2012
Sixty-nine people have been sent to jail in Mexico City, for allegedly destroying businesses and public property during protests held on Saturday against Mexico's new president.
These detainees, who were in temporary detention centers until Monday, have been charged with "rioting," and "disturbing the public peace," and if convicted could face five to 30 years in jail.
But the charges brought against these 69 individuals have been vehemently rejected by social movements who participated in Saturday's protests against Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto. These groups are accusing police of using excessive force on Saturday and of imprisoning the 69 protesters as an intimidation tactic.
On Monday afternoon, members of the YoSoy132 Student Movement, the Communist Party and a half dozen more political groups held a rally at Mexico City's Independence Monument to call for the liberation of these detainees.
"They weren't doing anything but voicing their opposition against an imposed president who is bad for the country," said Aura Sorita, holding a poster with the pictures of two university students. Sorita's friends, Mary Montezuma and Obed Palgod, were detained during Saturday's protests and are now being held in separate Mexico City penitentiaries. 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.
Sep 3, 2012
Transparency in Mexico: Information doesn't come easily
Christian Science Monitor: In Mexico it can be a long, frustrating pursuit for members of civil society or journalists to get even basic information from the government, despite an institution created to make it easier.
By Lauren Villagran. MEXICO CITY - A decade after Mexico created its Federal Institute for Access to Information (IFAI), civil society has more access to information on the federal government’s activities than ever before.
President-elect Enrique Peña Nieto – whose campaign was marred by accusations of vote buying and corruption – has proposed extending transparency requirements to state and local governments. He is pushing, too, for an anti-corruption panel and a citizen-led agency to oversee government spending.
On Thursday night, Mexico’s seven-member Federal Electoral Tribunal ruled unanimously to dismiss a complaint that this summer's election was marred by fraud, clearing the way for Mr. Peña Nieto to assume the presidency on Dec. 1. Read more.
By Lauren Villagran. MEXICO CITY - A decade after Mexico created its Federal Institute for Access to Information (IFAI), civil society has more access to information on the federal government’s activities than ever before.
President-elect Enrique Peña Nieto – whose campaign was marred by accusations of vote buying and corruption – has proposed extending transparency requirements to state and local governments. He is pushing, too, for an anti-corruption panel and a citizen-led agency to oversee government spending.
On Thursday night, Mexico’s seven-member Federal Electoral Tribunal ruled unanimously to dismiss a complaint that this summer's election was marred by fraud, clearing the way for Mr. Peña Nieto to assume the presidency on Dec. 1. Read more.
Aug 29, 2012
UPDATE 1-Mexico's electoral court set to confirm Pena Nieto victory
* Leftist runner-up alleges vote buying, overspending
* Court ruling due by Thursday or Friday - electoral sources
* Evidence seen as weak, PRI victory likely to be upheld
* Charges underscore challenges facing Mexican democracy
Michael O'Boyle. MEXICO CITY, Aug 28 - Mexico's electoral court is poised to
confirm President-elect Enrique Pena Nieto's victory in the July 1 ballot,
despite allegations of vote buying and money laundering during the campaign,
electoral officials and legal experts said.
Leftist runner-up Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, who lost the
presidential election by 3.3 million votes, challenged the result, alleging
that Pena Nieto's party used slush funds to buy votes and breached spending
limits. Read more.
Aug 3, 2012
Mexican retailer lashes out at losing presidential candidate
LA Times Blogs: Richard Fausset. MEXICO CITY -- One of Mexico's largest retailers has been unwillingly dragged into the hullabaloo over just how dirty the nation's recent presidential election was, and now it's yelling "ya basta!" -- enough already -- and accusing the runner-up of promoting protests at its stores that have been marked by "aggressiveness and violence."
The retail giant Soriana, which operates more than 500 grocery stores, quickie marts and Wal-Mart-style megastores, became entangled in the country's impassioned postelectoral narrative soon after the July 1 vote. At that time reports surfaced that supporters of the victorious Institutional Revolutionary Party, or PRI, were jamming the outlets' aisles in the hopes of redeeming prepaid Soriana gift cards that the PRI had allegedly given them. Read more.
The retail giant Soriana, which operates more than 500 grocery stores, quickie marts and Wal-Mart-style megastores, became entangled in the country's impassioned postelectoral narrative soon after the July 1 vote. At that time reports surfaced that supporters of the victorious Institutional Revolutionary Party, or PRI, were jamming the outlets' aisles in the hopes of redeeming prepaid Soriana gift cards that the PRI had allegedly given them. Read more.
Aug 2, 2012
Mexico: The Campaign Continues
NACLA: Fred Rosen. Confusion reigns in the post-campaign. The months following Mexico’s presidential election are turning out to be as conflictive and as revelatory of Mexican politics as the election itself. One of the nasty debates of the post-campaign centers around the testimony of a Mexican-American public relations hustler named José Luis Ponce de Aquino.
The PR man claims to have been approached by campaign functionaries of the victorious (maybe) Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI) and hired to use his many media contacts and his own media/public relations firm, Frontera Televisión Network LLP, to promote a favorable image of PRI candidate Enrique Peña Nieto in the United States. For his services, says Ponce de Aquino, he was offered (in writing) the outsized sum of $56 million dollars, but was never paid. Read more.
The PR man claims to have been approached by campaign functionaries of the victorious (maybe) Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI) and hired to use his many media contacts and his own media/public relations firm, Frontera Televisión Network LLP, to promote a favorable image of PRI candidate Enrique Peña Nieto in the United States. For his services, says Ponce de Aquino, he was offered (in writing) the outsized sum of $56 million dollars, but was never paid. Read more.
Jul 27, 2012
Protesters blockade Mexico's biggest TV station
Reuters: Thousands of protesters on Thursday blockaded the studios of Mexico's most popular TV network, accusing it of biased coverage of the July 1 presidential election.
Shouting "Tell the truth," the demonstrators, including students and union workers, stopped employees entering the offices of the Televisa studios in Mexico City although they allowed others to leave. Read more.
Shouting "Tell the truth," the demonstrators, including students and union workers, stopped employees entering the offices of the Televisa studios in Mexico City although they allowed others to leave. Read more.
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 23, 2012
Thousands turn out to march against election results in Mexico
AP: MEXICO CITY – Thousands marched through Mexico City's center on Sunday to protest what they called the "imposition" of the candidate of the old ruling party as the country's new president.
Protesters carried signs accusing presumed President-elect Enrique Pena Nieto of electoral fraud and Mexico television giant Televisa of being a "factory of lies." Opponents say Pena Nieto's party, the Institutional Revolutionary Party, won the July 1 election through vote-buying and overspending, including paying major media outlets such as Televisa for favorable coverage. Read more.
Protesters carried signs accusing presumed President-elect Enrique Pena Nieto of electoral fraud and Mexico television giant Televisa of being a "factory of lies." Opponents say Pena Nieto's party, the Institutional Revolutionary Party, won the July 1 election through vote-buying and overspending, including paying major media outlets such as Televisa for favorable coverage. Read more.
Jul 21, 2012
Mexico student movement plans more protests against Peña Nieto
latimes.com: MEXICO CITY -- The student-led movement that emerged in Mexico against president-elect Enrique Peña Nieto is planning another round of protests Sunday. The protests are part of a wave of demonstrations that began almost spontaneously during the presidential campaign and appear to still be drawing big crowds since the July 1 election.
The #YoSoy132 movement, or "I Am 132," said it will call demonstrations in "all public plazas" and at the presidential residence Los Pinos in Mexico City, in rejection of Peña Nieto's victory by more than 3 million votes over his nearest rival, Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador. Read more.
The #YoSoy132 movement, or "I Am 132," said it will call demonstrations in "all public plazas" and at the presidential residence Los Pinos in Mexico City, in rejection of Peña Nieto's victory by more than 3 million votes over his nearest rival, Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador. Read more.
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 20, 2012
#IAm132 demands that the TEPJF give credibility to the election
La Jornada: Americas Program Original Translation by Ryan Gentzler
See Spanish Original.
- Presents action proposal “to protect democracy”
- If the authority ignores complaints, there will be a “risk of social unrest”
Emir Olivares and Laura Poy. The commission of citizen’s watch and the #IAm132 movement’s legal and human rights committees presented a plan of action to “protect democracy, demand a clean electoral process, demand the invalidation of the presidential election and prevent the imposition [of Enrique Peña Nieto],” which includes participation in this Sunday’s “megamarch.”
Representatives of both organizations clarified that several points of the plan must be approved by the interuniversity congress that will be held on July 28 and 29 in Morelia, Michoacán.
In the press conference, they called on the Electoral Tribunal of Judicial Power (TEPJF) to “give credibility” to the election and contribute to cleaning up the polls, and said that calling them clean, equitable and transparent “would send a very bad message to society. The assessment of the electoral process has already been given by the citizens and it doesn’t favor the PRI’s candidate.”
They warned that if the electoral authorities ignore “the thousands of citizen complaints (about alleged irregularities) documented up to this point, it would be a step towards a serious risk of social unrest.”
- If the authority ignores complaints, there will be a “risk of social unrest”
Emir Olivares and Laura Poy. The commission of citizen’s watch and the #IAm132 movement’s legal and human rights committees presented a plan of action to “protect democracy, demand a clean electoral process, demand the invalidation of the presidential election and prevent the imposition [of Enrique Peña Nieto],” which includes participation in this Sunday’s “megamarch.”
Representatives of both organizations clarified that several points of the plan must be approved by the interuniversity congress that will be held on July 28 and 29 in Morelia, Michoacán.
In the press conference, they called on the Electoral Tribunal of Judicial Power (TEPJF) to “give credibility” to the election and contribute to cleaning up the polls, and said that calling them clean, equitable and transparent “would send a very bad message to society. The assessment of the electoral process has already been given by the citizens and it doesn’t favor the PRI’s candidate.”
They warned that if the electoral authorities ignore “the thousands of citizen complaints (about alleged irregularities) documented up to this point, it would be a step towards a serious risk of social unrest.”
Mexico’s conservative party joins leftists in demanding probe of presidential winner’s funding
In the latest development of the ongoing legal challenge to this month's presidential election, runner-up Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador and Gustavo Madero, national chairman of the PAN, have jointly accused the victorious PRI of laundering millions of dollars through front organizations to fund Enrique Peña Nieto's campaign and are demanding that the election be annulled.
AP: MEXICO CITY — Mexico’s conservative National Action Party said Thursday it has “strong and conclusive evidence of the use of illicit funds” in the campaign of the winner of the July 1 presidential election, Enrique Pena Nieto.
National Action leader Gustavo Madero said his group is joining with the country’s leftist parties to demand that electoral authorities investigate the use of pre-paid debit cards purportedly used by Pena Nieto’s campaign to distribute an estimated 108 million pesos ($8.2 million). That would be about a third of all the money he was legally allowed to use in the race. Read more.
Posted by Ryan Gentzler.
AP: MEXICO CITY — Mexico’s conservative National Action Party said Thursday it has “strong and conclusive evidence of the use of illicit funds” in the campaign of the winner of the July 1 presidential election, Enrique Pena Nieto.
National Action leader Gustavo Madero said his group is joining with the country’s leftist parties to demand that electoral authorities investigate the use of pre-paid debit cards purportedly used by Pena Nieto’s campaign to distribute an estimated 108 million pesos ($8.2 million). That would be about a third of all the money he was legally allowed to use in the race. Read more.
Posted by Ryan Gentzler.
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.
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