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 Editorials | April 2005 
Defending Democracy In Our Backyard
 Adam Keith - Cavalier Daily
| | "The writer Carlos Fuentes once said that Mexico should jump from the edge of necessity to the space of freedom. I am convinced that our democracy has given us a new space of freedom: freedom to discuss debate and together, build the Mexico of well-being with justice we have always dreamed of." -President Vicente Fox Quesada |
With all the talk of spreading democracy around the world, it is astonishing how little attention has been given to the breakdown of democracy in our own backyard. Right now, a political showdown is taking place in Mexico that will determine whether its tentative steps into competitive democracy will be reversed. Hopefully, American political leaders will acknowledge the degree to which the fortunes of Mexico and the United States are intertwined and take steps to encourage the maintenance of democracy and stability in Mexico.
The crisis began when political opponents of the initial frontrunner in 2006 the presidential race, Mexico City mayor Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, tried to disqualify his candidacy by indicting him on charges of contempt of court. Because these charges stem from a very minor dispute (Lopez Obrador was held in contempt of court for his slowness in complying with a court order to halt the construction of an access road to a hospital), many have speculated that these charges were politically motivated. This suspicion was confirmed when the two opposition parties joined in voting to remove Lopez Obrador's immunity from prosecution in the Mexican Congress on April 7.
This political fiasco could potentially have very grave consequences for the Mexican people. First, the blatantly opportunistic attempt to disqualify the initially most popular presidential candidate undermines the legitimacy of Mexico's democratic institutions. Moreover, since Mexico only emerged from seven decades of corrupt one-party rule under the PRI with the 2000 election of current president Vicente Fox, Mexico's institutions are particularly vulnerable to doubts about corruption and legitimacy.
In addition to this, the move to disqualify Lopez Obrador has generated a harsh reaction from the Mexican people that threatens the country with political unrest. The April 7 vote in the Congress brought a crowd of 150,000 protestors to Mexico City according to an April 14 release from the Economist magazine.
Moreover, 80 percent of Mexicans oppose the Congress' decision to remove immunity from Lopez Obrador according to a poll cited in the April 11 issue of the San Diego Union-Tribune, while a poll conducted by the Institute of Marketing and Opinion stated that Lopez Obrador has gone from a seven-point lead in opinion polls with 32 percent of the electorate before the crisis began to currently garnering 45 percent of the Mexican vote. The Los Angeles Times reported that these fears of unrest caused the Mexican stock market to plunge downwards, losing 12 percent of its value.
While this crisis clearly has tremendous implications for the Mexican people, it also has the potential to severely impact the American economy. Mexico is America's second largest trading partner with more than $266 billion in trade passing between the two nations in 2004. If the continued threat of unrest causes Mexico's economy to slip into recession, the implications will clearly be felt by workers in the United States.
In addition to this, sudden political unrest and economic disruption in Mexico could cause a sudden spike in immigration that would severely strain the resources of the Department of Homeland Security and the Border Patrol. This could in turn degrade America's ability to deal with other pressing security threats such as drug trafficking and terrorism.
Supporters of banning Lopez Obrador say that he is a dangerous leftist populist who will threaten both Mexican democracy and American interests, and that bringing charges against him despite popular outrage is a step towards maintaining the rule of law. Supporters of indicting Lopez Obrador should remember that he has showed his moderation by urging his supporters to act within the confines of the law, and that barring an overwhelmingly popular presidential candidate from running will create a popular backlash that will do much more harm to Mexican democracy and American interests than Lopez Obrador would ever be able to achieve on his own.
Moreover, the claim that charging Lopez Obrador is consistent with maintaining the rule of law ring hollow considering that he is being charged for a relatively minor offense while no officials from the opposition PAN (Partido Accion Nacional) and PRI parties were tried for egregious campaign finance violations during the 2000 election.
With this in mind, President Bush should pressure Vicente Fox to encourage Mexican prosecutors to drop the charges against Lopez Obrador. Moreover, U.S. diplomats should also join with other nations in the Western Hemisphere to condemn the attempt to exclude Lopez Obrador from the upcoming presidential election.
Whatever happens, American officials clearly need to do more to encourage the resolution of this ongoing crisis of democracy. Hopefully, they will realize that America is no better off if democracy flowers halfway across the world while it disintegrates right next door. |
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