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 Editorials | Opinions | July 2006 
And the Winner is ...
 Chicago Tribune
| | Mexican presidential candidate Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, of the Democratic Revolution Party, (PRD), points to a document which he purported to show irregularities in the election process in Mexico City, Mexico, Monday, July 3, 2006. Leftist Mexican presidential candidate Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said Monday he will use all legal means to challenge the apparent electoral victory of his conservative rival, Felipe Calderon. (AP/Eduardo Verdugo) |
Mexico's closest-ever presidential race is still too close to call. That's a step forward when you consider that for most of the last century, the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI) had the election in the bag before the polls opened.
But Mexico could take a giant step backward in the wake of uncertainty over Sunday's vote, in which conservative Felipe Calderon of the ruling National Action Party (PAN) appears to lead Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador of the Democratic Revolution Party (PRD) by less than one percentage point.
Both candidates have claimed victory. But the Federal Electoral Institute says it will not declare a winner until an official tally of tens of thousands of ballot boxes, which begins Wednesday.
In the meantime, the country's bitterly divided population and its long history of rigged elections are a volatile combination - and one that Lopez Obrador, a populist with a knack for mobilizing street protests, seems willing to exploit.
Throughout the campaign, Lopez Obrador's supporters hinted that they would challenge the election results in the streets, if necessary. (His opponents, meanwhile, hinted that such protests would be sponsored by Venezuela's leftist bogeyman, President Hugo Chavez.)
With the election still up in the air, Lopez Obrador reminded supporters of the infamous 1988 election, in which the PRI candidate, headed for an apparent defeat, was miraculously elected after a fortuitously timed computer crash. "This is no longer the era of fraud, because the people will not accept it," Lopez Obrador said Sunday night. "It is no longer '88."
No, it isn't. And there's no reason, save for baiting the masses, to bring it up. Outrage over that election led to the establishment of Mexico's electoral commission, a body so widely respected that it has been invited to advise other countries, including Iraq, Haiti and Afghanistan, on how to run free and fair elections.
Lopez Obrador has offered no evidence that the integrity of Sunday's balloting is in doubt. His words don't inspire confidence in his respect for the electoral process before it's finished, much less after. Win or lose, his actions in the next few days will speak volumes about his commitment to a democratic Mexico.
For the good of Mexico - and the United States - the hope here is that Calderon's razor-thin lead will hold up. Lopez Obrador's plan to rebuild Mexico's economy through giant public works programs and government subsidies is likely to fuel a return to the days of runaway debt and inflation. Calderon promises to pursue the free-market reforms begun by outgoing President Vicente Fox. The closeness of the election reflects voters' impatience with the pace of progress under Fox, but the country is moving forward. This is no time for a hard left turn. |
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