The election isn’t quite over, as López Obrador rallies his supporters today in the zócalo to say that he will protest the outcome of the election. One thing that caught my attention was that he said that if there is violence, it will because the government won’t permit a recount. They are planning another protest next Sunday. I assume that people from all over Mexico (especially the southern states) will march to Mexico City this week.
It was pretty amazing to see the downtown square packed full of supporters. That is one thing that amazes me living here. There are a lot of protests. One time, I was stuck downtown because a protest shut off a main road. Another day, I saw a TON of police officers out because there would be a protest later that day. Interesting that I can’t remember seeing a protest when I lived in the US.
Early today, the Federal Electoral Institute declared Felipe Calderón the winner of the election by half a percentage point, or about 200,000 votes. He is what the news is calling the “conservative” candidate. His opponent, however, is claiming that there was fraud in the election process, and on Saturday, they will be having a big demonstration in the Zócalo. They did clean up a lot of the election posters around town today, even if the election isn’t officially over yet.
According to the Associated Press, there’s a new leader in the Mexican Elections…again.
Well…the recount has begun. Still no news about the winner. It looks like Lopez Obrador is gaining. Waiting…
The voting is over, but the controversy is beginning. Both candidates claim victory in the Mexican Presidential race. It’s too close to call right now, so the Federal Electoral Institute is going to have the official count start on Wednesday. That means right now, they don’t know who won, even though both candidates (and their supporters) believe they won. The winner only needs to have the most votes. So, the whole country holds its breath until after the official count.
We usually get Fox News Channel on our Satellite dish here in Mexico, but because of the election on Sunday, they have blacked it out. They say that it’s due to the electoral law here. We read that it was because Fox was showing some results of opinion polls and talking about the elections. Anyway, it’s an interesting thing. I’m assuming it will be back on Monday after the elections are over.
It will probably be a hotly contested election for president. Please pray for a smooth election with no violence.
