thebajarunner
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Registered: 9-8-2003
Location: Arizona....."Free at last from crumbling Cali
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Chew on this one!!! How our left sees their left!!
Winds of revolution blowing in México
By ALEJANDRA JUÁREZ
On July 2, 2006, Mexicans went to the polls to elect a new president for the next six years. The major contenders came from the Institutional
Revolutionary Party (PRI), Democratic Revolutionary Party (PRD), and National Action Party (PAN); Roberto Madrazo, Andrés Manuel López Obrador, and
Felipe Calderón respectively. Months before the election, polls showed López-Obrador (AMLO) leading by several points followed by Calderón with
Madrazo in third place. It was widely believed that AMLO would win by a landslide. To the public’s disillusionment, however, Calderón was named the
winner. And the struggle began.
Immediately after the announcement AMLO and his coalition ‘For the Good of All’ took action and began to organize and demand a full recount of the
votes. In subsequent weeks the PRD received several pieces of evidence including videotapes corroborating the charge of fraud. Unfortunately, the
outcome was not a surprise to the rank and file as this was yet another attempt to highjack democracy in México. The year before President Fox’s
administration had tried unsuccessfully to curb AMLO’s popularity, known as el desafuero, by accusing him of corruption and threatening him with
imprisonment which would disqualify him from the ballot. It is reported that one million supporters protested for days and, ultimately, the charges
were dropped.
As the elections were nearing and AMLO’s popularity was not waning, Felipe Calderón’s campaign headed by Dick Morris, a political campaign consultant
for Trent Lott, Pete Wilson, the Clintons, etc., and funded by Coca-Cola, Wal-Mart and Citygroup, began to compare AMLO with Hugo Chávez of Venezuela.
Calderón aired his propaganda on radio and television with the warning that AMLO was a threat to México and that he would plunge the country into
chaos. The ads were effective and AMLO’s numbers began to decline. The Federal Electoral Institute (IFE) ultimately managed to get the ads off the air
declaring them unconstitutional but the damage was done.
Corporate media readily painted AMLO as the evildoer. It seemed only the newspapers La Jornada and Reforma were reporting the facts. After the
elections, La Jornada reported that Calderon’s brother-in-law, Diego Zavala, a data processing tycoon, had designed programs for IFE and SEDESOL
(Social Development Secretary). According to John Ross, reporting for counterpunch.org, Josefina Vásquez Mota, former secretary of SEDESOL, was also
Calderon’s right hand which constitutes a federal crime. Ross states, “Utilizing voter registration rolls and lists of beneficiaries of government
programs is considered an electoral crime here.”
The TRIFE (Federal Electoral Tribunal) found enough irregularities to call for a recount. Only several precincts were recounted, however, not a
vote-by-vote like the PRD had asked. Throughout the process AMLO’s supporters kept their actions peaceful and no major incidents were reported. On
September 1st Mexican president Vicente Fox was prevented from giving his Informe (state of the union speech) which takes place annually in congress.
Leftist deputies numbering 155 stormed the congress and forced Fox to televise his speech from his residence, Los Pinos. A few days later the TEPJF
(Electoral Tribunal of the Federal Judiciary) declared Felipe Calderón president-elect.
Rumors surfaced that the TEPJF judges had been bribed. Many still believed that AMLO had been wronged. On September 15th, the Mexican day of
independence, AMLO and his followers took the Zócalo, Mexico City’s central square, and made el gríto, the call. Traditionally el gríto is made by the
president and celebrates the original call of independence made by Miguel Hidalgo. President Fox relinquished his right and instead made the call from
Dolores Hidalgo, Guanajuato, birthplace of the revolution.
The next day a massive National Democratic Convention (CND) took place in the Plaza de la Constitución. Leftist delegates from all over the country
and the public voted to name López-Obrador the real president of México and called Calderón an usurper. AMLO’s coalition called for a united front,
now called the Broad Progressive Front (FAP), to create a cabinet and to establish the new seat of government in México City. Reporting for ZNET, Dan
La Botz reported, “the organizers claimed that 1,025,724 delegates had actually registered to be present at the convention, coming from all of the 32
states of México…the new government was instructed to take power on November 20, the anniversary of the outbreak of the Mexican Revolution of 1910.”
The significance of the day is twofold. AMLO wants to place himself among national heroes such as Hidalgo, Juárez, and Zapata and also wants to
declare his presidency before Calderón officially takes office on December 1st. La Botz adds, “the next CND assembly was scheduled for Sunday, March
21 of 2007…CND is expected to organize the convocation of a Constituent Assembly to write a new constitution and re-found the Mexican government.”
AMLO is apparently drawing on his right to have a parallel government from article 39 of the Mexican Constitution which states, “The national
sovereignty resides essentially and originally in the people. All public power originates in the people and is instituted for their benefit. The
people at all times have the inalienable right to alter or modify their form of government.”
It is difficult to know where this emerging democratic movement will end up. Recent polls show that 30% of the population still believes electoral
fraud took place. What is certain is that this new movement will not succeed without mass support. AMLO’s platform is one of social and economic
justice, of local development, and of national sovereignty. He is a hope for México and those marginalized by the neoliberal agenda that has taken
root in the country. AMLO has refused to give up and submit to the status quo, a move that Gore and Kerry should have made. Perhaps this democratic
wave will sweep towards the north this November 7th. In any case, we should learn something from our neighbors; to raise our voices, take action, and
unite in the face of fascism. Too many times we see injustice not only at home but around the world and we don’t take action. We wait for someone else
to step up. Yet we wonder where all of our great leaders have gone. In the words of Senator Barack Obama, “step up to the challenge, become the leader
you want to see.”
Sources: Ross, John. Mexico's Surreal Elections: “Anatomy of a Fraud Foretold.” 7/7/06; www.counterpunch.org/ross07072006.html
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Al G
Ultra Nomad
Posts: 2647
Registered: 12-19-2004
Location: Todos Santos/Full time for now...
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Mood: Wondering what is next???
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Albert G
Remember, if you haven\'t got a smile on your face and laughter in your heart, then you are just a sour old fart!....
The most precious thing we have is life, yet it has absolutely no trade-in value.
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thebajarunner
Ultra Nomad
Posts: 3718
Registered: 9-8-2003
Location: Arizona....."Free at last from crumbling Cali
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Mood: muy amable
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| Quote: | | You CANNOT make this stuff up! |
Yeah, the whole article has sort of a 'surreal sense' to it.
Every month I pick up a left wing Peace & Freedom rag at our library, just to see what the kookoos are up to now.
This article fell out of it.....
By the by, wasn't Dick Morris the consultant who got caught sucking the toes of a hooker???
Saw him last night on O'Reilly and had to chuckle at the memory....
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JESSE
Ultra Nomad
Posts: 3370
Registered: 11-5-2002
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| Quote: | Originally posted by thebajarunner
In subsequent weeks the PRD received several pieces of evidence including videotapes corroborating the charge of fraud. |
That was all i had to read, since all videotapes where proven (even by the PRD themselves) to not contain anything fraudulent.
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