Commentary: Mexico’s Election, 2006

The election is extremely contested and there is no clear victor yet, though the candidates represent the spectrum of ideologies sought to lead Mexico out of poverty and dependency. The elite and business interests, who support the PRI and increasingly, the PAN, try to peg Lopez Obrador as a Hugo Chavez in television ads, however AMLO’s record is hardly that of a leftist but more of a centrist. Even Subcommandante Marcos, the EZLN revolutionary leader fighting in Chiapas for Indigenous rights has called AMLO a “false left-wing” candidate.

AMLO compares himself to Franklin Delano Roosevelt, and it is appropriate to say that during his tenure as “mayor” of Mexico City, he did institute many programs to help the poorest citizens and his brand of New Dealism was welcome by the overwhelming majority of Capitalinos (Mexico City residents). However, AMLO’s rule in the capital has also seen the hiring of Republican Rudolph Giuliani to deal with crime and the gentrification of parts of the City in order to restore the historic downtown. His reign is more akin to that of Lazaro Cardenas, president of Mexico in the 1930s, who nationalized oil reserves and instituted many programs for the poor that lead to a whole generation of poor Mexicans accessing higher education. In those times, the British openly boycotted Mexico, but in the end, this move allowed Mexico to build its infrastructure and become a giant in oil production. While the Bush administration would prefer another Vicente Fox, it has been very quiet. Some conservatives even believe that a populist who brings renewed hope to Mexico may stem immigration.

Speaking to residents of the Tenderloin from Michoacán and Yucatan, it is evident that Lopez Obrador has over-whelming support of Mexican immigrants in the U.S. However, because it is near impossible to return to Mexico to vote, most of the four million Mexicans abroad will not have much of a say in the election. Mexico needs change as witnessed in the recent eruptions of violence in the southern state of Oaxaca, the on-going civil war in the state of Chiapas, the treatment of Indigenous people, the huge gap between rich and poor, and the failure of NAFTA, in particular in protecting Mexican farmers. Of note, the PAN candidate, Felipe Calderon, canceled his trip to Oaxaca during its unrest, which indicate his party’s refusal to deal with the county’ poorest citizens. In summation, it is best to heed the word of respected historian and writer, Carlos Fuentes, in his open letter dated June 7th, to the PAN and PRI, parts of which are translated below:

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