Rain in the Valle

Ken Ellingwood from the LAT has written a great little tale about the pretty much daily aguaceros in Mexico City:

"They're calling for rain today, but that's no surprise. Predicting rain on a summer day in Mexico City is like forecasting death in an old-folks home. It's bound to happen.

From springtime to autumn, it rains a lot here. Let me be clear: a lot.

The Mexico City government issues the same monotonous forecast each day: 80% or higher chance of rain. The only suspense is whether it will come with lightning or hail..."

Though it's not mentioned in the article, large parts of the Distrito Federal and Edomex, the nerve center of AMLO-landia, flooded on election day in 2006 (I served as an accredited IFE electoral observer in San Luis Potosi and DF). Contrary to popular opinion, voter turnout was down across the country on July 2, 2006 (59% compared to 64% and 71% in 2000 & 1994, though I don't have data for Mexico City). Mexico's near-term destiny might have been different if not for the torrential summer rains in the Valle de Mexico.