How Mexico voted

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'El voto es libre y secreto'; election day news

Six years ago I was in Mexico as an accredited electoral observer with Alianza Civica and Global Exchange. After several days of activities in Mexico City my team set out for San Luis Potosi, making sure to pick up some beer before la ley seca went into effect. Despite viewing deliveries of building materials, like cinder blocks, and hearing of cash payouts intended to buy votes, election day in our little area was smooth and uneventful. The next several weeks were of course anything but uneventful.

Today we've got one eye on election day developments from Los Angeles with the other on Spain v. Italy. Here are the best reads that I've gotten through today.

The Financial Times has published this useful preview. LA native, Daniel Hernandez, gives a great summary of the #yosoy132 movement here and a rundown on AMLO's second bid here.

The ins and outs of the last couple of weeks, including the lamentable capture of some young guy who's not Chapo Guzman's son and Pena-Nieto's attempts to woo the SNTE, are detailed here.

Finally, here's the Guardian's major investigative piece on the collusion between Televisa and Pena-Nieto's campaign to distort public opinion in his favor through uncritical and favorable coverage. Televisa's response and the Guardian's rather devastating reply are here and here.

The Mexican Election is 7 Days Away...Time to Catch Up!

I'm incredibly behind in covering this election and all the 'really important stuff' that has gone down in the last few months. There will be more to come on #yosoy132, AMLO's flirtations with further civil unrest should he lose the elections, Vasquez-Mota's flop, & the awesome 'more Romney than Romney' spectacle that is Enrique Pena Nieto.

But before all that let's revisit IFE's bizarre decision to toss a 'ring girl' into the May 6 debate mix. That was weird. Score 1 for Mexico's dignity! Leave it to the students to restore a little integrity with their own debate on Tuesday night that was ignored by Televisa and TV Azteca, ostensibly because Pena Nieto chose not to participate.

Vazquez-Mota not building the narrative she hoped to

First, the PAN candidate shows up 4 hours late to her own campaign kick-off at Estadio Azteca and is welcomed by streams of people heading for the exits, worn-out from sitting under the sun all day. Then on a leaked phone call, she complains that Calderon's security chiefs are tapping her phones but not Chapo Guzman's, confirming for many the perceived pact Calderon has with el mero narco. Following that, the exhausted candidate nearly faints at a rally & so decides to invite the cameras into the gym so they can see for themselves that she's, I don't know, healthy? Lastly she says that she wants to 'strengthen money-laundering.' D'oh!

All silly and forgivable on their own, but in Mexico's compacted campaign season (the election is July 1) an accumulation of missteps may leave this candidate permanently in Pena-Nieto's dust.

By the way, I went to hear Vazquez-Mota speak here in LA in early March. While she was impressively composed and sharp with her answers, she was an hour late.