Election Fever 2012

As we enter the final weeks of the US election, I want to look back at Mexico's big day a few months ago.  An election cycle offers a condensed shot of a country's politics.  What is talked about?  What is ignored?  Who won?  How did they win?  How is the process covered by the media?  We learned so much about the intricacies of Mexican politics in this thrilling and historic time.

It is also interesting to note the differences from the way we do things back home.  Yes, the corruption here is unparalleled, but there are some advantages -at least structurally- to the Mexican process.  The candidates have a strict 3-month window to campaign, not a day more.  There are limitations to spending.  Also, there's an independent, non-partisan committee to tally the votes (called the IFE).  The president is elected by a popular vote, and after a six-year term, he or she cannot run for reelection.  Despite all this, Mexicans expect scandal in the political process.  Vote-buying, skewed media coverage, fraud...

The video above summarizes the several hours of nervous anticipation awaiting results on the Zócalo.  DF's favored presidential candidate Andrés Manuel Lopez Obrador, or AMLO, set up a stage here in case of a victory.  AMLO and the rest of us in the city suffered a bitter defeat.

-PJ