Mexico: Electoral Purity
What do you do if you are a Mexican politician wanting to get your message out to the public? Well if you are Demetrio Sodi, a PAN candidate for one of the 16 jefes delegacionales that make up Mexico City, you sneak an interview during the semifinals match between two of Mexico’s most popular soccer teams. Of course, Sodi’s interview has not been without a great deal of controversy.
Sodi’s main opponent, Ana Gabriela Guevara (PRD), a retired track star, is claiming that Sodi violated election rules by spending more money than is allowed for the interview. Sodi says that he just happened to be at the game and so the commentators asked him a few questions. He denies paying Televisa (the company broadcasting the game) anything. Guevara and the PRD claim that no broadcasting company gives out free interviews during such an important soccer game and so Sodi must be cheating.
Guevara and Sodi are running for the delegation of Miguel Hidalgo, one of the most important jefes delegacionales in Mexico City. Some of the ritzy neighborhoods and famous landmarks of Mexico City lie in Miguel Hidalgo. Furthermore, Miguel Hidalgo is the only jefe delegacional that is currently controlled by the PAN. The importance of the race means that the IEDF (Electoral Institute of the Federal District) has had to intervene. It will be until at least October before the IEDF reaches a decision on the case.
The IFE (the federal version of the IEDF) has also been busy with complaints about other illegal political practices. The General Counsel of the IFE has recently agreed to more than double a fine against the PAN for distributing ads with the headline, “PRImitivo.” This is a word that combines the PRI party with the Spanish word for primitive. The PAN were originally fined 465,800 pesos on the 20th of April. This past week, the IFE unanimously agreed to increase the fine to 931,600 pesos. On the other hand, the IFE refused this week to stop pro-Pan advertisements by a wrestler, Místico, and a taekwondo medalist, Iridia Salazar. The report by the IFE determined that “the promotional statements are not susceptible to producing irreparable damage to the complaining party, neither does it violate the governing rules of the electoral process, and so it does not encompass a constitutional violation (my translation).”
This has all occurred in a week when government officials have been forced to deny claims that a recent crackdown on mayors in the state of Michoacán was politically motivated. The government believes that the mayors and local officials that were arrested all had ties with La Familia, a drug organization that operates in Michoacán. La Familia has recently been designated by Mexico’s Attorney General as being the most dangerous gang in Mexico because of its ability to influence politicians through bribes and intimidation. The debate over the purity of the government’s motives will more than likely continue for the coming weeks while the mayors are tried in court.
