The Mexican People: Heroes of Democracy
Wednesday, 23 August 2006, 2:17 pm
Opinion: Michael Collins
"We won't back down!"
The Mexican People:
Heroes of Democracy
"The only hope of Democracy, that fragile thing never granted but always promised, is gone by virtue of election fraud... and with it the social contract that holds our society together."
- Anonymous
By Michael Collins
"Scoop" Independent Media
Washington, DC
The Mexican peoples' democracy movement and their leader Andre's Manuel López Obrador are modern heroes of democracy and to all who demand clean elections. They recall the heroics of the Ukrainians with one important difference. There are no "great powers" supporting them. In fact, the American regime is hostile to a victory by Obrador and the Party of the Democratic Revolution (PRD). The increasingly unpopular and isolated White House cadre may have done its best to obstruct such an eventuality in ways which by now are predictably familiar. The Mexican people are alone, on the street, fighting the brave fight for people everywhere who believe in the inherently inalienable and natural right of men and women to determine their own destiny through free, fair, and transparent elections.
Supporters of democracy in Mexico are making a stand in the nation's capitol. They just had their third major demonstration with more than a million participants. The American press tried a theme of demonstrators growing weary recently, just before the latest seven figure gathering. The demonstrations tell Mexicans and the world that the election was so questionable, an investigation is mandated through a thorough review of the most direct evidence: the ballots. The PRD's demand for a "ballot by ballot, precinct by precinct" recount is fully warranted.
The short history of this election offers a wealth of evidence pointing to fraud. The PAN party of Vincente Fox engaged in a number of questionable activities. $270 million was reportedly diverted from education programs in order to sweeten the pot in some northern Mexican states via the governors. Calderon defeated Obrador by margins of 50% in some sections of the north and there were charges of massive election fraud.
During the campaign, the ruling PAN party engaged in distorted negative advertising attacks on Obrador which are clearly outlawed in Mexican campaigns. The electoral authorities cited the party of President Fox as being the primary culprit for this, but the damage was done and the lies were spread.
The "independent" election institute tipped its hand by reporting Calderon the probable winner only to face shame when citizens pointed out there were 2.5 million uncounted ballots. The election institute totaled these and by a remarkable "coincidence," Calderon's victory margin remained in tact.
The Los Angeles Times reported that Calderon gained 20% of his victory margin in just one of 300 election Districts:
In Guanajuato's District 13, one of 300 electoral districts across Mexico, Calderón piled up a 44,000 vote margin, equivalent to almost one-fifth of his nationwide edge over López Obrador, candidate of the Democratic Revolution Party, or PRD.
Narco News reports that the vote tabulation software for the "independent" election institute was written in part by the brother in law of Calderon, the winner by the current count. Calderon's brother in law denied this at first but admitted his role when confronted with evidence in the form of contracts.
Opening the seals on ballot boxes was reported frequently on election day, with accusations almost exclusively leveled at PAN activists.
Obrador supporters found ballots discarded, unreported, and uncounted in dumps and other hideaways.
Preliminary results from the 9% recount ordered by the election tribunal validate the suspicions raised and charges made by the Mexican Press, Narco News, and Obrador. On August 14, Narco News reported:
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