By: Stuart Smith
Impunity Watch, North America Deck
MEXICO CITY, Mexico – On July 22, 2012, thousands of protesters marched through the center of Mexico City to protest the official result of the country’s recent presidential election, which declared Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI) candidate Enrique Pena Nieto Mexico’s presumptive President-elect.
According to Xinhua News, protesters, organized by “Yo soy 132” (I am 132), a student movement, and supported by runner-up Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, took to the streets Sunday expressing their outrage at the result of the July 1 election with banners decrying the “imposition” of the PRI’s Nieto on Mexico and chanting slogans such as “Pena Out” and “Fraud, Fraud.”
The protest began when thousands of demonstrators rallied outside Los Pinos, Mexican President’s official residence and office, who then marched down the capital’s main avenue, Paseo de la Reforma, to the city’s square. Reuters reported that Mexican officials estimated as many as 30,000 protesters took part in the rally. Yet, despite the large crowd, authorities said the protest was peaceful.
Nieto and the PRI are accused of buying votes and arranging favorable media coverage from Televisa, one of Mexico’s main television networks, reported BBC News. In an interview with Reuters, Luis Martinez, a 25-year-old engineering student from Mexico City, said, “the people have woken up. The people realize that the PRI violated the elections.” Echoing similar sentiment, marcher Marlem Munoz told Fox News, “Mexico didn’t vote for fraud. Mexico wants a country that is honest and democratic. What happened in the elections was a total mockery directed at the Mexican people.”
However, the PRI denied the charges, countering that Lopez Obrador is attempting to “disqualify the entire electoral process with lies.” Televisa, also, denied accepting money in exchange for positive coverage.
Yet, despite these denials, the PRI has a history of employing fraud to win elections. The PRI’s 71-year rule, reported Reuters, which ended in 2000, was marred by allegations of corruption, vote-rigging, and violent repression of dissent.
Lopez Obrador is currently seeking to nullify the election result at the federal election tribunal. Last week, Obrador and opposition parties presented to the tribunal evidence which, they claim, shows that the PRI purchased votes with money earned from drug trafficking activities.
The election tribunal has until September 6, when the final vote count must be certified and an official President-elect must be declared, to rule on the challenge. The President will then be sworn in on December 1.
For further information, please see:
Xinhua News – Thousands march in Mexico City to protest election results – 23 July 2012
Reuters UK – Thousands march in Mexico to protest Pena Nieto win – 23 July 2012
BBC News – Mexicans in new protest at Pena Nieto election victory – 22 July 2012
Fox News – Thousands turn out to march against election results in Mexico – 22 July 2012
