The Al Gore of Mexico loses an election, recount and all

By Raoul Lowery Contreras
 

          Demonstrators here, demonstrators there, thousands camping in the heart of Mexico City, access to the New York Times, journalistic and Al Gore like silliness all while nine percent of the vote cast in the July 2^nd Mexican Presidential election is recounted.

           Counted and recounted and the vote totals don’t change. While loser Obrador claims he gained 14,000 votes in the recount, he didn’t. At best 1,500 votes changed hands. Thus, the July 2^nd winning quarter million vote plurality of conservative Felipe Calderon over leftist crybaby Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador (AMLO) stands.

           For some reason, the New York Times published an Op-Ed piece by AMLO that reeks of silliness and lack of proof that the party of President Vicente Fox stole the July 2 election. His demand for a full recount of all 41-million votes has no legal basis unless he can prove fraud and corruption in every single (precinct) casilla in Mexico as required by Mexican election law or the Mexican Constitution. Nonetheless, he demands a full recount of all votes.

           Here are his reasons for a total recount as published in his Op-Ed piece in the New York Times:

1. "…the (Election) Tribunal itself acknowledged evidence of arithmetic mistakes and fraud, noting that there were errors at nearly 12,000 polling stations in 26 states (out of 139,000 voting stations). Contreras replies: The Election Tribunal ordered a vote recount in those very voting stations Obrador complained about, additionally, legally, complaints had to be made on Election Day.
2. "…Voters were subjected to a campaign of fear. President Vicente Fox, who backed (winner) Mr. Calderon, told Mexicans to change the rider, but not the horse --- a clear rebuke to the social policies to help the poor and disenfranchised that were at the heart of my campaign. Business groups spent millions of dollars in television and radio advertising that warned of an economic crisis were I (Obrador) to win." Obrador doesn’t seem to understand that two thirds of the Mexican electorate rejected his campaign of "social policies to help the poor." As to business groups, why shouldn’t they be allowed to express their opinion of who was best for President? Is Mexico not a free country?
3. "Where support for my coalition was strong, applicants for government assistance were REPORTEDLY (emphasis added) required to surrender their voter registration cards, thereby leaving them disenfranchised." Would those who can prove their voter registration card was confiscated and that they couldn’t vote on Election Day show us their sworn written complaints at the voting stations filed in front of witnesses from all political parties on Election Day?
4. I believe that on Election Day there was direct manipulation of votes and tally sheets." First, Obrador’s own party admits that it didn’t have representatives/observers at 30 percent of the 139,000 voting stations. Moreover, the only evidence the public has seen so far is one man in a blue shirt transferring congressional votes from a Presidential ballot box to a congressional ballot box that Obrador’s own observers signed off on.
5. "Polls show that at least a third of Mexican voters believe the election was fraudulent and NEARLY half support a full recount." Obrador ignores the fact that the only people who think the election was fraudulent are his supporters, not the two thirds who voted against him.

          More importantly, we find a pro-Obrador Op-Ed in the Herald of Mexico (El Universal) by Fred Rosen that pinpoints the real reasons Obrador refuses to admit defeat.

          Rosen wrote: "The bill of particulars submitted (by Obrador’s party) to the Federal Electoral Tribunal…was mostly about the illegitimacy of the process: the "black propaganda" of the negative campaign; the intervention and support of federal authorities in favor of Calderon; the lack of IFE (official) intervention against PAN irregularities; the unauthorized use of official voter rolls; religious propaganda against AMLO (Obrador); (and) excessive spending by the PAN and its supporters."

           In other words, the main charges by Obrador and his supporters have myriad facets: We didn’t have enough money—we didn’t have support of the church and religious people – we aren’t very good at modern campaigning. And, because we have never won a national election, except when we were part of the corrupt oligarchy of the former ruling party, the PRI, we don’t know what we are doing.

          Note: From the London TimesOnline—"On July 2, 970,000 representatives of all political parties, 25,000 professional monitors and 639 international observers from the EU and elsewhere watched the casting and counting of ballots. Overwhelmingly, they judged the elections to have been fair and transparent." Was Jimmy Carter there?

           "Only," the Times reported, "when the final count showed that (Obrador) had, contrary to expectations, lost…did he and his (party) cry foul."

Extensive financial irregularities by Obrador’s party and campaign have drawn a record of millions of dollars in fines while Calderon’s Party was being fined far less for a handful if political and campaign financial irregularities.

           Reports out of the recount infrastructure show that like most recounts a few votes are changed from one candidate to another but as is usual observers do not see any large vote movement among the very voting stations Obrador claims were manipulated.

           At the same time the election tribunal has formally certified the congressional vote that was cast heavily in President Fox’s party favor giving it (PAN) the largest number of congressional deputies and federal senators for the first time ever. One would presume that if a plurality of Mexican voters voted nationally for the PAN party they would also cast their votes for the Pan Presidential candidate.

           Momentarily, then, Felipe Calderon of the National Action Party (PAN) should be formally declared the winner of the Mexican Presidency. When that happens, Mexico, Mexicans and the United States win. AMLO will hit the streets again and lead protests for "years" as he threatens the country to do if the country doesn’t throw out 41-million votes and declare him the winner. Shades of Al Gore.

Contreras’ book—THE ILLEGAL ALIEN: A DAGGER INTO THE HEART OF AMERICA?? is reviewed and available at www.amazon.com, www.banresandnoble.com and from the publisher, www.floricantopress.com