As he discusses the recent Mexican presidential election,
Alfonso Galindo offers to show his Mexican voting card, eagerly
looking through his wallet hoping to find it. He wants to show his
proof he can vote.
“I think I left it at home so I don’t lose it. Your
voting card is like your social security card in Mexico,”
said Galindo, a Mexican citizen and the UCLA representative to all
discussions and interactions the university has with the
country.
Voting and the political process has become a part of
Galindo’s identity. Since he was 18, the age a citizen can
legally vote in Mexico, Galindo has been actively involved in
campaigning in every presidential election out of faith he had in
each candidate’s vision for Mexico.
But this election was different.
“Experience has shown me that participating in campaigns
does not bring you anything important unless you are really close
to the candidate. I don’t believe that any of the candidates
would have been a great leader for Mexico,” Galindo said.
Galindo traveled back to his native city of Guanajuato to vote,
going to a local polling place at an elementary school. He said he
decided to vote for a candidate other than the two leading ones
since he did not agree with either of their platforms.
Last Wednesday, the Federal Electoral Tribunal announced the
conservative Felipe Calderón as the winner of the presidential
election in Mexico, less than one percent ahead of leftist
contender Andrés Manuel López Obrador.
But because López Obrador is contesting the results, the
tribunal has until Sept. 6 to announce the president-elect.
Galindo said the contenders came from two ideologically
divergent parties that have come to represent a divided country,
and these ideological battles dictated the election, he said.
“None of them have really explained to the public what
should be done to make Mexico better in the world economy. They
have been degrading each other on ideological, not practical
statements. None of them are focused on making Mexico a better and
more competitive place,” Galindo said.
And with such a close election and with Mexico’s past
plagued by political conspiracy, especially in regards to
fraudulent voting, Galindo said he believes some citizens still
continue to question the validity of the results.
The previous government was led and continued by a president of
the Institutional Revolution Party for 71 years.
That system was replaced when Vicente Fox, Mexico’s
current outgoing president, was elected six years ago.
Galindo was a member of Fox’s campaign team six years ago,
because he said he had faith in the new leader’s vision for
the Mexican people and in a new governing body.
“When President Fox won the election it was a great
democratic merit because the country had been governed for 70 years
by one single party,” Galindo said. “For the first time
there was a change in the government.”
But with such high public expectations, Galindo said he believes
Fox was a better candidate than he was an actual official.
With Calderón now possibly at the head of Mexico’s
government and continuing the presence of a conservative party,
Galindo said he hopes the president will be more efficient than Fox
in choosing the right people to help make Mexico a better
place.
According to the Los Angeles Times, the president-elect will
face problems such as slow economic growth, poverty, pollution and
underemployment. He will also inherit a stable economy, a balanced
federal budget and valuable natural resources such as
petroleum.
Galindo said he hopes Mexico’s next leader will produce a
plan for Mexicans to unite, understand the challenges globalization
poses for the country and work together to compete economically
with other counties.
Not all Mexican citizens can vote, including those who are
abroad illegally. Carlos, a second-year graduate student who wished
to give only his first name because of his undocumented status, did
not vote in the past election. To register to vote, he would need
to return to his hometown in Mexico, which he fears would endanger
his position in the United States.
But if he could vote, Carlos said he would have chosen
Calderón, since the president would represent the party of the
incumbent and continue its ideology of a free market.
This election, he said, is different since in the past Mexican
citizens had a sense that the elections were rigged and would
expect the presence of the PRI as the leading party.
“Before, … we knew who was going to win. Now, for the
first time, we going to have different political parties taking
turns. In the Mexican society, there’s a need to develop
culture of democracy that was nonexistent over 70 years,”
Carlos said.
With such close election, a quarter of a million citizens
gathered Saturday in Mexico City’s central square to protest
the results. López Obrador addressed to the crowd he will
present allegations to the tribunal regarding what he believes are
fraudulent vote tallies.
“There is convincing evidence that they took votes away
from us,” López Obrador said to the crowd. “We are
certain that we won on July 2, and we are going to defend our
victory.”
Galindo said the ideological battles need to stop between them
and one needs to gracefully accept the other as the president-elect
so that the country can begin to look forward to the next six years
under a new leadership.
“Hopefully it comes to a peaceful end with benefits for
all the people. The match is over and we are going to have to move
on,” Galindo said.
With reports from Bruin wire services.