Few Mexican citizens vote from abroad

By Juan Antonio Rodriguez \ EL PASO TIMES
Posted: 01/04/2012 12:00:00 AM MST

More than 20,000 Mexican citizens who live in foreign countries have submitted their applications to be included on the electoral nominal list, the Electoral Federal Institute said on Tuesday.

Inclusion on this list is a requirement for all Mexican citizens older than 18 who live abroad and want to vote in the presidential elections scheduled for July 1.

Through Tuesday, the Electoral Federal Institute, or IFE, confirmed receiving 20,105 applications.

Locally, very few Mexican citizens have gone to the Mexican Consulate General in El Paso to request their applications.

"Many Mexican citizens would rather wait to vote personally at the ballots in Juárez," said Luis Adrian Sosa, a spokes man for the consulate.

The 2005 electoral reform allowed Mexican citizens living abroad to vote during presidential elections in 2006, when Felipe Calderón became Mexico's president.

Their participation, though, was very low.

During that electoral process, 56,312 applications from Mexican citizens were received. Just 33,111 citizens could vote on time. Of those votes, 55.83 percent were cast by men and 44.17 percent by women.

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, 31.8 million people of Mexican origin live in the United States. According to IFE statistics, only 4 million people fulfill requirements to cast votes abroad.

Antonio Payan, a political analyst at the University of Texas at El Paso, said the decreasing number of Mexican residents applying to register to vote abroad is due to many factors, including a lack of interest because they have not seen any change in the government.

"Mexican residents who live abroad wanted to see some change during the 2000 and 2006 elections," Payan said. "They are disappointed from Partido Accion Nacional (PAN) and the violence going on in the country under the government of Felipe Calderón. However, they don't believe in Partido Revolucionario Institucional (PRI) either, and they blame it for their migration.

"Mexicans who live in the United States prefer to participate more in that country's politics rather than in their country of origin," he said.

Applications for Mexican citizens to cast their votes abroad can be obtained at embassies and consulates, or they can print applications from the website votoextranjero.mx. A participant needs to have a voter card.

The vote needs to be received in Mexico City less than 24 hours before July 1. Postage expenses will be covered by the Mexican government.

Juan Antonio Rodriguez may be reached at jrodriguez@elpasotimes.com; 546-6134.

http://www.elpasotimes.com/news/ci_19669527