Thread: Election battle engulfs Chiapas, Mexico

Election battle engulfs Chiapas, Mexico

By JULIE WATSON Associated Press Writer
© 2006 The Associated Press

TUXTLA GUTIERREZ, Mexico — A tight governor's race Sunday in Mexico's poorest state has become the latest political battleground for the country's leftist party, which is disputing the results of last month's presidential election.

The governor's race in the southwestern state of Chiapas has been a fierce fight, with both sides hurling allegations of manipulation, vote-buying and dirty campaigning. Many feared that a loss by the leftist Democratic Revolution Party, or PRD, could spark confrontations in Chiapas, the site of bloody political clashes in the past.

Polls have shown PRD candidate Juan Sabines, 38, running neck-and-neck with Jose Antonio Aguilar Bodegas, 56, of the Institutional Revolutionary Party, or PRI.

Victoria Anta Carrillo, 64, one of first voters to arrive Sunday, planned to attend a service later to pray that voting takes place without violence.

"Chiapas is a point of influence for other states, and for that reason we must be more aware of who we vote for, and we have to pray that everything turns out well," she said.

Mexico's capital and the southern city of Oaxaca have been under siege by political protests for more than a month. The PRD's presidential candidate, Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, has called for around-the-clock protest camps to try to overturn the slight advantage Felipe Calderon of the National Action Party has in the July 2 presidential vote, citing election fraud.

The Federal Electoral Court has until Sept. 6 to announce a president-elect or annul the election.

In a surprise move, President Vicente Fox's National Action Party, or PAN, withdrew its candidate in Chiapas and threw its support behind Aguilar. It was the first time National Action has formed an alliance with the PRI since Fox ended the PRI's 71-year hold on the presidency in 2000.

Some, though, had little faith in either candidate.

"Neither one is going to make a difference in my life," said Pascuala Lopez, a Tzotzil Indian woman selling grilled corn on the cob in San Cristobal de Las Casas.

Sabines, who cast his ballot as chickens crowed at a nearby daycare center in the state capital of Tuxtla Gutierrez, said his victory would help stabilize the country.

"This election will be peaceful, we hope, and is going to contribute to the governability of the country," Sabines said.

But others cited problems. Miguel Ballinas, a PAN spokesman in Chiapas, said a polling place in the Indian town of Rincon Chamula only had been open for five minutes Sunday when local authorities announced that all had voted.

Indian communities often make decisions _ including who should be elected _ by consensus, but most villages still have people cast individual ballots.

Ballinas said three PAN observers were being held there by local authorities and were not allowed to see whether the community had stuffed the ballot boxes before shutting down the voting place. He said the party planned to file a complaint.

"Everyone there votes for the PRD; that has always been the case," he said. "Someone is benefiting from that poll."

On Saturday, police said they had arrested four men linked to an alleged vote-buying scheme in Chiapas. Authorities said the suspects were caught trying to give away 36 tons of construction material to Hurricane Stan victims who promised to support Sabines.

Aurora Guillen, a PRD spokeswoman, said the party had no ties to the suspects and denied it was involved in vote buying. She charged that the PRI was behind the accusations.

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/ap/ ... 29228.html

But others cited problems. Miguel Ballinas, a PAN spokesman in Chiapas, said a polling place in the Indian town of Rincon Chamula only had been open for five minutes Sunday when local authorities announced that all had voted.

Why waste time when the results have already been decided?

Looks like it hasn't been decided yet.

http://www.niagara-gazette.com


2 Candidates Declare Victory in Chiapas

By JULIE WATSON
The Associated Press


TUXTLA GUTIERREZ, Mexico —

Two candidates declared themselves the winner of a tight governor's race in a volatile southern Mexican state, which some feared would escalate the nationwide political crisis following last month's disputed presidential election.

Preliminary results in the Chiapas state race Sunday showed only about 4,000 votes separating Juan Sabines, of the Democratic Revolution Party, or PRD, and Jose Antonio Aguilar Bodegas, of the Institutional Revolutionary Party, or PRI.

With about 92 percent of polling places reporting results, Sabines was leading with 48.5 percent, or 510,239 votes, compared to Aguilar's 48.1 percent, or 506,200 votes.

Both camps held celebrations within blocks of each other in the steamy state capital of Tuxtla Gutierrez, with hundreds of people dancing and cheering.

Tensions have been running high in Mexico since the July 2 presidential vote, which leftist candidate Andres Manual Lopez Obrador lost to his conservative rival Felipe Calderon by about 0.6 percent, according to the official vote count.

Lopez Obrador has alleged fraud and his supporters have maintained protest camps in the heart of the capital for the last three weeks to demand a full recount, choking traffic in the megalopolis of more than 20 million. The Federal Electoral Court has until Sept. 6 to announce a president-elect or annul the election.

Lopez Obrador said he was keeping a close eye on developments in Chiapas.

His party ally Sabines, 38, said a PRD victory in Mexico's southernmost state would help stabilize the country.

But Aguilar, 56, challenged his rival in a speech to supporters Sunday night to "scrutinize the race ballot box by ballot box to prove who won the elections" _ echoing a similar demand Lopez Obrador has made of outgoing President Vicente Fox's National Action Party, or PAN.

In a surprise move two weeks ago, PAN withdrew its candidate and threw its support behind Aguilar. It was the first time PAN has formed an alliance with PRI since Fox ended PRI's 71-year hold on the presidency in 2000.

Many fear a loss in Chiapas by PRD could spark confrontations in Mexico's poorest state, which is no stranger to bloody clashes. Zapatista rebels rose up briefly here in 1994 in the name of Indian rights, and there has been sporadic violence since then between radical members of the political parties, although recent years have been quiet.

"Chiapas is a point of influence for other states, and for that reason we must be more aware of who we vote for," said Victoria Anta Carrillo, 64, among the first to arrive at the polls. "And we have to pray that everything turns out well."

About 1,000 national and foreign observers monitored the vote, with one group saying problems were widespread. Enrique Vera of the Mexican Electoral Observation Movement said irregularities included busing in voters and other tactics to boost Sabines' vote total.

Police arrested four men for possible electoral violations, including a prominent labor leader allegedly carrying about $5,000 in cash to buy votes for PRI. The union denied the charges.

Meanwhile, Miguel Ballinas, a spokesman for PAN in Chiapas, said that local authorities in one Indian village opened the polls for just five minutes before saying the voting was complete.

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/world/4132210.html

Aug. 22, 2006, 1:12AM

Close election in Chiapas spurs another protest
Associated Press

TUXTLA GUTIERREZ, MEXICO - The dispute over Mexico's presidential vote took a new twist Monday as a gubernatorial candidate backed by the ruling party vowed to protest a state race where the main leftist party held a slight edge.

As supporters of leftist presidential candidate Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador clogged the country's capital with protests to demand a recount of the July 2 presidential election, President Vicente Fox's party cried fraud and demanded a recount in Sunday's governor's race in Chiapas, Mexico's poorest state.

Preliminary results in the southern state showed little more than 2,000 votes separating the two candidates. Both claimed victory late Sunday and held celebrations within blocks of each other.

With 94 percent of 4,761 polling places counted, Juan Sabines of Lopez Obrador's Democratic Revolution Party, or PRD, was leading with 48.39 percent, or 517,129 votes. Jose Antonio Aguilar Bodegas had 48.17 percent, or 514,743 votes.

Aguilar, a 56-year-old lawyer and former federal senator, is a member of the Institutional Revolutionary Party, or PRI, but also is backed by Fox's conservative National Action Party, which formed a last-minute alliance with the PRI.

Margarita Moya, a spokeswoman for the state's electoral institute, said officials expected to finish the preliminary count Monday but would not announce a winner until late in the week.




http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercuryn ... 331278.htm

Posted on Tue, Aug. 22, 2006

Chiapas election in dispute
TOP CANDIDATES CLAIM VICTORY IN GOVERNOR'S RACE
By Julie Watson
Associated Press

TUXTLA GUTIÉRREZ, Mexico -- Mexico, mired for nearly two months in a presidential election dispute, woke up Monday to a disputed governor's vote in the country's poorest state.

In Sunday's Chiapas state race, the candidate backed by President Vicente Fox's party, José Antonio Aguilar Bodegas, vowed to contest the vote if he loses to the main leftist party.

Preliminary results in southern Chiapas state showed little more than 2,000 votes separating the two candidates.

With 94 percent of 4,761 polling places counted, Juan Sabines of the Party of the Democratic Revolution, or PRD, was leading with 48.39 percent, or 517,129 votes. Aguilar had 48.17 percent, or 514,743 votes.

Both claimed victory late Sunday and held celebrations within blocks of each other -- as if there were a clear winner.

Aguilar, a 56-year-old lawyer and former federal senator, is a member of the Institutional Revolutionary Party, or PRI, but also is backed by Fox's conservative National Action Party, or PAN, which formed a last-minute alliance with the PRI to try to defeat Sabines.

Margarita Moya of the state's electoral institute said officials expected to finish the preliminary count Monday but would not announce a winner until late in the week.

Aguilar told reporters early Monday that his party's own tallies showed he had won by more than 5,000 votes. He said his party had found irregularities with 10,000 votes, and planned to file complaints with electoral officials, and possibly Mexico's Federal Electoral Tribunal if he is not declared governor-elect.

``The election was extremely tainted,'' he said.

The federal tribunal's seven judges are currently reviewing a partial recount of the disputed July 2 presidential race in which PAN candidate Felipe Calderón had a slight advantage of about 240,000 ballots, or less than 1 percent of the vote, over Andrés Manuel López Obrador. The tribunal has until Sept. 6 to announce a president-elect or annul the election.

Sabines, meanwhile, welcomed such scrutiny, saying he had no doubts about his victory.

``The results are in my hand,'' the former Tuxtla Gutiérrez mayor told the Associated Press.

He vowed to unify Chiapas, home to the 1994 Zapatista rebel uprising, where many feared the election would exacerbate the national political crisis that has erupted in the wake of the presidential election.

About 1,000 national and foreign observers monitored the vote, with one group saying problems were widespread. Enrique Vera of the Mexican Electoral Observation Movement said irregularities included busing in voters and other tactics to boost Sabines' vote total. Sabines said Monday his party had run a clean race.

Seeing all the corruption and unrest the last thing I would do is invest any of my money in Mexico.

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/ap/fn/4131954.html

Aug. 21, 2006, 8:03PM
Foreign Investment Up in Mexico


© 2006 The Associated Press

MEXICO CITY — Foreign investment in Mexico increased 16.5 percent in the first half of 2006 as compared to the same period last year, in what Mexican officials interpreted as a sign of confidence in the country's future despite ongoing disputes over the July 2 presidential elections and violent protests in the colonial city of Oaxaca. Assistant Secretary of the Economy Alejandro Gomez predicted investors would continue to pump money into projects in Mexico, saying 2006 "is on track to be one of the best years." "These figures are a reflection of the confidence that foreign investors have in the economic path and social and political stability of our country," Gomez said. However, the worst of the protests started in late May, and the presidential campaign protests in July, so investors' reactions to those events probably wasn't reflected in the first-half figures.