It's often all in the name in Mexican politics

By Chris Hawley, USA TODAY

MEXICO CITY — The two leading candidates for governor in Mexico's mostly desert state of Sonora have a lot in common. They both grew up on cattle ranches, they're both federal senators — and they're both from the same family.

Alfonso ElÃ*as Serrano and Guillermo Padrés ElÃ*as are second cousins. And though the two men say they barely know each other, their relationship has become a campaign issue as opponents grumble that Mexican politics is still dominated by family ties and old-boy networks.

It's a nationwide complaint, as polls show voters across Mexico are frustrated with their politicians' inability to solve problems like drug violence and the economic recession.

Some grass-roots groups, and even a few politicians, are encouraging voters to protest the political status quo by spoiling their ballots in nationwide state and legislative elections July 5.

"There is a latent dissatisfaction" in Mexico right now, says Allyson Benton, a political studies professor at Mexico's Center for Research and Teaching in Economics. "We have these ongoing problems in Mexico: reductions in standards of living combined with growing problems in public security. The federal government and all political parties are complicit in some extent."

Mexico's democracy has made significant strides since 2000. That's when the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI) was voted out of office after more than seven decades of one-party rule, characterized by rigged elections. These days, three main parties alternate peacefully in power and voting is usually fair.

However, in many places, the names of the politicians haven't changed all that much. In Sonora, for example, the ElÃ*as family has held the governorship six times.

ElÃ*as Serrano, who is running for the PRI, and Padrés ElÃ*as, of the conservative National Action Party, have tried to downplay their family ties.

"You can't choose your relatives; you get them by chance," Padrés ElÃ*as said.

He said he only met ElÃ*as Serrano when they were both elected to Congress. ElÃ*as Serrano did not respond to requests for an interview.

The other three contenders in the race have made the relationship a campaign issue, referring to the front-runners as los primitos, "the little cousins" during rallies and debates.

"We live in a situation where a small group of chiefs are bought off by a bigger chief, and this keeps the values of certain groups and certain people in power," said Federico Saviñon, rector of the University of Hermosillo.

Nationally, some PRI-era structures have remained. For example, 200 of the 500 members of the Chamber of Deputies, the lower house of Congress, are named by their parties, not chosen by voters. And because Mexico has a nationwide, one-term limit for politicians, legislators do not have to be held accountable to voters in the next election.

Overall, the number of voters who think Mexico's political situation is improving dropped to 19.9% in April from 32.4% in February 2008, a poll by the Mitofsky consulting company showed.

Several online videos on YouTube and elsewhere encourage voters to mark their ballot sheets on June 5 with giant X's to show their dissatisfaction. Many of the videos have been collected on a website called tacheatodos.com — the site name means "cross them all out."

Some high-profile supporters have joined the protest campaign, including the ex-mayor of Puebla, Gabriel Hinojosa; the former president of the PRI, Dulce MarÃ*a Sauri; and Luis Alberto Bolaños, a fundraiser for former president Vicente Fox.

"Because of the incomplete transition (to democracy), the structures of control are now in the hands of so-called hidden powers, special interests that operate above the law," Sauri says in one of the YouTube videos.

Hawley is Latin America correspondent for USA TODAY and The Arizona Republic

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