Home » Mexico welcomes “the bloodiest” elections: some people flinched and others “fight”|Voters|Mexico_Sina News

Mexico welcomes “the bloodiest” elections: some people flinched and others “fight”|Voters|Mexico_Sina News

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Original title: Mexico welcomes the “bloodest” elections: some people flinched, others “fight”

On June 6, local time, Mexico will usher in the largest midterm election in history. About 95 million registered voters will elect more than 21,000 positions.

This is also the bloodiest election in Mexico’s modern history. According to statistics, at least 89 politicians were killed in the 200-odd days after the start of the election campaign, 35 of whom were candidates for the midterm election. In addition, there have been 782 attacks on politicians and candidates across Mexico, ranging from verbal threats to kidnapping attacks.

Mexican President Lopez stated on June 1 that “we face violent whippings every day”.

For many South American countries, almost every election is accompanied by a surge of violence. So, what are the characteristics of the largest elections held in Mexico under the epidemic?

Mexican President Lopez/ICPhoto

  Under the epidemic, the largest election

Mexico holds a general election every six years, electing a president and a federal parliament. The term of office of the President is 6 years, the term of the Federal Senate is 6 years, and the term of the House of Representatives is 3 years.

In July 2018, Mexico ushered in a national election. Lopez, who represented the “We Make History Together” campaign coalition, won the election and was sworn in in December 2018.

Three years later, Mexico ushered in a mid-term election.

According to CNN, this is the largest election in Mexico’s history. All 500 seats in the Federal House of Representatives, 15 state governors will be replaced, and all 32 states will hold federal and local elections, including more than 1,900 mayors and local legislative assemblies.

Voters who participated in the vote also hit a new high. According to statistics from the Institute of Mexico of the Wilson Scholars International Center, the number of registered voters participating in this mid-term election reached approximately 95 million, up from 89 million in the 2018 general election.

It is worth noting that although the epidemic in Mexico has eased a lot from February, there are still thousands of new confirmed cases in a single day. The National Electoral Institute of Mexico has stipulated that all voters should wear masks and maintain social distancing, and it is recommended that they bring their own pens.

According to reports, polling stations across Mexico will open at 8 a.m. and close at 6 p.m. on June 6. The preliminary results are expected to be released on June 7, local time, but the final official results will be announced on August 23.

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  Bloody violence always accompanies the Mexican elections

Mexico’s elections are always accompanied by violence, but this time the midterm elections seem particularly bloody.

According to Al Jazeera, statistics from Mexican security consulting company Etellekt show that since the midterm election campaign in September last year and the campaign ended at the end of May this year, a total of 782 attacks on politicians and candidates have occurred across Mexico, including verbal attacks. Threatening insults, violent attacks, damage to property, kidnapping and attacking family members, etc.

Even more alarming is that during this period, at least 89 politicians, including 35 candidates for the midterm elections, were killed.

Some candidates were shot and killed while participating in a campaign rally, some candidates were attacked in their cars, and some candidates were killed while distributing leaflets… Affected by violent crime, more than 60 candidates withdrew from the campaign.

The car of a Mexico mayor candidate was attacked.  /ICPhotoThe car of a Mexico mayor candidate was attacked. /ICPhoto

In fact, there has always been violence in Mexico’s elections. According to Etellekt statistics, in the 2018 general election, there were 774 violent incidents and 152 people were killed. In the 2015 midterm elections, 61 people were also killed.

Gerardo Rodriguez, an expert on international relations and political science at the University of Puebla in the Americas, told Al Jazeera that since the last three federal elections, political violence in Mexico has intensified. “Generally speaking, violent incidents occurred frequently before election day, and there was a short pause during the election period, and the election results rose again after the announcement.”

At the end of May this year, Mexican President López stated that there was “no doubt” that organized criminal groups had committed these murders. Their purpose was to intimidate candidates and voters in order to control elections.

According to the Washington Post, Guillermo Trejo, an expert on political violence in Latin America at the University of Notre Dame, also believes that most of the people killed in Mexico’s elections were mayor and local government candidates. This actually reflects the attempts of some criminal groups. Control local power, because it is vital to their survival.

  In order to win the election, these people really “fight”

In this violent election, some people flinched, but some candidates “fighted” to win the election.

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According to “Business Insider” magazine, Carlos Mayorga, who participated in the election for the seat of the House of Representatives in Chihuahua, northern Mexico, took a very special way to start the campaign. He hid in the coffin in the trunk of the car before arriving. After the election site, the staff lifted the coffin out and opened the coffin before he showed up and started speaking.

Mayorga also said that if he fails to fulfill his promise after being elected, the people can “bury him alive”. And his conservative political party PES has openly supported anti-abortion and opposed same-sex marriage.

Mayorga got up from the coffin. /Youtube video screenshotMayorga got up from the coffin. /Youtube video screenshot

Jose Luis Romero Calzada, who represented the new party “Progressive Social Media” (RSP) in the governor election of San Luis Potosi in central Mexico, is very good at using media. Kissing donkeys, posting half-naked photos and even dancing half-naked, all of these have brought him a lot of attention.

Even more shocking is that the Mexican social media “net celebrity” Rocio Pino also began to run for the seat of the House of Representatives. The campaign slogan she put forward was, “Let every woman have big breasts.” She said that if she is elected, she will promote breast augmentation surgery for women to be covered by public health insurance.

In addition, the famous Mexican singer Francisca Viveros Barradas also participated in the local elections. But she stated during the campaign that she “knows nothing” about politics. And her campaign has almost become a concert.

  He does not participate, but this election is all about him

Behind this series of chaotic elections, the most important thing is actually a person who did not participate in the election-President Lopez.

Lopez officially took office in December 2018, and his current term is less than half. However, many experts pointed out that the midterm elections were in fact a referendum on Lopez.

In the 2018 presidential election, Lopez represented the election coalition of the National Renaissance Movement Party, the Mexican Labor Party, and the National Convergence Party, “We Create History Together”, and eventually won the election, becoming Mexico’s first left-wing president in more than 70 years. .

After taking office, Lopez vowed to fight corruption, eliminate poverty and violence, and lead Mexico to achieve the “fourth revolution” (the first three were independence in 1810, reform in 1855, and revolution in 1910).

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However, gun violence in Mexico has not been effectively controlled. According to CNN, data from the Mexican government showed that from January to April 2018 before Lopez came to power, there were 10,579 murders in Mexico; in the same period of 2019 after Lopez came to power, this number rose to 11,307, and again in 2020. Rose to 11736.

Lopez was vaccinated against the new crown.  /ICPhotoLopez was vaccinated against the new crown. /ICPhoto

Since the outbreak of the new crown epidemic in 2020, the Lopez government’s response has also made some people dissatisfied, including the initial weakening of the severity of the epidemic, refusal to blockade, and slower testing and vaccination operations. Mexico is one of the most severely affected countries in the world, with a total of more than 2.42 million confirmed cases and a total of more than 220,000 deaths-the fourth highest in the world. The epidemic also hit Mexico’s economy severely, with its GDP shrinking by 8.5% in 2020.

However, Lopez’s own approval rating has been maintained at a high level. According to the National Public Radio (NPR), the latest poll shows that Lopez’s approval rate reaches 61%, and most Mexicans believe that he is honest and not corrupt.

NPR pointed out that a focus of the Mexico midterm elections is whether the National Renaissance Party led by Lopez can win an absolute majority of seats in the House of Representatives, so as to better advance his reform agenda. Lopez also needs to allow his party to expand its state and local influence to further promote constitutional reforms. The analysis believes that according to the current polls, Lopez’s National Baath Party is likely to continue to expand its influence.

However, some opposition figures believe that Lopez is a totalitarian leader who is undermining the democratic process in Mexico. According to CNN, Lopez has increased the government’s control over the transmission network and weakened the power of some independent observation agencies. In addition, he opposed justice and criticized the media. Some people worry that Lopez may reform the Mexican Constitution in the future, thereby overturning the restriction that the president can only serve one term and one term of six years.

Beijing News reporter Xie Lian

Editor in charge: Zhang Yu

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