Over the past four decades, profound political changes have taken place in Mexico. The Mexican political system was shaken to its core in 1988 when former President Carlos Salinas de Gortari was proclaimed President of Mexico over the clear winner: Cuauhtemoc Cárdenas Solorsano.
The stolen elections caused a wide resonance in Mexican society and forced the Mexican government to create an autonomous electoral body to oversee future elections. The Federal Electoral Institute (IFE) was created in 1990 and in 2014 it was renamed the National Electoral Institute (INE) as it is now known. Whether it’s called IFE or INE, the body has had a controversial history.
Just four years after its founding, the IFE has shown that it is not up to the task for which it was created. In 1994, a young man named Andrés Manuel López Obrador (President of Mexico since 2018), then a member of the Democratic Revolution Party (PRD), challenged and defeated the ruling Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI) candidate Roberto Madrazo in Parliament. Tabasco elections, but to Tabasqueño’s dismay, Madrazo was declared the winner.
Democracy in Mexico had a long way to go. In 2000, Vicente Fox of the conservative National Action Party (PAN) ran for president and defeated PRI candidate Francisco Labastida. At the time, Mexico was celebrating that after over 70 years of PRI rule, the opposition had finally succeeded in getting the PRI out of Los Piños. At the time, many people thought people’s votes were respected, but we were even more wrong.
Four years later, President Vicente Fox returned to the worst political practices of the past and forced the IFE to announce PAN presidential candidate Felipe Calderón, who had defeated Andrés Manuel López Obrador, in apparent manipulation of the government to keep Obrador from rising. with victory. Years later, the fraud will be proven.
Due to the IFE’s lack of transparency in the 2006 elections, the Mexican people demanded more reforms of the electoral system.
In response, the administration of Enrique Peña Nieto dissolved the IFE and replaced it with what is now INE. During these four decades, in violation of the Mexican constitution, the voting rights of Mexican citizens living abroad (including those living in the US) were violated or, at best, deprived of the right to vote.
Since the creation of the IFE and later the INE, both ostensibly “autonomous” electoral bodies have been under the political control of the conservative parties PRI and PAN.
As far as we have been able to observe, the enemies of political reform in Mexico are the same politicians who were silent when, against the will of the Mexican people, electoral fraud was committed. For those who claim that the INE will be eliminated through the electoral reform introduced by President Obrador, it is clear that this statement is pure and simple political slander. The reality is that the changes must include the participation of the people themselves, including the reduction of deputies and senators, measures that the majority of Mexicans support, according to a poll conducted by the same INE.
The fact is that the vast majority of the Mexican population supports the gradual improvement and improvement of the INE, and not the elimination, as claimed by PRI, PAN and many media outlets.
Last Sunday, November 13, the forces of conservatism in Mexico and Los Angeles took to the streets of different cities on both sides of the border. The progressive forces and the faithful to Mexico in this city covered themselves with Glory in a public demonstration in front of the Consulate General of Mexico in this great city. We were the only ones who publicly advocated electoral reform in the country of the Aztecs.
In recent days, President Andrés Manuel López Obrador has called on the Mexican people to take part in a march and rally on Sunday, November 27, starting at the Angel of Independence Monument and ending at the Zocalo in Mexico City.
In Los Angeles, responding to the call of the President of Mexico, on the same day we will march at 11 a.m. from the Cabildo de la Ciudad (City Hall) to Placita Olvera. The goals and objectives of our civic action are to support change and the process of transformation and rebirth in Mexico, commonly known as the Fourth Transformation (4T).
In other words, we will demonstrate again because we fully support the restoration of our democratic rights in accordance with the Constitution.
Our main demand is effective and full suffrage for Mexicans living abroad. The Mexican authorities cannot be allowed to continue to violate our right to vote for those of us who live and work outside the country.
Our message to the Mexican Right and the Far Right is clear and simple, they won’t get through! Our division is on the rise, and we are convinced that no one will stop 4T.
See you next Sunday in the heart of Los Angeles at 11:00. Welcome everyone.
Juan José Gutierrez
Source: La Opinion
David Ortiz is an opinionated and well-versed author, known for his thought-provoking and persuasive writing on various matters. He currently works as a writer at 24 news breaker, where he shares his insight and perspective on today’s most pressing issues. David’s unique voice and writing style make his articles a must-read for those seeking a different point of view.