I don’t often delve into politics but came across an
intriguing commentary on the current state of the Mexican presidential
election. I spent the 2000 summer in Mexico as my travel-abroad experience
(yes, I need to and want to do more international travel), which was the summer
of the Mexico’s ground breaking election of Vicente Fox, the first non-PRI
candidate elected president in over 70 years. Ever since the Mexican
Revolution, one-party power had largely dominated Mexican politics, especially presidential elections, up to the historical 2000 election. If
you think American presidential politics is troublesome, imagine one-political
party domination (and the corruption inherent in maintaining that control) for
over 70 years.
It was a once in a lifetime experience to be in Mexico
during this election and I don’t think I even realized the seriousness of the
event until afterwards. I remember my Mexican-host family and others within the
abroad program recommending that we should be careful the couple of days before
and after the election, because no one knew what was going to happen.
While catching up on my reading this week, I came across
this WSJ
article (registration required),
on the current presidential conundrum in Mexico. I’ve read about how Obrador
has rallied his supporters to stage massive protests and demonstrations, but
this was unbelievable (paraphrase):
...Teachers unions have prevented all three branches of government from
functioning…what's more frightening is that hotels in the downtown of Mexico
City, a one time tourism magnet is lawless…taking photography is now banned…no
police will go there…no 911 service….the state Congress meets secretly...
Amazing, truly amazing. Which one of those items above gives you the most pause?