Yesterday, I walked down to the zócalo twice; once in mid-morning and again late in the afternoon. My Spanish teacher had advised her students of the probable presence of army trucks, soldiers, and federal police; but to be assured this was standard operating procedure on election day. However, all I saw were the normal transit police directing traffic and only 2 federales. From my terrace, I did watch a helicopter circle the zócalo a few times. A friend filmed a tussle re lack of ballots about the same time as my helicopter siting.
To begin to understand the Mexican electoral system, the Instituto Federal Electoral has a FAQ page, in English, where it answers, 30 Essential Questions. In addition, readers might be interested in Robert Pastor’s article, 8 things the U.S. election system could learn from Mexico’s. While I don’t agree with some of his points (his conclusions re the PRI and the issue of voter ID cards in the US; problematic given its troubling history), I think the article is worth a read. By the way, the Yo Soy 132 movement was present yesterday on the zócalo and vows to continue.
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