October 9, 2007 Project to Monitor Political Rights in Oaxaca Of the 570 municipalities that exist in Oaxaca, 152 municipalities govern by the system of political parties. On October 7th, 151 of these municipalities elected new representatives. In the municipality of Santiago Laollaga, voting booths were not installed because conditions were not sufficiently secure to conduct a vote. These elections took place in a context of permanent social and political violence. There are troubling signs, due to the conflict left unresolved from the previous year, among these are: the increase in organized crime in the state, allegations of rape, and child sex abuse, the existence of agrarian conflicts, the struggle for the control of the schools between teachers from Teachers’ Unions Section 22 and 59, and the actions of the Popular Revolutionary Army (EPR), demanding the presentation of two disappeared militants. At the municipal level, the complexity of the current electoral process derives from a number of conflicts: inconsistencies due to the lack of transparency in the management and distribution of public resources, the lack of public works, abuses of authority, and increasing public distrust, among other problems. The disputes between political parties for the candidacies as well as among their different factions stem from mutual smear campaigns, excessive campaign costs starting even before campaigning began. There is virtually no enforcement from the State Electoral Institute, given that these activities are not currently regulated by law. That is to say that current electoral legislation does not call for the punctual and transparent monitoring of campaign costs or for the regulation of campaign activities. Similar to other elections, in Oaxaca, the buying and coercion of votes is common practice. Giving out handouts and cash (up to 2 thousand pesos per vote), was one of the most commonly made public complaints. Unfortunately there have been few denunciations of these crimes before the Special Prosecutor for Electoral Crimes (FEPADE) given how difficult it is to prove the allegations. Furthermore, they are treated as “minor crimes”, and impunity is practically guaranteed. For its part, the government of the state, on various occasions reiterated that the elections took places in a “climate of tranquility and social peace.” However, it recognized the existence of 29 “red zones”, municipalities characterized by high political conflict including the municipality of Oaxaca de Juarez. It has been confirmed that Governor Ulises Ruiz directly intervened in favor of the PRI candidates. Their campaigns were reinforced with all the infrastructure and resources of the government of the state, which was confirmed by recorded declaration made public days before the election on the local radio and were later broadcast on a national level. Election Day Given that the state congress election results which had an abstention rate that reached 64%, the expectations for how these elections would play out was evident. We were able to observe during the election important variations in voter participation within these municipalities, ranging from 20 to 60% abstention rates. On election day, the local media reported a number of different incidents: the transport of voters, the purchase and coercion of votes, acts of violence ranging from severe confrontations resulting in bullet wounds, the detention of a civil servant, and aggression towards sympathizers of opposing parties, among other activities. Additionally, there were constant acts of purchasing and coercion of votes, especially over the weekend. Voter coercion in several communities by voting booth operators and other individuals who “helped people to cast votes” violated the secrecy of voting. The final results were the following: the PRI won in 90 municipalities, the PRD in 44, the PAN in 6, Convergence Party in 4, Worker’s Party in 3, and Green Ecology Party of Mexico in 2, and the Popular Unity Party in 1. In Santiago Laollaga the elections were suspended because conditions did not exist for voting to take place. And in Santa Cruz Itundujia there is a draw between the PRI and the PRD. Unlike the patterns recorded in earlier years, the PRI regained governing positions. In 2004 the PRI governed in 73 municipalities and in 2001 the PRI governed in 84 municipalities. The PRI has not yet been able to recapture the strength that they had at the end of the 1990’s; in 1998 they governed 113 municipalities. For its part, the second strongest electoral force continues to be the PRD which lost 3 municipalities compared to 2004, and in 1998 they governed in 29 municipalities. The PAN experienced the most important fall, governing in 9 municipalities in 1998. In 2001 and 2004 the PAN benefited from the “Fox effect”, and won 20 and 21 municipalities, respectively. The municipalities that they have lost have been distributed among smaller parties. Evaluations The constant presence of the governor in campaign acts of PRI candidates, and his declarations made public on October 4th of the sentiment that “here the government is the PRI and we are going to work so that the PRI wins,” illustrates that in Oaxaca there’s been a state election where the state structure and programs like “Mobil Units” operate in favor of candidates of an official party. Election Day occurred in relative calm and tranquility, however there were diverse expressions of inconformity, discontent and social mobilization due to the electoral results which have been made public and which will be ratified next Thursday. The electoral process concludes with the taking possession of nine town halls on January 1st, 2008, however during this time new disputes could surface. Unlike earlier elections, the distrust of the citizens toward political parties was more evident, this also includes sentiments towards candidates in several municipalities, where the population felt that they had no real political option. In various cases, candidates were accused of being “opponents in disguise” when candidates´ political career in the official party was made public. Among the citizens there is certainty that no real changes will take place. The purchase and coercion of votes has been constantly reported in the media but complaints have not been taken to the judicial agencies like the FEPADE; an institution that have been called the “lion without teeth” given how difficult is has been for them to sanction electoral crimes. . The division of the opposition, upon breaking the alliance that had been constructed for the municipal elections at the end of August, facilitated the triumph of candidates of the PRI in municipalities with highly contested elections. The opposition groups highlighted the strong mobilizations that took place during the conflict last year in areas such as Santa Cruz Xoxocotlan, Santa Lucia del Camino and the city capital, Oaxaca de Juarez. The earlier reports confirm that in Oaxaca we are facing a crisis of the system of political representation, which has deepened significantly during the past year. We reaffirm that the social and political polarization in Oaxaca continues, and that highly disputed electoral politics is one of the manifestations of that polarization. Today more than ever Oaxaca needs a deep and democratic transformation with the active participation of all sectors of society.

Average: Select ratingPoorOkayGoodGreatAwesome

No votes yet