Argentine President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner and Mexican president-elect Enrique Peña Nieto are set to meet in Buenos Aires later today.

Peña Nieto will meet with Fernandez at the Casa Rosada upon his arrival from Chile, the latest stop on his first official Latin American tour as president-elect.

Peña Nieto’s tour kicked off earlier this week with his meeting with President Otto Pérez Molina in Guatemala City followed by visits to Colombia and Brazil.

In his meeting with Brazilian President Dilma Roussef, Peña Nieto called for a “closer relationship” and “larger cooperation” between the two largest economies of Latin America.

The two economic powerhouses have been at odds over the last few years on which economic model to adopt, with Brazil taking increasingly protectionist measures while Mexico has privileged free trade. Both countries have also been competing to provide exports for the ever-growing Chinese market.

Peña Nieto will take office on 1^st December after he won the presidential elections in July. Peña Nieto’s win, surrounded by controversies of alleged vote buying and fraud, marks the return to power of the PRI party that ruled Mexico for 70 uninterrupted years from 1929 to 2000.

Mexico’s electoral tribunal has unanimously rejected the appeal presented by the coalition of the Progressive Movement (MP) to invalidate the results of the 1st July presidential election. As a result of the ruling, the Compromiso por Mexico coalition candidate, Enrique Peña Nieto, will take office as the next president of Mexico on 1st December.

The MP had accused Peña Nieto’s coalition, which includes the historic powerhouse the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI), of electoral crimes which included the buying of 5 million votes with illegal funding, supplying voters with gifts, the covert acquisition of radio and television advertising, covert campaign financing, and intervention in federal and state governments, among other things.

In its ruling, the tribunal stated that the evidence presented by the MP was “unfounded” and “lacked sufficient elements to prove that there had been the buying or coercion of votes” in favour of Peña Nieto.

The MP candidate, Andrés Manuel López Obrador, won 31.59% of the vote in July’s elections, losing to Peña Nieto who won 38.21%. After the elections there were immediate cries of foul play, leading to a partial recount followed by opposition calls to investigate the validity of the election win, and protests and demonstrations against Peña Nieto around Mexico.

The ruling will see the PRI, who ruled Mexico for most of the 20th century, return to power after 12 years in opposition.

An electoral tribunal is taking place in Mexico between Thursday and Friday to decide whether or not to invalidate the result of the 2012 elections. Although Enrique Peña Nieto formally won the elections, his victory has since been dogged by accusations of vote buying, manipulation and corruption. On 12^th July 2012 Leftist candidate Andrés Manuel López Obrador submitted evidence to invalidate the elections and the decision will be made by the 31st September.

The Electoral Tribunal (TEPFJ) yesterday released a statement confirming the existence of a draft decision which will be discussed at the tribunal. The document has been drawn up by a special committee composed of three of the seven judges from the TEPFJ.

Peña Nieto was announced as the winner of the 2012 elections on the 9^th July with the final count showing 38.21%. However he stands accused of vote buying, exceeding the campaign spending limit and money laundering on behalf of the Partido Revolucionario Institucional (PRI) who have governed Mexico for almost a century.

López Obrador’s evidence against Peña Nieto was submitted in July to the IFE and the lack of a legal confirmation of the new president has left the fate of the elections hanging. Currently the country remains in limbo between outgoing president Felipe Calderón, of the Partido Acción Nacional (PAN) and Peña Nieto’s new government.

If the TEPFJ decide to throw out López Obrador’s evidence, the Tribunal has until the 6^th September to declare Peña Nieto president. After this he would assume power on the 1^st December.

Spokesperson for López Obrador’s legal team, Ricardo Mejía yesterday accused the investigation of failing to properly examine all of the alleged offences committed in Peña Nieto’s campaign. In an interview with Reuters he said “The tribunal wants to close this case quickly and is trying to deliver the blow hastily.”

“We are asking for the tribunal to reflect on what they are doing to resolve this case and to think about what it means for constitutional justice.”

On Wednesday, Andrés Manuel López Obrador stated that he has proof of fraud in Mexico’s 1st July presidential elections.

López Obrador, who represented a leftist coalition and is the leader of the Partido de la Revolución Democrática (PRD), came in second to president-elect Enrique Peña Nieto. In yesterday’s press conference, he revealed that he has credit cards from the financial institution Monex that he alleges were given to voters by Peña Nieto’s party to buy their support in the election.

Peña Nieto represented a coalition between the Partido Revolucionario Institucional (PRI) and the Partido Verde Ecologista de México (PVEM).

López Obrador also accused the government of covering up information about money laundering during the election. Specifically, he claimed that officials of the National Commission of Banking and Securities (CNBV) and the Secretary of Housing, “already know this information and they are hiding it. But it is not going to help them, because we are very persistent.”

Monex has to inform the CNBV and the Secretary of Housing of all of its contracts. López Obrador has asked the Federal Electoral Tribunal (TEPJF) to request information from these two government agencies with regards to any
contracts signed by companies associated with Peña Nieto or the PRI or by possible fronts.

López Obrador showed five such credit cards on Wednesday, but claims to have proof that at least 4,891 people received the cards in the state of Tabasco. He stated that he expects evidence to surface of the same activity occurring in other Mexican states, and suggested that as many as 260,000 cards – valued at an estimated US$ 73.5 million – could have been distributed.

In total, the opposition leader has accused the PRI of buying as many as five million votes. Peña Nieto received 19.2 million votes in the election, while López Obrador received 15.9 million.

López Obrador stated, “I have no doubt that money laundering was used in Peña Nieto’s campaign, but we are going to wait for the authorities to confirm it.”

The opposition leader will present his evidence to the TEPJF this Friday. The TEPJF is currently reviewing claims of irregularity in the election, all of which had to be submitted by 4th July. They will review claims until the end of August and are expected to announce their findings in September. The decision of the Electoral Tribunal will ultimately validate or invalidate the election.

Not only the PRI and PRD but also the incumbent Partido Acción Nacional (PAN) and the Partido de Trabajo have all asked the Electoral Tribunal to review irregularities. Both Peña Nieto and López Obrador’s campaigns are under investigation.

On Wednesday, López Obrador called for president-elect Peña Nieto to debate with him publically, proposing that the debate take place at the Federal Electoral Tribunal. He expressed desire to discuss not only the accusations of money laundering but also accusations that the PRI has made of financial irregularities within López Obrador’s Movimiento Progresista party.

The PRI has in turn accused López Obrador of “systematic use of lies as an instrument of propaganda.”

The streets of Mexico City are alive in protest, as thousands of dissatisfied voters continue to denounce Enrique Peña Nieto’s victory in this month’s presidential election.

Officials estimate about 30,000 turned up for Sunday’s protest, many of them young members of Yo Soy 132, a social-network influenced student movement that gained notable attention in this year’s campaigns.

Protestors, and supporters of runner-up Andrés Manuel López Obrador (PRD), accuse Peña Nieto of buying votes, laundering money and arranging favourable coverage via the Televisa network.

Peña Nieto, of the Institutional Revolutionary Party, has denied the accusations.

Protestors marched to Mexico City’s main square, holding banners and chanting “Out with Pena” and “Fraud, Fraud.”

López Obrador has personally challenged the election results, announcing plans to invalidate Peña Nieto’s win at the Federal Electoral Tribunal. The tribunal must decide on the election’s validity by early September. Peña Nieto is due to take office on 1st December.

A final poll recount had Peña Nieto with 38.21% of the vote and López Obrador with 31.59%.

López Obrador made headlines in 2006 when he protested his loss to Felipe Calderón in the presidential election. The 2006 election’s margin of loss was 250,000 votes, versus this month’s margin of 3 million votes.

The Mexican Federal Electoral Institute (IFE) has announced that the final district count confirmed that Enrique Peña Nieto won last Sunday’s presidential elections.

Peña Nieto represents the Compromiso por México, a coalition composed of the Partido Revolucionario Institucional (PRI) and the Partido Verde Ecologista de México (PVEM).

The final district count shows Peña Nieto winning the election with 38.21% of votes, Andrés Manuel López Obrador of the leftist PRD coming in second with 31.59% of votes, and Josefina Vásquez Mota of the incumbent PAN party coming in third with 25.41% of the votes.

The district count began Wednesday morning and took four days in total.

Today’s confirmation of the voting figures does not yet cement Peña Nieto’s win. Now that the Federal Electoral Institute has finalized their count, they have passed the determination of the election on the Electoral Tribunal (TEPJF).

The Electoral Tribunal is charged with investigating any challenges that may be presented to the vote. Their final confirmation is required to validate the election.

Accordingly, Peña Nieto cannot legally be called ‘president elect’ until the Tribunal has released its verdict.

The investigation process could take as long as two months. Opposition candidates now have four days when they can present their complaints to the Electoral Tribunal, which then has until 31stAugust to investigate allegations. The final verdict is expected on 6th September.

Opposition candidates have accused Peña Nieto’s coalition of buying votes in the election, a practice that the PRI party was notorious for during its seventy years of autocratic rule in the previous century.

The leftist PRD party has argued that as many as five million votes may have been bought. According to the numbers released today from the IFE, Peña Nieto garnered 19.1 million votes, while López Obrador received 15 million.

The PRD has accused Peña Nieto’s coalition of giving out cards to popular shopping centre Soriana and pre-paid cards from financial group Monex. López Obrador’s leftist opposition has also accused Peña Nieto’s coalition of exceeding the 30 million-peso campaign-spending cap.

The incumbent PAN party has also pointed to irregularities during the election, but candidate Vásquez Mota conceded defeat shortly after the polls closed last Sunday.

The PRD is now asking the PAN to join forces in voicing their complaints about alleged irregularities in the electoral process. Today, director of the PRD Jesús Zambrano announced that he and his PAN counterpart Gustavo Madero are in the process of organizing a meeting to discuss possible collaboration. The PRD is particularly interested in the parties’ sharing information that they have about the PRI’s finances.

Yesterday, thousands of Mexican citizens marched in protest of Peña Nieto’s win and of alleged irregularities in the electoral process. Major marches took place in Mexico City and in at least nine other states across the country.

A significant proportion of the demonstrators are students, many of them members of the ‘#YoSoy132’ movement that emerged during this year’s elections. The protest is one of several that have taken place in the week following the election, with the demonstrators turning out as early as last Monday.

Enrique Peña Nieto wins the election (courtesy of Facebook)

Preliminary results show Enrique Peña Nieto, of the Partido Revolucionario Institucional (PRI), won Sunday’s presidential election in Mexico with 38.14% of the vote. Second-placed Andrés Manuel López Obrador has contested the result, saying in a press conference that the vote was not “free or fair” and demanding a re-count. Electoral authorities have said that up to a third of the votes cast could be subject to revision under an electoral law passed in 2007.

Though pending a final count, due in the next week, Peña Nieto has already celebrated the victory and asked Mexicans to put their differences behind them after a tense campaign period in which drug violence, media coverage and election fraud became the focus of bitter debates.

After more than 60,000 deaths during outgoing president Felipe Calderón’s term as a result of the country’s ‘war against drugs’, the 1st July election was seen as especially crucial for the Mexico’s political future. Yet with no candidate seemingly offering a clear solution to the violence that has gripped the country, polls showed that a significant part of the population had no idea who they were going to vote for.

Lingering uncertainty over the eventual winner aside, the problems dividing voters and the challenges facing Mexican politics are not likely to disappear soon, making for a testing start for the incoming president.

Fraud, Indecision, and the Electoral Process

Among the chief concerns in the run up to the election was the potential for fraud, and even if a recount falls in his favour, Peña Nieto’s first task will be to gain acceptance for his victory.

The 2006 presidential elections in Mexico were tainted by suspicions of fraud, when president Felipe Calderón, of the Partido de Acción Nacional (PAN) won by a margin of less than 1%.

Before Sunday’s vote, and the latest allegations of voting irregularities, Mexican economist Berenice Miramontes expressed a worry that “with the experience we’ve had as a country, many people have just naturalised [the possibility of fraud]…they say ‘well, the government has the power to do and undo whatever they feel like’. I have friends who are saying it’s not worth voting.”

Alejandra Ortiz, a graduate in International Relations and process observer in the elections, affirmed that “there’s a lot of distrust of the electoral process.”

In the days leading up to the elections, Facebook and other social media platforms were full of rumours about how fraud would occur. On Friday and Saturday, internet sites reported that voting booths were providing erasable pencils, and that everyone should try to bring a marker or a pen in order to make sure their vote was not erased. Lilian Galante, a political scientist from Mexico City, says that websites were showing videos and witnesses claiming that the PRI was trying to steal and buy votes.

A lack of faith in the democratic process contributed to the high percentage of undecided voters in pre-election polls. Media activist Ricardo Garza Carpio, from the ‘Frontera Cero’ and ‘La Media Naranja’ media collectives, says that, according to his experience, many people seemed to have been voting against, rather than for, someone, and were struggling to figure out how they could cast the most useful vote.

Students supporting Yo Soy 123 movement (courtesy of Flickr)

#YoSoy132 and the Mexican Mass Media

While some citizens wondered whether it was worth voting at all, young groups and social networks played an important and active role during the campaign period.

Peña Nieto, widely seen as favourite to win in polls, faced a nation-wide student protest, nicknamed the #YoSoy132 movement after its twitter tag, that was clamouring for his defeat.

The #YoSoy132 student movement started with a talk on the campus of the prestigious Ibero American University in Mexico City in May 2012. Peña Nieto, with a winning smile and a beautiful, much-loved soap-opera-star wife, gave a talk that should have been just another campaign event, but turned into the beginning of a massive protest movement.

In May of 2006, one of the most important acts of police repression and violation of human rights in recent Mexican history occurred in the state of Mexico. Residents of the city of Texcoco, angered by the government’s decision to block the activities at a local flower market, teamed up with residents of the neighbouring village Atenco, who were dealing with their own political disagreements, to protest against the government.

In response, the government sent in tens of thousands of police officers in a repression that involved beatings, rapes, and the death of two people, one of whom was a student at the Ibero American University. Peña Nieto, who was governor of the state at the time, was never tried for what happened, and the students in the audience where he gave the speech on the 11th May 2012 started booing and shouting at him, angered by his role in this horrible occurrence.

When the campus protest was covered by the media, reporters said that it was “just 131 delinquents”, and that it had all been orchestrated by the opposing, second-place candidate, López Obrador. Students first responded by creating a video that went viral on Youtube, and after that by creating a whole movement that many say caught on precisely because of its presence on the internet and social media, and is known as ‘I am 132′

Ortiz says that the student movement was born out of two demands: “a direct demand that Peña Nieto be tried for his role in the Atenco crimes,” and “an end to manipulation in the mass media.”

There are only two television broadcast companies in Mexico, Televisa and TV Azteca, which control virtually all television stations. In the run up to the election, the #Yosoy132 movement denounced their pro-Peña Nieta bias as well as their coverage of the initial protest at the university.

#YoSoy132 spread largely due to their use of social media and, in the absence of many impartial and critical media outlets, dedicated itself to spreading information via internet. Miramontes explains that these students were “demanding that the media be impartial more than anything else…and that people be a little more informed before they vote, more conscious” about who the candidates are.

Violence in Mexico 

With a somewhat weakened legitimacy due to the fraud allegations and the massive student movement against him, probably the most serious issue that Peña Nieto is going to have deal with during his presidency is the legacy of violence left by the ‘war on drugs’ that Calderón initiated during his mandate.

Garza Carpio is from the northern Mexican city of Monterrey. “When the war against narco-trafficking began, the government of Monterrey started handing out these pamphlets,” he says, as he shows a ‘Manual of Personal Security’. The manual teaches people what they should do in a situation of extreme violence, situations that can occur in this war against drugs. For example, what to do if one “finds oneself in the middle of a shooting” (the answer is: “hide yourself in a secure place, like against a wall…if you’re in an open area, throw yourself immediately to the ground. Avoid visual contact with the aggressors.”). “It’s pretty cynical,” says Carpio.

This is just a small piece of evidence that Mexico is living, at least in certain areas like the city of Monterrey, a real war, with many innocent victims. And it has got to a point where citizens and government officials cannot ignore the situation. The disastrous death toll during Calderon’s presidential term is cited as one of the main reasons for the failure of his political party, the PAN, and its presidential candidate, Josefina Vázquez Mota, in last weekend’s vote.

Miramontes, as a result of the injustice and insecurity she finds in the current situation of violence, became part of a Buenos Aires contingent of the movement known as “No Más Sangre” (No more blood). The movement began when Mexican poet Javier Sicilia’s son was assassinated and he wrote a letter, which was spread widely through the internet, telling his fellow citizens and the government that the situation had to be reversed before more innocent victims were killed.

When Miramontes arrived in Argentina to complete a masters’ programme, in 2010 (she has now returned to Mexico and is living in Guadalajara), Sicilia led a “Peace March” in Mexico and called for “Mexicans in any part of the world to join the march.” Miramontes and her friends “led a march at the Mexican embassy [in Buenos Aires] where we met more people interested in the cause and formed a ‘No Más Sangre’ group with them.”

Crowd of the elections (courtesy of Facebook)

Miramontes says that Sicilia met with the candidates, asking them to address the situation of violence occurring in Mexico, but that all of them issued very vague responses. “They hugged and took the typical picture for the newspaper…but Sicilia has come out saying that none of these candidates really want to provide a solution.

Ortiz agrees, and comments that “a proposal to eliminate the violence…was just not really present in the candidates’ discourses…no one wants to commit to anything.”

As cited in a recent New York Times article in his new role as president elect, Peña Nieto spoke about the drug war with a typically vague and unpromising answer: “The fight against crime will continue.”

How it will continue, remains to be seen. But after a very heated and controversial election, it is likely that every movement the new president makes will be closely scrutinised.

What do Argentines and Mexicans living in Buenos Aires think about the election of Peña Nieto as president? Click here to find out.

The future of Mexico was on the line on Sunday 1st July, as millions of Mexicans turned out to vote for their next president, the person who would hopefully have the answer to the drug war that had so far left 60,000 people dead, the person who would be the change Mexico so badly needs. It was Andrés Manuel López Obrador, the PRD candidate who had narrowly lost the last presidential election to Felipe Calderón and who seemed to be racking up popularity points among Mexico’s new youth movement, against Enrique Peña Nieto, the young, handsome candidate of the PRI who promised no return to the past: 72 years of PRI accused corruption and secrecy.

On Monday, after a record turnout at the polls, Enrique Peña Nieto grabbed the presidency with 38% of the votes, bringing PRI back into power after 12 years. The results left many questioning the accuracy of the voting process, including López Obrador himself, who has yet to concede to Peña Nieto. Still, Mexicans are left to wonder what the future brings, if the new PRI really has changed, and if Peña Nieto will follow through on his word to “not return to the past”.

Photos by Jen Michalski

Alejandra Ponce De Leon, 23, Public Relations, Recoleta (from Ciudad Juárez, Mexico)

I don’t think [Peña Nieto will make good his promise to “not go back to the past”] because he has the interest of the party and the party basically owns Mexico. In the past PRI, everyone was OK with the government. Everything was kept in secret. The war with drugs was not dangerous as it is now. So probably we’re going to go back to the same because now it’s so dangerous. They want to make Mexico better. I think it’s going to be the same as the past governments of PRI. Of course he can’t say he won’t make deals (with drug lords) in public but I think he’s going to again divide the territory to stop the violence innocent people have to go through. I think he’s a good image for Mexico but that’s it. Behind him there’s a lot of people, companies and police that want benefits. I hope the violence relaxes a bit, because Juárez where I live, it’s one of the most dangerous cities in Mexico. I hope he does something.

Pato Musich, 25, Student, Palermo

As an Argentine I know what corrupt governments are able to do. They have no problem dealing with narcos, corrupt organisations, etc. People know the kind of politicians and reputations that come from a certain party. They all make big promises that are never fulfilled. That is why I think a country that is facing serious problems with the nacrotraffic, as Mexico today, needs a change, a big change. Something different than what they have had in the last decades. It’s hard to think that a party like PRI that had power for 72 years and was under the constant accusation of corruption, will change something in Mexico. Mexico needs transparent people. I’m not saying Peña Nieto is a corrupt politician, I just doubt the people that he will be surrounded by. Mexicans should understand that their only problem right now is narcotraffic, no other solutions are needed besides taking narcos out of the country.

Patricia Espinosa Guerrero, 54, Artist, Palermo (from Tijuana, Mexico)

Of course not, [I don’t think Peña Nieto will keep his word]. I don’t know, but I’m very afraid of him… all of the people behind him. It’s very sad for us to have PRI again. I’m very, very disappointed about the elections. Very, very disappointed about the results. For many years I lived under the PRI, and when the PAN came in, we said “oh finally, we’ll get rid of these people”. But no, we didn’t. The same people are back. I’ve been living here for ten years. I don’t trust him or these people because I don’t think they can change. They just see their own convenience and money. They are very dissonant. The narco war is devastating Mexico. He has a big challenge. There are many eyes on him. I don’t think he’s prepared to do it. But the people who are supporting him, I hope they can guide him.

Bain Craddock, 25, Student, Palermo

It is hard for me to believe that the PRI has completely severed all ties to the narco world. I expect a return to the old PRI tactics to quell the violence but with a public showing of continued hard line tactics against the drug cartels. But, only time will tell. It will be interesting to see if Peña Nieto really is the change he says he is.

Mexico’s four presidential candidates are in the final stages of closing their campaigns, as next Sunday’s presidential election nears.

The winner will succeed current president Felipe Calderón (National Action Party, or PAN), who has held two terms of power since 2000. Before that, the Insitutional Revolutionary Party (PRI) held office for 72 years.

The candidates spoke to supports at various venues in Mexico this weekend.

Andres Manuel López Obrador (Democratic Revolution Party) held an event at Plaza Juárez in Guadalajara, where he remarked that on Monday, Mexico “will celebrate its fourth historical transformation” and that “there will be justice” for the Mexican people.

López Obrador ran for the presidential seat in 2006, but lost by a narrow margin against Calderón.

Enrique Peña Nieto (Institutional Revolutionary Party) holds the first place in the polls by a margin of around 12 to 16%, and is favoured to win the election. Peña Nieto, who spoke at Aztec Stadium in Mexico City, said he would be the indisputable winner of the election.

Josefina Vasquez Mota, from PAN, spoke at the pier of Port of Veracruz, and said, “I come to offer a possible Mexico, a Mexico for everyone, it’s now or never…”

Gabriel Quadri (New Alliance Party) closed his campaign in Tlalnepantla, reminding listeners that education is at the forefront of his policy.

Wednesday, 27th June marks the official last day of campaigns. López Obrador’s campaign will culminate with a march through Mexico City, Vázquez Mota’s will close at Omnilife Stadium in Guadalajara, Peña Nieto’s in Toluca and Quadri’s in Aguascalientes.

The three candidates for Mexico’s presidency officially launched their campaigns on Friday for the July 1 election.

The frontrunner of the centrist Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI), Enrique Peña Nieto, signed his campaign commitments. Among them, he pledged to create a National Anti-Corruption Commission and dismiss 100 federal deputies, as part of his project for political reform.

“Mexico is clear on what it wants, and it doesn’t want more of the same,” he stated in Guadalajara.

Josefina Vázquez Mota, a former education secretary and candidate of the ruling right-wing National Action Party (PAN), pledged that she would eliminate political immunity and bring about a country with equal opportunities.

The PAN candidate also stressed that she would avoid negotiating or forming pacts with criminals, in an attempt to distance herself from President Felipe Calderón, who has recently accused her of flirting with the left.

In his last government address in September, Calderón announced that 21 of the 37 most dangerous leaders of organised crime have been arrested. Experts have claimed that it has not diminished the rapid turnover of leaders of drug cartels as they continue to infiltrate neighbouring Central American countries.

Vázquez Mota, whose pre-campaign agenda was disrupted by logistical difficulties, rallied supporters to make use of social media on Friday.

Andrés Manuel López Obrador, a liberal former mayor of Mexico city, is standing as the candidate of the left-wing Democratic Revolution Party. He led a series of high-profile campaigns against election fraud following his loss of the 2006 election by 0.6% of the vote.

In the latest poll, released by newspaper Reforma, Peña Nieto leads with 45% of the electorate vote, followed by Vázquez Mota with 38% and López Obrador with 22%. However, the survey revealed that 27% of the electorate still have not finalised their voting preference.

Each candidate faces a tough challenge, taking the helms of a country fraught by chronic economic problems and by the escalating war on drugs. The drug trafficking cartels have claimed more than 50,000 lives since Calderón’s term began in 2006.