The Fight For Democracy

living.boondockingmexico@yahoo.com

Sunday the 13th of November was an important day here in Mexico.  Thousands in major cities all around the country, Spain, Costa Rica and the U.S. marched for democratic freedom in Mexico.  The current administration would like to eliminate the autonomous electoral organization known as INE or the national electoral institute.  

As you know, Mexico's past and present has been filled with corruption.  Electoral corruption came to an end in 1986.  How did that happen?  In that year, in Chihuahua, state elections were held.  During that election, ballot box stuffing took place.  It was so severe that Mexicans challenged the elections.  They were told they could take all the ballot boxes in the state and count vote by vote.  The government at the time, and an important person who now controls the CFE (national electric company) doubted anyone would want to take the time to do that as in the past.

On that day the challenge was met.  Mexicans took to the streets in mass.  They counted all the votes to find out that the socialist government had stuffed more votes (165 for every 100 legitimate votes) than the number of voters in the state.  That year the INE was formed and has protected all of the elections since.  

That institution is in danger of extinction today.  The current federal administration would like to dismember the institution claiming it is corrupt although he was legitimately elected by the people and the election was monitored by this institution.  Also, he claims that the institution costs too much money.  

As you can see in the graph it simply is not true.  This graph compares the cost of the institution with current federal projects many of which have been deemed overscale, over cost, and projects that will provide no significant change for the country.  

On Sunday Mexicans took to the streets.  In Monterrey alone it is estimated that 25,000 people marched.  

Obviously, Mexico City had the largest turnout.

The response this morning in the daily presidential broadcast was and I quote, "A strip tease by the conservatives".   Unbelievable.  

You might ask why and how this concerns me.  My freedom and my rights as a permanent resident could as well be at stake.  Whatever the presidential party votes on, they will surely win.  Immigration laws are now changing daily and so are national reforms that are affecting the way we live, work, and play.  The rules are changing and I refer back to my grandparents who were immigrants from what is today Croatia.  He said every day things were changing.  But it was small stuff that didn't seem to affect the general population.  All of a sudden, one day, we woke up in a fascist state and we were trapped.