By RICARDO CASTILLO With the Mexican elections now fully underway in a race for a total of 3,416 different posts, it is worth taking the time to look back on history and see how the country got this far into democracy, as well as reviewing the odd shape of the political alliances of nine parties into three separate
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By RICARDO CASTILLO Fear does not ride on the back of a burro; fear flies in the president’s airplane. This combined old and new adage is being applied to the dread being expressed by Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto over his two beloved pet projects, both developed during his six-year mandate that will conclude next Nov. 30. Those
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By RICARDO CASTILLO Good Friday will mark the beginning of the 2018 electoral campaign in Mexico. Up for grabs are the nation’s presidency, nine state governorships, 128 Senate seats, 500 Chamber of Deputies seats and 283 municipal mayoralties. There are also a number of state senate and assembly seats being vied for. Competition will be fierce and intense
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By RICARDO CASTILLO Monday morning blues and indignation? You bet. Definitely for two independent presidential hopefuls, it was a weekend full of electoral turmoil. Their candidacies were rejected by the National Electoral Institute’s (INE) Committee of Prerogatives and Political Parties, which last Friday decided that pre-candidates Jaime Rodríguez Calderón and Armando Ríos Piter did not meet the minimum of signatures
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By RICARDO CASTILLO In the world of Mexican politics, women can be dangerous. If you don’t believe me, just ask Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto’s about what is now being called his poisonous dart, specifically, his current Secretary of Agriculture Affairs (Sedatu) Rosario Robles. Rosario – please don’t be confused by the “o” at the end of her name (which in
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By RICARDO CASTILLO It is said in Mexican political jargon that if the river is making noise, it’s because water is running. In this case, the rumor bouncing around everywhere in Mexico is that the President Enrique Peña Nieto administration is preparing to commit a “mega-fraud” in the traditional style of the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI) for the upcoming July 1
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By RICARDO CASTILLO In the ongoing Mexican election campaign battle, it’s supposed to be time for the lull before the storm. Except, it isn’t. During this intermediate period between the pre-campaign that came from Dec. 14 to Feb. 11, pre-candidates made known their intentions of running for office. Right now, in the “inter-campaigns” period, the now officially nominated candidates are not allowed to
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By RICARDO CASTILLO Some Mexicans just don’t like the way the electoral procedure is being carried out by the National Electoral Institute (INE). The problem is that those disgruntled Mexicans are blaming the INE for what they perceive as irregularities in the process, but the procedure was designed by Congress, and the only way out of this long and
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By RICARDO CASTILLO There is no doubt that there is racial sensitivity in Mexico and it can take on many different meanings, including political ones. In case you’re wondering what racism has to do with Mexican politics, let’s start from the beginning of a complex story mixed with religious fervor and political greed. It should be obvious by now that the political party led by Andrés Manuel López
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By RICARDO CASTILLO Mingled in the humorous tirades the Mexican presidential hopefuls poked at one another during the “pre-candidacy” period, which ran from Dec. 14 to Feb. 11, there were several hints as to what the hardcore debate issues will be starting April 1, when the real official campaign begins. One of the leading topics will be President Enrique Peña Nieto’s still-highly
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