Mexico Trucker Online

The greatest show of the political season in Mexico has already started, with five presidential candidates starting their five-month campaigns.

A variety of factors makes this electoral year a very interesting one. The Federal Electoral Institute, or IFE, has to prove its ability to keep the electoral process transparent.

Then, there has been great disappointment with the government of Vicente Fox, which could translate into a turn to the left for the United States’ southern neighbor. In addition, the Zapatista movement started a tour in southern Mexico promoting its social agenda to benefit the poor, the peasant farmers, the indigenous population and other marginalized people.

Mexico is a very centralized country that has historically failed to meet its challenges in the area of political representation. In this context, the first appearance of Andrés Manuel López Obrador, the candidate of the Democratic Revolution Party, in one of the poorest towns in Mexico makes sense. López Obrador’s first speech in the town of Metlatonoc is consistent with his message of giving priority to the poor for the good of the country.

López Obrador’s candidacy represents a coalition of leftist parties — the Democratic Revolution Party, or PRD; Socialist Convergence, or Convergencia; and the Labor Party, or PT. The former Mexico City mayor continues ahead in many polls in Mexico, by a small margin. López Obrador offers the best opportunity the Mexican left has had to reach the presidency, and he seems to be in touch with everyday problems that common Mexicans face.

From the right side of the political spectrum comes the candidate of the National Action Party, or PAN, Felipe Calderón. A Harvard-educated lawyer, Calderón appears to offer continuity of the policies of the current administration. In 2000, the PAN formed a coalition with the other parties to defeat the notorious Institutional Revolutionary Party for the first time in about 70 years. Calderón has admitted he is the least known of the three major candidates. The Fox administration has been disappointing for many, and this could be a problem for Calderón because the right in Mexico has lost touch with everyday problems facing Mexicans.

The Institutional Revolutionary Party, or PRI, has launched Roberto Madrazo. The former president of the party, Madrazo seems to be an extremely polarizing figure, and the tumultuous process of the primaries within the party probably won’t help his image.

In addition, Madrazo faces the daunting task of overcoming the perception of institutionalized corruption that has plagued this party for so many years.

This presidential election may be too soon for the PRI to stage a comeback due to its internal conflicts and badly damaged image.

The newly formed New Alliance Party, or PANAL, registered Roberto Campa Cifrián as its candidate. Campa is a former member of the PRI who joined the PANAL a few months ago. Campa is very close to Elba Esther Gordillo, who was the former No. 2 official within the PRI until she clashed with Madrazo in Congress.

The Social Democratic and Farming Alternative Party, or PASC, suffered a power struggle between its social democrat wing and a sector of its farmers’ wing. Then, after the party registered two candidates, the IFE had to make the final decision. The official candidate is Patricia Mercado, an economist who graduated from the National Autonomous University of Mexico, better known in Mexico as UNAM. Mercado is virtually unknown across Mexico and — like Campa — has very little chance of winning. However, she could mobilize female voters and maybe start a trend of female presidential candidates.

The Other Campaign of the Zapatistas may be the most interesting story in this presidential election year. The timely re-emergence of the EZNL, or Zapatistas, seems an attempt to tag the issues of indigenous and disenfranchised people to the forefront of the political discourse by taking advantage of the politically charged atmosphere.

The leader of the movement, formerly known as Subcomandante Marcos — who has since renamed himself Delegate Zero — has criticized all the major candidates, including López Obrador. Marcos is calling Mexicans to join The Other Campaign, which sounds like a national project for citizens to tackle the many social problems Mexico faces.

This may be very appealing to many across the country who distrust the government and politicians in general.

In all, the combination promises to make a fascinating political montage.