The progress Mexico made toward democratization during the last quarter of the twentieth century can be put into perspective by comparing Mexico’s 2000 presidential election with the presidential election held in the United States the same year:
¦ In Mexico, each vote has equal weight. In the United States, as a result of the Electoral College, the votes from states with low population count more. Thus it is possible, as occurred in the 2000 U. S. presidential elections, for the winner to receive fewer votes than his principal opponent.
¦ In Mexico, the non-partisan IFE organizes elections so that the administration of elections does not favor any one party. In the United States, elections are in the hands of partisan local officials, who may, wittingly or unwittingly, make decisions favoring their own party.
¦ In Mexico, there are uniform paper ballots that are marked with a pen and then hand counted at the polling station. The standardized design of the ballot, across the nation and from one election to another, avoids the introduction of new designs—such as Palm Beach County’s famed butterfly ballot—which voters might fail to interpret correctly. The paper ballot also avoids machine malfunction rendering large numbers of votes questionable, such as the Florida votes left in question by hanging chads. Since they leave a verifiable paper trail, paper ballots, as opposed to computerized voting, give the voter greater confidence that the count will be honest. In Mexico, any citizen could monitor vote tabulation from polling station to the national level. Vote totals were posted in written form in front of each polling station. As vote totals came in, they were posted on the internet in real time. Poll watchers ensured that polling-place counts were accurate and that the numbers posted in front of the polling places matched those on the internet.51
¦ The candidates of all parties in the Mexican presidential elections were allowed into the first round of the televised debates. After the public had had a chance to hear their views, the three most popular candidates were selected, based on their polling numbers, to participate in the second round. Opening the debate to all parties allows the airing of ideas not widely voiced in the mainstream. For example, minor party candidate Gilberto Rincon Gallardo denounced intolerance against minority groups. He specifically mentioned the murder of homosexuals in Chiapas. In the U. S. election, only the Democratic and Republican candidates were allowed to debate.52
¦ In Mexico, political parties and elections were publicly funded, and presidential campaigns had a $52-million spending limit. Individual private donations were limited to $80,000 and corporate donations were prohibited. In 2000, the IFE distributed $300 million to the parties to maintain their organizations and to carry out campaigns. This sharply reduces the influence of moneyed interests in the electoral process. The IFE takes these funding limitations seriously. The PAN and its coalition partner in the 2000 election were fined $48.8 million for failure to disclose donations of $8.1 million, for exceeding spending limits by $1.6 million, and for receiving $4 million from corporations. The PRI was fined $98 million for receiving $45 million that Pemex channeled through the oil workers union to support the Labastida campaign.53
¦ As a condition for receiving radio and TV licenses, Mexican broadcasters were required to allow candidates free access to the media. In Mexico, each party received 200 free TV hours and 250 hours of radio time and could use public funding to buy more airtime. This made candidates less beholden to moneyed groups than they were in the United States.54
¦ A larger proportion of the electorate was involved in selecting Mexico’s president in 2000. In Mexico, voter turnout was 64 percent. Only 51 percent voted in the U. S. elections. The difference in the percentage of adults voting is even wider than these figures would indicate since Mexico has a proactive voter registration program. Registrars go from house to house to register voters. In 2000, 93 percent of those over eighteen had been issued a voter ID. Only
63.9 percent of the U. S. population over eighteen was registered.55
World History
