17 August 2006

Alleged fraud and Felipe Calderon: It happened before

In a timely column in today's edition of Publico, columnist Rueben Martin recalled how allegations of chicanery surfaced last fall during the National Action Party (PAN) primaries, when Felipe Calderon - the self-described "hijo disobediente (disobedient son)" - vanquished fellow aspirants Santiago Creel, the previous favorite, and former Jalisco governor Alberto Cardenas Jimenez.

During the primary, which took place in three stages with ten or eleven states voting at a time, allegations of irregularities led both Creel and Cardenas to allege fraud. In Yucatan, a PAN stronghold, Cardenas defeated Creel 16,903 to 3,940. Cardenas denounced the results in Yucatan, Puebla, Chiapas and Verecruz. (Cardenas, who also served as environment secretary, only captured Jalisco, his home state.) Calderon won the early rounds and rode his front-runner status to the nomination.

Solid proof was lacking then - as it is now - but it is rather ironic Calderon keeps winning this way.

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