Politicians time once again
It is time for stupid, empty politicians slogans once again in my dear country. And, as always, while we had lively, controversial presidential elections three years ago (and I won’t rant this time on why so many Mexicans still believe the current president can only be called a de facto president), the mid-term elections… Fail to get any attention and cause only bored reactions.
I am writing today mostly because I stumbled upon Francisco’s post on why the Mexican Ecologist Green Party (PVEM) campaign does not impress him.
As many, many other people with strong political opinions I know, I will go to the voting booth next July 5th, as I have done every time since I was of age - But I will most probably void my ballot, as I have found nobody worth my vote. And even if I am (and have always been) a leftist person, none of the four so-called leftist parties inspire the smallest bit of confidence. But hell, even the rightist or centrist parties fail to inspire confidence to their voters - After the 2006 electoral fiasco, we got a political system nobody believes in. And all analysts seem to concur that we moved from the most complete presidential regime to an utter partidocracy, where all of the (strong enough) parties cover each other’s back not to lose the respective privileges (largely, money, but also law-making faculties and influence, which of course translates to impunity).
Worth a very special mention is the crown jewel of political clowns in Mexico - PVEM, the Mexican Ecologist Green Party. A party that gets the gold medal for the most corrupt in our country (which is no small feat). A party where the National Party Presidents to date have only been father and son. And it is alarming because it is the only party apparently gathering more voters than they had before. But also, because of its utter pragmatism and lack of respect for anything they might once have stood for. I still remember on the 1994 elections, the first time they participated in general elections, their slogan was don’t vote for a politician — Vote for an ecologist… Little did the society know by then they were worse off than our oft-hated politicians. Can you imagine a so-called ecologist party that is expelled of the Global Greens as its behaviour is completely antithetical to anything a green party stands for? A party that promotes reinstating the death penalty (which was abolished from our Constitution, after decades of not being applied, less than a decade ago)? Or they say that, if a given medicine is not available at the Social Security hospitals, the government should pay the citizen so he can go and buy it at a drug store? (of course, if a needed medicine is not available at the Social Security it is most probably because the government is underfunded, not because the lazy administrators don’t want to buy the medicines. And yes, with those two retrograde, stupid and -thankfully- completely unfeasible promises they have doubled their probable voters outcome in the past couple of months.
The campaigns are only officially starting now. They are all really pathetic. A voter turnout of ~30% is expected. But yes, I am a politized person and just cannot help inviting everybody who has the right to go and vote. If there is somebody worth voting for in your district, please vote for him/her. However… Together with many people I admire, together with many of my friends, together with the people who still believe it is possible to make something out of this forsaken country’s politic system… I invite you to void your ballots. Hopefully they will be enough so they must be heard this time.
Comments
Carolina Flores 2009-05-26 13:50:46
Hi Gunnar. I’m not mexican
Hi Gunnar. I’m not mexican but I am living on Mexico City now. I was shocked when I saw the death penalty campaign… That’s what I’ve thought Green Party????? And now I’m shocked with all the adds… all the candidates seem to be some angry guys, trying to look as the man who can put things in order… and the women, are just like Televisa girls…
(changing the subject: Are you going to Nicaragua, to the ECSL?)
gwolf 2009-05-17 10:45:00
Of course, there are crooks at all possible levels…
But what is our resource against it, as a society? Of course: Denouncing it as soon as you know about it. And yes, it demands energy, but it yields results. That is what a democratic society means. Going to vote once every three years does not make a country more democratic — Civil participation does. If this PVEM idea was implemented, would the nurses in question stop blocking the medicines in order to give them to whever they prefer? Of course not. They would not be held accountable for it. It would be easier for them just to fill up the needed format for you to go to the drugstore. Seems like a net win? Of course, IMSS/ISSSTE would then have to get resources to pay for that, right? And those resources would probably come out of, say, reducing the amount of people they hire. Who loses? Everybody.
lanjoe9 2009-05-17 08:41:17
Medicines are missing not
Medicines are missing not because the government is underfunded, but rather because the incredibly humane and kind nurses of the public health sector hide them in order to sell them to someone else.
It happened to my mum - for some mysterious reason, they only had medicines for her when a certain nurse was in charge. So medicines would be available in the morning, during her shift, unavailable in the immediate afternoon, and available again next morning.
Turns out that that specific nurse didn’t know “how things worked” at the time.
lanjoe9 2009-05-19 06:31:43
I’m NOT up for PVEM! (or anyone else!)
Just to clarify: I do NOT support PVEM’s proposal (or ANY other of ANY political party - I’m absolutely SICK of them all).
Roadmaster 2009-05-26 10:11:51
Voiding
The problem with this country is that those in power don’t LISTEN. So what’s the point, really, in voiding all the ballots? if 95% of votes are void, is that a strong message? maybe, but it’ll fall on deaf ears, since the one with the most votes out of those 5% who DID vote is the one who’s going to win. And trust me, there will be little mention of those 95% void ballots in the news.
Like I said, it’s a message nobody’s going to hear, because someone will still get elected and keep on doing a lousy job.
That said, I will indeed void my vote, because there’s nobody to vote for but crooks.