MEXICO CITY (CN) — Violence erupted at several polling stations across Mexico during internal elections for Morena party leadership held over the weekend.
Brawls, burned ballots and instances of voter fraud were reported from Durango to Chiapas, leading to the cancellation of several elections on Saturday and Sunday.
President Andrés Manuel López Obrador downplayed the irregularities in his morning press conference Monday.
“I consider it to have been a good, democratic election day, because around 2.5 million citizens participated,” he said, describing the voter turnout as “massive.”
After López Obrador initially described the violence as “differences” and mentioning “pushing and other things, or slapping,” a reporter noted that in one instance, the fighting was carried out with baseball bats.
“Yes, yes, yes, but they were… Look, as I knew you were going to ask me about this — of 553 voting centers, only 19 were canceled, of 553, that’s 3.43%,” said López Obrador.
As for reports of voters being brought to polls with bribes or other incentives, he said the practice was seen “in very few polling booths, it wasn’t widespread, not like the opposition, the conservatives, would have liked.”
Statistics aside, the violence and irregularities were enough to cast doubt on Morena’s ability to carry out elections and stand united as an institutionalized party.
“It was hardly a free and fair election,” said Javier Aparicio, a research professor in the political studies department at the Mexico City-based think take CIDE.
“There was conflict in a number of states,” he said. “The president claims that there were only minor incidents, but the images that we saw in Zacatecas, Durango, Veracruz, Mexico City — for sure there wasn’t conflict in all 300 districts, but it was a large proportion of them.”
The vote succeeded, however, in demonstrating Morena’s capacity to mobilize voters.
“It’s evident that Morena’s mobilizing capacity is second-to-none,” said Aparicio. “If the numbers are correct — over 2 million voters over the weekend — no other party could do that.”
But such mobilization could not be fully attributed to voters’ desire to participate in the democratic process. Reports from Michoacán, Tabasco and other states detailed how benefits from social programs served as leverage to influence people to participate.
“It reflects how social programs are being used to mobilize Morena voters or sympathizers,” said Aparicio.
The weekend’s incidents cast a pall over Morena at a time when the party is trying to project an image of stability, security and honesty in terms of elections. López Obrador’s electoral reform is currently being debated in the federal Chamber of Deputies.
Among other changes, the reform aims to do away with the National Electoral Institute (INE) and replace it with a new body called the National Institute of Elections and Consultations. Critics and members of opposition parties have accused the president of trying to destroy the autonomy of the INE and allow his Morena party to exert control over Mexico’s federal and local elections.
“It may be an unintended consequence, but it’s going to be very hard for Morena to argue that they need to overhaul the electoral system,” said Aparicio. "I don't think this will help the electoral reform."
Some analysts have predicted that the Morena party will begin to fracture, something Aparicio said was "very likely," because the party is still young and does yet not wield hegemonic power over Mexican politics, like the Institutional Revolutionary Party did for decades.
The weekend's events could serve as a harbinger for that breaking up. Morena's strength is based on López Obrador's popularity and the social programs he has implemented. This has caused many politicians from other parties to migrate to his side.
Such a situation is "ripe for conflict," Aparicio said, but added that a fracturing of Morena would ultimately be good for Mexican politics. A weakened Morena could benefit opposition parties, whose power has dwindled under López Obrador's administration.
"Nowadays, the opposition parties are weak, but they are alive, so if you are ignored by Morena's leaders, you can run to the opposition," Aparicio said. "That could help the survival of democracy in Mexico."
Courthouse News correspondent Cody Copeland is based in Mexico City.
Follow @copycopeland
Subscribe to Closing Arguments
Sign up for new weekly newsletter Closing Arguments to get the latest about ongoing trials, major litigation and hot cases and rulings in courthouses around the U.S. and the world.
Additional Reads
-
Putin, Xi vie for influence at Central Asian summit July 3, 2024 -
