Monday, December 5, 2005
Odd campaign and funding alliances in Mexico
By Carlos Luken
Since
the 2000 presidential victory of Vicente Fox, years of autocratic rule are painstakingly giving way to Mexico’s particular
form of democracy. Starting from predetermined rules, decreed and imposed by heavy-handed Institutional Revolutionary Party
(PRI) regimes, the current administration’s reform efforts are being recognized as a strange mixture of old and new,
bad and good, centralism and delegation that is edging its way towards eradicating what has been called euphemistically “the
perfect dictatorship.”
The
single party system, fraudulent elections, cronyism and government paid campaigns have decreased considerably, but not disappeared.
Yet the present outcome only outlines the beginning stages of a process of improvement that may take generations to mature.
Although
most changes have been in the right direction, many are still in transitional stages. Mexico’s problem is twofold: it
must simultaneously teach the electorate to embrace new virtues while forgetting old vices. The results embody confusion to
some and opportunities for others.
Before
2000 there was no distinction between government and the ruling political party. Campaign financing and party disbursements
were considered government expenses. In an effort to do away with the single party political monopoly, changes have given
way to a rowdy multi-party system that can be compared to neighborhood gangs whose practices are semi-improvised by each according
to their particular situation.
Some
were major political institutions like the once invincible PRI, the now ruling National Action Party (PAN), or the leftist
Party of the Democratic Revolution (PRD), their prior experience, structure and grass root organization having prepared them
to take advantage of the rewards offered by the system.
Others
saw that federal laws had loopholes that gave them openings to secure state financed lifestyles. Many of these opportunists
went on to form their own federally funded political parties, whereas other groups took the opportunity and formalized their
nongovernmental associations into political action organizations.
Thus
Mexico’s political party system developed two dimensionally: massive and micro.
As
small parties began registering and participating in electoral processes, one flaw became especially evident – most
suffered from an absence of administrative skills and organizational support. They lacked the ability to participate and finance
national campaigns, present regional candidates, or win local elections. And on Election Day they failed to win the required
two percent minimum of the vote and lost their registries.
Still,
some others began to understand the workings of the system and, in order to continue receiving federal funds, developed survival
strategies and skills.
Alliances
were formed between parties, and campaign spending was increased in order to gain positioning in popularity polls. This strategy
developed large corporate voting structures that encouraged bartering of voting blocks. The unfortunate outcome was that with
few exceptions, morals were discarded as the aligned parties focused more on increasing their allowance of federal funds and
negotiating governmental positions than in straightening their ideals, programs or policies.
But
as Mexico faces its forthcoming 2006 presidential election, that promises to be heavily contested and uncertain in its results,
the electoral alliance marketplace has turned absurd. All three major parties are flagrantly considering any proposal put
forward by the so-called mini-parties, which in truth offer minuscule percentages in voters. This while ethical considerations
are being cast aside for the sake of ballots, with past enemies and rivals becoming strange bedfellows.
Campaign
financing regulations are being deliberately circumvented by any means possible. Parties have spent unchecked millions on
national primary election advertisements that aren’t currently considered presidential campaign expenditures.
Some
candidates, like PRD nominee Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, have devised mass telemarketing finance schemes that some people
suspect are being used to funnel in untraceable contributions from Hugo Chavez of Venezuela. Other financing strategies have
been contrived by using government officials as intermediaries for laundering campaign contributions, perhaps the most notorious
cases being video-scandals in which the PRD leader of the Mexico City Assembly, Rene Bejarano, was taped receiving cash from
a city contractor allegedly for party campaigns. Or the Tijuana case, where municipal employee salaries were docked a five
percent “PRI contribution” for aid packages donated to victims of Hurricane Wilma, but the money was diverted
to the PRI campaign headquarters in Chiapas.
For
these reasons the Federal Electoral Institute has proposed a campaign advertising “truce” until January 18 (one
day before the 161 day presidential campaign officially begins). And Mexico’s Interior Secretary has forewarned that
the expected closeness in vote in the presidential race, and unethical funding practices, may be cornerstones for confrontations
and legal disputes by loosing candidates that could delay the transition process.
Carlos Luken, a MexiData.info columnist, is
a Mexico-based businessman and consultant. He can be reached via e-mail at ilcmex@yahoo.com.
