NY Times: In a Presidential Tone, Calderón Rejects Recount

[Judi Lynn]

In a Presidential Tone, Calderón Rejects Recount


By JAMES C. McKINLEY Jr.
Published: July 14, 2006

MEXICO CITY, July 13 — Felipe Calderón, the man electoral officials say won a razor-slim victory in Mexico’s presidential election, dresses in sober blue suits, wears rimless glasses and is comfortable speaking the language of lawyers and economists.

His opponent, Andrés Manuel López Obrador, has stirred popular protests with fiery denunciations of fraud in last week’s election. But Mr. Calderón is already making every attempt to act presidential.

In an interview on Thursday, he offered a legal defense of his apparent victory, along with a coolly logical view of the political standoff polarizing this country. He said that a recount of all votes was not necessary under the electoral law. The law had been followed to the last jot on election night, he reasoned, and the Mexican Constitution’s test of “certainty and legality” for the polling had been met.

“It’s absolutely legitimate,” Mr. Calderón said. “The legitimacy comes from the law, and the democratic way in which the election was carried out.”
(snip)

Mexico wants to live in peace,” he said. “We don’t want hate. We don’t want confrontation. Much less do we want violence. And it seems to me a mistake and irresponsible to attempt to exacerbate passions to generate hate and violence.”
(snip/...)

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/07/14/world/americas/14calderon.html?_r=1&oref=slogin



Presidential seeming, even regal, Calderon gives the peasants a thrill.

[gasperc]

1. hey, if Bush can steal two

I can at least steal one, what's the big deal really?? The big money boys are all behind me, and without them the country wouldn't have any jobs, Si

[DLnyc]

2. When you plan to steal an election, make sure you pay off the Times

to run mealy-mouthed articles pretending to be 'objective' but embuing your theft with a vague aura of, if not complete legitamacy, inevitability.

This 'article' has not a singe quote from Obrador's side and doesn't bother to question any of Cadron's (mispelling intentional) bullshit.

Now it's clear to me how * was able to steal two elections: he had the Times on his side.

[EFerrari]

8. Pay them off first. n/t

[fasttense]

3. Oh yeah, how has that worked for Mexico so far?

"On illegal immigration, he said the key to a stopping the flow of migrants to the United States was to attract more foreign investment to Mexico and create more factory jobs."

The labor costs have actually dropped since NAFTA was signed. All those factories and foreign investments from the US have actually dropped the average cost of labor in Mexico. While at the same time it has increased the flow of immigration from Mexico to the US. His old idea hasn't worked so far but since he is not the rightfully voted Mexican President, I guess he has to keep his co-conspirators in the US happy. The bushes seem happy so far.

[Judi Lynn]

4. Mexico's poll worker training is weak link

Mexico's poll worker training is weak link
By S. Lynne Walker
COPLEY NEWS SERVICE
July 14, 2006

PUEBLA, Mexico – The dispute over the winner of Mexico's presidential election has revealed a nagging problem with the country's voting system: It relies so heavily on poorly trained poll workers that the mistakes they made in counting the votes may have changed the outcome of the July 2 election.

When electoral officials opened selected ballot boxes last week, they found in almost every case that votes had been miscounted.
(snip)

Such errors, coupled with López Obrador's demand that the vote be annulled, have left many Mexicans with the uneasy feeling that this was not the clean election they'd been promised.

As the Federal Electoral Tribunal, or TRIFE, reviews López Obrador's allegations of fraud, some supporters of Calderón's National Action Party and even some electoral officials are beginning to say there should be a recount before the Sept. 6 deadline for declaring the next president.

“It would be good for this country,” said Luis Garibi, who heads the Federal Electoral Institute, or IFE, operations in Puebla. “It would help us resolve this division, this polarization we have right now in Mexico. We should do whatever is necessary to have political peace.”
(snip/...)

http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/mexico/20060714-9999-1n14mexelect.html

[EFerrari]

10. Do you think this is a fallback story, "We had glitches"? n/t

[Judi Lynn]

17. It really sounds like that, doesn't it? Somewhat surprising to see

this thrown out for public consumption suddenly. Doesn't it seem they may be getting insecure about how people regard the results? Just blame it on the ones at the bottom of the pile, apparently. No one will know the difference.

Bet they're afraid the villagers are coming after them.

[Toots]

5. We don't need no stinkin recount I'm boss now...

Besides people can not be trusted, only machines can be trusted because Bush* says so and everyone knows he is the smartest man alive..

[mbperrin]

6. The legitimacy comes from the law?

Silly me, I thought the legitimacy came from getting the most votes after all the votes are completely counted! WTF was I thinking? I can tell that my whole life has been a strange thought that in a democracy, we would 1) vote 2) count all the votes 3) person with most votes wins! How naive! Lawyers and law are what count, not votes! Yeah, I understand it all now..............(no I don't!).......

[EFerrari]

9. It does come from the law, literally. But I doubt Mexican law

codifies ballot spoilling, ballotbox stuffing, or any of the other tactics they used to try to steal this one.

[librechik]

12. the legitimacy comes from my emphatic assertion

and other's inability to fight against entrenched incumbents--even in a limited-term country like Mexico.

[enlightenment]

7. "Gives the peasants a thrill." OMG.

Did the NY Times actually caption that?? That is beyond disgusting.

[goclark]

11. They didn't even bother to ask GW the question and

he never made a statement when many knew it was a fix!


Mexico at least protested, we didn't protest enough and we must start early.

[shrike]

13. Worked for Bush

Remember in the initial days following the election Bush was assembling a "presidential" team and strutting around with the so-called faraway look in his eyes?

[EFerrari]

15. Later, it was found that Mr. Junior was just slightly crosseyed. n/t

[zara]

14. Only haters would count votes!

Under a conservative appointee, we would all live in peace.
As Rodney King said, can't we all get along?
: )

[Zorra]

16. Dude has that evil fascist look about him that we in the US have

come to know so well these past 6 years.

[unlawflcombatnt]

18. "human errors in most of the counts"

"Election officials recounted ballots in about 3,000 polling places during the official tally three days after the vote, and found human errors in most of the counts."

If this isn't grounds for a recount, what is? Most of the polling places miscounted votes.
And "Adolf" Calderon won by only 243,000 votes. How could they NOT request a recount?

Oh, I forgot. Calderon is the one the Bush dictatorship wanted. My mistake. No need for a recount. :sarcasm:

unlawflcombatnt

EconomicPopulistCommentary

EconomicPatriotForum

___________
The economy needs balance between the "means of production" & "means of consumption."