A powerful member of Congress could make history today by becoming the first female governor elected in Mexico since the end of one-party rule in the country.
Amalia Garcia, a former communist who is running on the leftist Democratic Revolution Party ticket, has a strong lead in polls ahead of today's election for governor of northern Zacatecas state.
"Being elected in a democratic Mexico means a lot of responsibility, not only for being a woman, but also because I come from the left," Garcia said.
PHOTO: AP
"I have always defended social causes, and my challenge would be to do things right and in a transparent way," she added.
Garcia's strongest contender is Senator Jose Bonilla, a successful businessman who owns three radio stations and is the candidate for an alliance led by the former ruling Institutional Revolutionary Party, or PRI. Bonilla's alliance also includes several smaller, leftist parties.
In a poll published June 23 by the newspaper Reforma, Garcia had 48 percent of the vote compared to 39 percent for Bonilla. The poll's margin of error was a 3.1 percentage points.
Two other candidates were far behind: Francisco Lopez, a rancher with little political experience and a candidate for President Vicente Fox's conservative National Action Party, and Elias Barajas, of the tiny Convergence Party.
The PRI held the presidency for 71 years, and often rigged elections in its favor. No opposition party governor was allowed before 1989, and only a few won office before Fox's national victory in 2000.
Women have been serving a greater role in Mexican politics, holding a growing number of congressional and local posts, as well as cabinet positions.
There were four female governors during the PRI's rule, but two were appointed and the others were elected in races that weren't considered completely open. The first female governor was elected in 1979.
Garcia's father, Francisco Garcia, was governor of Zacatecas from 1956 to 1962 for the PRI. She is one of the founders of her party, also known as the PRD, which incorporated former members of Mexico's Communist Party. She also served as the PRD's president from 1999 to 2002.
But unlike most of the PRD's top elected officials, including Zacatecas Governor Ricardo Monreal, she was never a member of the former ruling PRI.
Zacatecas, a northern agricultural state with one of the largest and best organized migrant populations, changed its constitution last year to make it easier for migrant candidates to win.
It set aside two state congressional seats for migrant candidates only, and allowed part-time residents and US-born citizens with Zacatecan parents to run for office.
Several migrant candidates are running for office in Zacatecas state elections today, which is being closely watched as the rest of Mexico debates the role of migrants in national politics. Lawmakers are considering several proposals to allow absentee voting.
Another crucial governor's race is also taking place today in Chihuahua, a booming industrial and agricultural state, where in 1992 National Action defeated the PRI in one of its first electoral victories.
The PRI regained the governorship in 1998 with the victory of outgoing Governor Patricio Martinez. Martinez's inability to stop the slayings of hundreds of women in the border city of Juarez has already been an issue in the race.
Federal Congressman Jose Reyes Baeza, who comes from one of the richest and most politically influential families in Chihuahua, is running for a PRI-led alliance.
Most polls indicate Reyes Baeza has a substantial lead over Javier Corral, who is running on a joint National Action-PRD ticket. Corral, 37, is a senator and he owns several newspapers in the state. He also served as a federal congressman between 1997 and 2000.
The PRI was also leading in the governor's race in mountainous Durango state, with candidate Ismael Hernandez, a federal senator taking a leave of absence to run for office.
ANGER: Unrest worsened after a taxi driver was killed by a police vehicle on Thursday, as protesters set alight government buildings across the nation Protests worsened overnight across major cities of Indonesia, far beyond the capital, Jakarta, as demonstrators defied Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto’s call for calm. The most serious unrest was seen in the eastern city of Makassar, while protests also unfolded in Bandung, Surabaya, Solo and Yogyakarta. By yesterday morning, crowds had dispersed in Jakarta. Troops patrolled the streets with tactical vehicles and helped civilians clear trash, although smoke was still rising in various protest sites. Three people died and five were injured in Makassar when protesters set fire to the regional parliament building during a plenary session on Friday evening, according to
Australia has announced an agreement with the tiny Pacific nation Nauru enabling it to send hundreds of immigrants to the barren island. The deal affects more than 220 immigrants in Australia, including some convicted of serious crimes. Australian Minister of Home Affairs Tony Burke signed the memorandum of understanding on a visit to Nauru, the government said in a statement on Friday. “It contains undertakings for the proper treatment and long-term residence of people who have no legal right to stay in Australia, to be received in Nauru,” it said. “Australia will provide funding to underpin this arrangement and support Nauru’s long-term economic
‘NEO-NAZIS’: A minister described the rally as ‘spreading hate’ and ‘dividing our communities,’ adding that it had been organized and promoted by far-right groups Thousands of Australians joined anti-immigration rallies across the country yesterday that the center-left government condemned, saying they sought to spread hate and were linked to neo-Nazis. “March for Australia” rallies against immigration were held in Sydney, and other state capitals and regional centers, according to the group’s Web site. “Mass migration has torn at the bonds that held our communities together,” the Web site said. The group posted on X on Saturday that the rallies aimed to do “what the mainstream politicians never have the courage to do: demand an end to mass immigration.” The group also said it was concerned about culture,
Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr has fired his national police chief, who gained attention for leading the separate arrests of former Philippine president Rodrigo Duterte on orders of the International Criminal Court and televangelist Apollo Carreon Quiboloy, who is on the FBI’s most-wanted list for alleged child sex trafficking. Philippine Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin did not cite a reason for the removal of General Nicolas Torre as head of the 232,000-member national police force, a position he was appointed to by Marcos in May and which he would have held until 2027. He was replaced by another senior police general, Jose