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Proponents of Andrés Manuel López Obrador try to make their candidate cuddly
The Mexican presidential elections are held every six years and since 1929 they have been won by men from one of the two main parties, the PAN or the PRI. So why should you care about what happens on Sunday?
1. These are the largest elections in Mexican history
Not only 88 million Mexicans have the right to vote, but there is also a record number of races
The most watched will be those for the top position , the Presidency. Highlights:
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Four candidates are in the running and each has its own piñata
- Held on July 1
- The winner will replace President Enrique Peña Nieto of the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI)
- In Mexico, presidents are limited to a single term of six years, so Mr. Peña Nieto can not not run Polls suggest that leftist candidate Andrés Manuel López Obrador has a big lead over the rest of the pack
- Three other candidates are in contention: the conservative candidate Ricardo Anaya, the candidate of the ruling party Jose Antonio Meade and the Jaime Rodríguez
According to the National Electoral Institute of Mexico, there would be 18,000 elected positions in total.
All seats in Congress, the Lower House and the Senate are vacant. In 30 of Mexico's states, there will be elections for the state convention and for mayors too.
In addition, residents of eight states and Mexico City will vote for governors.
So whoever wins and who wins, there will be changes at the federal, regional and local levels.
2. Mexico could be changing at the top
Since 1929, when the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI) was founded, it has dominated Mexican politics. For 71 years in a row, from 1929 to 2000, its presidents ruled the country without interruption.
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José Antonio Meade presents himself for the ruling party PRI and has behind him his machine to well-oiled party
In 2000, his traditional rival, the National Conservative Action Party (PAN), came to power. For the next 12 years – first under President Vicente Fox and then under Felipe Calderón – PAN was at the helm.
It was during these years that the Mexican government declared a "war on drugs" and losses in battle.
- The Most Wanted in Mexico: A Guide to Drug Cartels
- The War on Drugs in Mexico: Arrests fail to bring down violence
Neither PAN nor PRI, which won the 2012 election award with its candidate Enrique Peña Nieto, has managed to control the violence.
What is different about 2018, is that a candidate who is neither PRI nor PAN seems to be ready to win. That's Andres Manuel López Obrador, a 64-year-old leftist politician who says he's going to "revolutionize" Mexican politics.
A victory for him would be a political earthquake in a country where almost all voters alive today have never been ruled by a president who was not PRI or PAN .
3. Mexico Counts
Mexico surprised football fans around the world when its team showed Germany's weaknesses in its opening match of the World Cup. The happy holidays of his fans have become legendary.
- Mexican fans celebrate the South Korean "brothers"
- Did the Mexican World Cup fans' celebrations rock the earth?
But Mexico is much more than sombreros and masks.
EPA
Football distracted some from the election campaign
It is the second largest economy in Latin America and a major exporter of oil. But Mexico's economy has suffered from widespread corruption, and the high levels of violence shaking the country have led some companies to pull out of the most affected areas
- The Pepsi factory closes in Mexico after threats
Growth slows down and many Mexicans are angry that President Peña Nieto has not done more to revive the economy.
Mexico has also made international news for two other reasons: the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) and migration. Both count for its powerful northern neighbor, the United States.
4. It's the country Trump loves to hit, and Mexico retaliates
While US President Donald Trump has managed to alienate several nationalities, Mexicans have suffered more abuse than most others. Country?
During his campaign, he said that Mexicans coming to the United States "brought drugs". He added, "They bring the crime, they are rapists and some, I suppose, are good people."
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Mexicans mock the idea the government will pay for the border wall between the United States and Mexico
In order to keep the "bad hombres" out, he proposed to build a wall on the US-Mexico border, which he wants Mexico to pay for.
More recently, he criticized Mexico for failing to do enough to prevent Central American migrants from crossing Mexico en route to the United States, the next Mexican president and the way he will deal with President Trump and his plans to renegotiate Nafta and build a border wall reports.
The candidate who was most critical of Trump during his campaign was left wing Andrés Manuel López Obrador, also known as "Amlo".
He said that he would "see reason" to Mr. Trump. Opposition to the US president earned him additional votes, according to analysts.
But on the issue of children separated from their migrant parents on the US border, Conservative candidate Ricardo Anaya went even further than López Obrador, saying that "it reminds me of what the Nazis did during the Second World War. World War, it's completely unacceptable "
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There were protests in Mexico against President Trump's policies
Jose Antonio Meade of the ruling party also confronted President Trump. It condemns the tariffs that the United States recently imposed on Mexican steel
- US tariffs: taxes on steel and aluminum hit the main allies
In a tweet he warns, "Do not play with Mexico, our markets and our workers."
5. The year was deadly
The elections were held in a context of record violence, with official figures suggesting that more than 25,000 people were reportedly killed in Mexico in 2017.
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Running for a local post in Mexico may be a "death sentence", says the candidate of the local mayor Jacko Badillo
Politicians have been far from being immune. Between the month of September, the date of registration opening and the end of the campaign, on June 28, 133 politicians were killed, according to figures collected by a consulting firm
. where drug cartels often exert more power and influence than local law enforcement, or when local law enforcement forces conflict with gangs.
- The entire police force of Mexico City was arrested after a murder
One thing that many voters said they would like to see was the end of the violence. The biggest challenge for the candidate who will be sworn in as Mexico's next leader on December 1, 2018 will be to find a solution to this problem.
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