An Informal Poll of Mexican Taxi Drivers Indicates Positive Results from Last Week's Elections

I just returned from a week in Mexico and thought it would make sense to post a bookend to the earlier piece on the elections in Mexico.  We were staying about a 25 minute cab ride from el centro, so I had numerous opportunities to engage the taxi drivers in conversation -- and like taxi drivers the world over, in Mexico they are more than accommodating if you ask them to share their wisdom and insight.  I asked each one their opinion about the presidential election and each of them had a passionate response one way or the other (although it was generally not as passionate as their opinions on who would win the world cup).  The poll was not scientific, but it was certainly random -- at least as to what taxi we happened to get into.

I would say it was split just about right down the middle between taxi drivers supporting Calderon and those supporting Obrador -- a fair reflection of the 0.58% margin of victory announced for Calderon on Wednesday.  The legitimacy of that result is being challenged with Obrador's PRD camp backing up its formal appeals to the Federal Election Tribunal with calls for protest marches challenging the ballot count -- there will be tense days ahead as Mexico faces a constitutional test of its electoral process ala Bush v. Gore in 2000.   The Tribunal has until September 6 to validate the election results.

The most remarkable reaction stemming from my taxi conversations, however, is that while the driver's were clearly passionate in their choice of candidate, they all seemed confident that the system would play out as intended rather than cynical that their choice made any difference, as might have been the case even 10 years ago.   So while the next president remains in question, the people of Mexico are clearly winners in that they seem to have taken control of the electoral process -- and that, I think, is a very positive development.

(Note: To follow the continuing story of the election process as it unfolds, as well as other stories on Latin American politics, business and culture, keep an eye on The Latin Americanist blog which is certainly among the best english language blogs I've found focusing on Latin America).