[narconews] Davies: Abstentionism Wins Oaxaca Election
 
Date: Mon, 6 Aug 2007 20:36:47 -0500 (CDT)


August 6, 2007
Please Distribute Widely

Dear Colleague,

On August 5 the southern Mexican state of Oaxaca carried out its
state elections with only a dismal 30 percent of registered voters
showing up to the polls. Despite the attempt by APPO to hit the PRI
at the polls with a punishment vote, as they did in the last
elections, the general public seemed to fall back on the belief that
the political system is broken beyond repair and thus not worth
participating in.

Nancy Davies, continuing her commentary from Oaxaca for Narco News,
writes:

The record level of abstentions indicates that the call for the
'punishment vote' issued by the APPO was not enough to overcome
popular feeling that the electoral system doesnt work and is
irrelevant to the lives of Oaxaqueqos.

Oaxaca is a key state. The necessity for institutional changes and
profound reforms remain. Civil society as well as the APPO aim to
extend civic education and citizen participation. The stated goals
are to guarantee economic, racial and gender equity, establish
horizontal popular control, make transparent the use of public
resources, and fund social programs. With a majority of the
population situated outside the legal electoral system, Oaxaca has a
long way to go.

Read the entirety of Davies article online at Narco News:

http://www.narconews.com

 From somewhere in a country called Amirica,

David B. Briones
Webmaster
The Narco News Bulletin
http://www.narconews.com
webmaster@narconews.com

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