Elections in Pandemic?

"In the fantastical, any decision is a political one" -Guillermo del Toro 

Mexico's political organization is based on its constitution as a representative, democratic, secular and federal Republic, composed of thirty-one autonomous States in its internal government regime and a Federal District (Mexico City). The supreme authority of the federation is divided into three powers: legislative exercised by the Congress which makes the laws; judicial which interprets the laws and administers justice such as the Supreme Court of Justice of the Nation or the Electoral Tribunal; and finally, the Executive Power which is exercised by the President of the Republic, who is responsible for the observance of the Constitution. The popularly elected positions in Mexico are obtained solely and exclusively by means of the universal, free, secret and direct vote. This vote occurs at a determined time according to the public office to be elected by means of a system of political parties, with the purpose of promoting democratic participation. 

The election process that ends on June 6, 2021 will be the largest and most complex in the political history of Mexico because there will be an unprecedented turnout of voters. Around 3,500 public offices will be disputed, including governorships, local representatives and city councils. The National Electoral Institute calculates an unprecedented turnout of more than 96 million voters. Having described the real above, we can move on to the exploration of the fantastic, where every decision made or taken is political. 

Currently, the world and Mexican society are surviving illness, the death of loved ones, unemployment, shortages of medicines and hospitals, and many other losses caused by COVID-19. Everything came to a freeze. We cloistered ourselves; we protected ourselves from each other; we individualized ourselves with the sole purpose of surviving. Thus, we reached the year 2021 -a transcendental year for the political system in Mexico. Indeed, the next elections will speak of the approval or not of the current government, of the credibility that the citizenship professes and sustains to the current president Andrés Manuel López Obrador, and to the political party that brought him to power in the last elections. It is important to mention that of the 56,611,027 people who voted in the federal elections in 2018, 53.19% did so for President Obrador, his Regeneración Nacional project, and the implementation of the principles do not steal, do not lie, do not betray, put a stop to corruption, and "Yes" to accountability. 

"First the have-nots," is perhaps the most sensitive statement of the current government and the reason why many businessmen, public servants, civil servants and even intellectuals criticize the current government. Instead of policies to raise the salaries of public servants, civil servants and intellectuals, all privileges (regardless of seniority) and bonuses such as medical insurance provided by private hospitals, gasoline allowances, first class flights and others, were banned, suppressed and eliminated. This caused an inevitable disagreement because all the money that was reduced from these expenses was added to social programs.

There has been much criticism of the current government. Many of these criticisms I did not hear in previous administrations. For example, how much was said about the privatization of national assets that were sold like hot cakes? Why was the missing of 43 students from the Ayotzinapan college a daily occurrence?  Where were those critical voices when thousands of public resources were used to satisfy personal needs such as an airplane or a white house? The truth is that as a consequence of the misuse of public resources many human beings have suffered an agony to obtain quality medical attention either in the hospitals of the Mexican Institute of Social Security or in the Institute of Social Security for Public Employees. As is well known, the lack of quality care in these hospitals was observed in the fact that they do not have the necessary supplies for patients suffering from COVID or other diseases.  In fact, these two health centers occupy the first and second place in the number of complaints of human rights violations.

Furthermore, the cost of masks, medicines, oxygen, and disinfectant tripled, not to mention the cost of tests to see if you were positive or not for COVID. Many workers, farmers, maquiladores, shop owners, domestic employees, waiters, cooks, and drivers saw and felt how death passed by their door without being able to do anything; not even being able to hold the hand of the one who was passing away. Many of these people lost their jobs due to the closing of their workplaces. It was and still is a time to deal with the loss of health, of loved ones, of work, of the companionship; that is to say, to seek an explanation for all that we lost.

It seems like a movie where reality surpasses fiction. We affirm this every day when we watch the news, read the newspaper, and even open the social media to read the first headlines that talk about the number of deaths from COVID-19, the high demand for hospitalizations, the purchase of medical supplies for those who survived and are living with long-term effects, the effectiveness of the vaccine, and now also the election campaigns that could not wait. For many, this election campaign will be a good reason to quickly change the traffic lights. On June 6, voters will be able to go out freely without fear of being infected to fulfill their civic duties.

Everything will stop except the good end, the election day. What fictional movie are we living in? What is more important for the government, human life or political interests or consumerism? Why could only a few people stop or cloister themselves? Why are there so many people who have lost family members or jobs?  My questions continue: Why cannot the system lose? Why cannot this system wait? I am sure this story will continue...

 
By Edith Marquez -political analyst, lawyer, and human rights activist in Mexico.