Assessing the Mexican Elections

The July 1 Presidential election here in Mexico is a watershed. Going into the voting the progressive populist Andrés Manuel Lopez Obrador holds a decisive lead over the neoliberal candidates from PRI and PAN in spite of concerted campaigns to discredit him. A strong victory for AMLO (he is often called by his initials) along with down ticket victories for his Morena party, could change the face of the country. As the dust is expected to settle by July 12, the Center for Global Justice will convene a panel to assess the outcome of the elections and its implication for the future. Journalist Laura Carlsen and historian Elisa Servin will put the events into perspective for us.

Based in Mexico City, Laura Carlsen’s Americas Program is a major source of news and commentary on Mexico and Latin America for English readers (www.americas.org). Her print and broadcast reportage has been featured by Democracy Now!, Pacifica Radio, the New York Times, Washington Post, Huffington Post, BBC and CNN. She is host of the weekly television show, Interviews from Mexico.

Elisa Servin is a research professor of Mexican history with the National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH).She has authored and edited several books, among them are Rupture and Opposition, The Political Opposition, and Crisis, Reform and Revolution in Mexico.