Mexican presidential race exposes class, ethnic tensions

Mexican presidential race exposes class, ethnic tensions
Former mayor's promises put wealthy on edge
By Hector Tobar, Los Angeles Times | June 4, 2006

MEXICO CITY -- An insidious force is threatening the collective peace of mind in Lomas de Chapultepec, the Beverly Hills of this capital city.

The 10-foot walls and the electrified fences that are de rigueur for most homes can't keep the force out, nor can the neighborhood's ubiquitous private security guards. It seeps in, like a noxious vapor: the possibility that a certain leftist politician with a tropical accent might be elected the next president of Mexico in July.

Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, a native of the sultry state of Tabasco and onetime mayor of Mexico City, is the bogeyman of the rich here. Once the clear front-runner, he is now in a tight race with Felipe Calderon, the candidate of the center-right National Action Party. But even though his once-formidable lead has shrunk, the possibility of a Lopez Obrador victory has some wealthy Mexicans preparing as if for an earthquake or a hurricane.

``If he wins, this country will be ruined. I'll be better off leaving," said Marta Garcia at the Starbucks in Lomas de Chapultepec, where a cafe mocha and a blueberry muffin cost slightly more than the daily minimum wage of $4.50. ``I'll move to Guatemala."
(snip/...)

http://www.boston.com/news/world/latinamerica/articles/2006/06/04/mexican_presidential_race_exposes_class_ethnic_tensions/

No, the PRI is center right. The PAN is rightwing.

They sure sound like a bunch of arrogant assholes.

to make them safe from the truth.

been there and done it

& the Golden Ghetto types were run out of Guatemala ca 50 years ago.

Wonder if there will be a democratic upheaval our so-called democratic BushCo will try to kill off, this time in Mexico.

Hell, BushCo can't even keep a win in the win column: witness Afghanistan. WE ARE LESS SAFE TODAY FROM TERRORISTS THAN WHEN BUSHCO TOOK OFFICE.

We need a candidate who is straight talking, w/ serious military experience.

We don't need no more stinkin chicken hawks; or war mongering military/contractor types.

take of L.A. Times editors on the brown and the poor finally achieving some electoral clout and having an excellent candidate for president--so excellent, in fact, and so representative of the vast majority of Mexicans that he gets routinely reviled, stereotyped and 'swiftboated' by the corporate news media. Suddenly, the L.A. Times is noticing "class, ethnic tensions" in Mexico, now that the rich feel threatened by the inevitable consequences of their own bad behavior.

They blackholed any news of the war of the rich against the poor in Mexico (as they have been doing here as well). Now they're noticing. Jeez. They never had a headline, "Vincente Fox's promises to banking and financial interests puts poor on edge" (i.e., "Former mayor's promises put wealthy on edge."). The poor being on edge is of no account. Nor have they ever noted that "class and ethnic tensions" in Mexico are the result of the stupid and deliberately greedy policy of the super-rich. The "Mexican presidential race" in which a true advocate for the vast majority poor population is a serious contender for president "exposes class, ethnic tensions" only because "class, ethnic tensions" (due to the rich stealing from the poor and the brown) have been completely and loftily IGNORED by the war profiteering corporate news monopolies until now--now that a real leftist and a genuine representative of the people might be taking hold of the reins of power.

These subtle but relentless messages--that the suffering of the poor merits no headline, while the fears of the greedy rich merit lavish attention--are time and again re-enforced, so that most of us hardly notice them any more.

Although the rich don't come off at all well at the hands of the reporter, Hector Tobar, in the article itself, the headline speaks volumes, as usual--a common problem in the corporate news monopoly press, whereby rightwing editors manipulate public perceptions through headlines that carry rightwing messages and slants on the news, sometimes even flatly contradicting the reporter's content.

One other item of note re this article: The reporter does fall prey to a common stereotyping phrase that I often encounter in the corporate news monopolies regarding Hugo Chavez. Tobar is describing attack ads against Lopez Obrador which have apparently damaged him in public opinion polls. Here's how Tobar describes one of them: "'Lopez Obrador is a danger to Mexico,' intoned one of the ads, comparing him to President Hugo Chavez of Venezuela, a self-styled populist."

Hugo Chavez is NOT a "self-styled populist," whatever that may mean. He is the PRESIDENT OF VENEZUELA, repeatedly elected by large majorities of his countrymen, in highly monitored elections (--elections that have been deemed honest and aboveboard by hundreds of election monitors, including those of the OAS, the Carter Center and the EU). However one might describe his "populism," it is NOT "self-styled." His policies, his statements, his actions and the policies and actions of his government are the reflection of the vast majority of millions of Venezuelans. THEY would say that his "populism" is THEIR policy!

The reporter Tobar uses this phrase himself--"a self-styled populist." (It is not possible to tell if the ad actually used it; it is not in quotes.) This phrase TRIVIALIZES and MARGINALIZES the PRESIDENT OF VENEZUELA as some sort of maverick or cowboy. Its intent is to demean him and, by extension, to demean the incredible, peaceful, democratic, leftist revolution that is occurring throughout Latin America, by personalizing any reference to it, as the corporate news monopolies once did (and in truth are still doing) to the Cuban revolution--another revolution that involves millions and millions of people. In the case of Venezuela, the revolution is occurring with the specific and democratic consent of the majority in a lawful and Constitutional government. It is NOT "self-styled"! It is not made up out of nothing by one personality. It is the reflection of the wishes, beliefs and activities of an entire country.

molding the perception of the readers. Hit hard with an emotionally loaded headline, probably most readers don't pull away from its gravity well enough to objectively deal with the contents. Too bad the reporters don't get to write their own headlines!

I don't know how many times I've seen the old "self-styled," also. Sounds like something cranked out by _Bush's crack team of propagandists, like Otto Reich. They are so wrapped up in demonizing Hugo Chavez, as there are STILL some people who have no idea who he is, much less despise him to the degree they crave, and also investing in slimeing and ridiculing Evo Morales, that they almost never have the time left over to adequately carp on about Fidel Castro.

I'm sure you've read that it was due to the Peruvian right-wing press that Ollanta Omala's well defined advantage started tumbling and hit bottom within one week or two of intensive back-stabbing. Even then, he had just started regaining ground right rapidly before they ran out of time.

Same right-wing media attack campaign in Mexico, with the same results. Maybe this time they moved too quickly, and Lopez Obrador will have sufficient time to regain all the ground which was stolen through their underhandedness.

The elites are European-blooded, and are very proud of their Spanish heritage. They are also the minority! Even in the event a member of the ethnic majorities were to become wealthy and successful, he/she would never be allowed "in the club."