Once upon a time, there was a presidential election in which the outcome was evenly split 50-50, like uninformed, misdirected opinions falling through a bipartisan Plinko. Since the outcome was so close, and because of allegations of fraud, the loser called for a recount. Despite massive evidence supporting those claims, the Supreme Court rejected the recount and ruled the conservative candidate the winner. Many international political experts criticized the voting procedures and recommended a change to runoff elections. Sound familiar? Good old American politics, but I'm referring to the 2006 Mexican election. Except this story has a twist that is a bit more interesting than Al Gore accepting a spanking.
Andrés Manuel Lopez Obrador (AMLO by his bffs) decided he didn't care what the obviously corrupt "government" said. His supporters refer to him as the Legitimate President and he has chosen his (shadow?) cabinet, traveling around the country to inaugurate the local representatives in each state. Fuck high school football, this guy needs some cheerleaders. Laura and I took the liberty of translating his 50 Commitments into English, since the American media is overly simplistic and biased (not to mention generally lacking) in its reporting of international current events. I was surprised to hear such specific and inspirational campaign promises, something that I found absent in the last couple US elections.
50 Commitments to Restore National Pride by Andy Lopez-Obrador
1. We will begin to pay the historic debt that we owe the indigenous community. We will combat discrimination and poverty. We will recognize the rights of the indigenous towns and fulfill the accords of San Andrés Larráinzar.
2. We will establish, as was done in Mexico City, a food pension for all adults over 70 years.
3. We will bestow financial aid to all the handicapped poor.
4. We will enact the constitutional right to health care and free medicine.
5. We will guarantee that the minimum wage stays above inflation.
6. We will certify the minimum pension and revise the retirement age, without affecting the rights acquired by workers.
7. We will do away with the millionaire pensions of ex-presidents.
8. We will improve health care in IMSS and ISSSTE, and private medical services won't be given to public employees.
9. We will guarantee free public education at all levels. We will elevate the quality of basic education. We will fortify the school breakfast program, give scholarships to students from families with financial difficulties, and create boarding schools for children in small and remote communities with teachers at every grade.
10. We will deliver, as is done in Mexico City, a free packet of school supplies to all public preschools, primary, and secondary schools in the country.
11. We will end the rejection of young people seeking admission to public universities. During the 6 years of office, we will create 200 preparatory schools and 30 public universities.
12. We will support scientific study to minimize our dependence upon foreign knowledge and technological aid.
13. We will promote the practice of sports, as much in disemination and health as in high performance.
14. We will protect the cultural heritage of Mexico. We will stimulate artistic creativity from basic education and give support to musicians, painters, sculptors, writers, filmmakers and other creative people.
15. We will promote reading, book fairs, journalism, and the creation of libraries and archives.
16. We will increase the coverage of cultural radio stations and the public TV channels, 11 and 22.
17. We will implement a comprehensive agricultural program that simultaneously promotes self-sufficient economies in communities, production of goods for the internal market, and agricultural enterprises.
18. We will promote the fishing industry, to improve living conditions in the country's coastal and river communities, and to bring the population good quality proteins at a low price.
19. We will seek an agreement with the governments of the US and Canada, to stop the free importation of corn and beans, as specified in the WTO agreement which will go into effect in 2008, because over 3 million rural families depend on their cultivation.
20. We will plant one million hectares of trees to generate logging jobs in Veracruz, Oaxaca, Chiapas, Tabasco and Campeche, where the abandonment of rural areas is most noteable and where emigration to the US has grown most. We will also confront the grave problem of environmental deterioration produced by the near destruction of tropical jungles in the Southwest.
21. We will define a comprehensive policy for the care, balance, responsible use, management and distribution of water.
22. We will modernize the energy department, privatizing neither electricity nor petroleum industries. We will give greater importance to petroleum to create more jobs. In 3 years we will quit importing natural gas and gasoline, and these products, together with electrical energy, will be sold at fair prices within the country, and we will be competitive in the international market.
23. We will seek a balance between public and private interests for construction of infrastructure, public works and housing.
24. We will promote the development of the industrial branches that directly and indirectly create the most jobs, such as those that replace imports and reduce the loss of foreign investment.
25. We will stop the emigration of manufacturers by establishing a policy to offer incentives and reevaluate the importance of our country's proximity to the largest market in the world.
26. We will bolster family finances. We will give interest-free credits for self-employment and other productive enterprises through simple, unbureaucratic means.
27. We will implement an ample program for the improvement, expansion and construction of housing. The goal is to create 500,000 projects a year and generate 400,000 jobs.
28. We will unite the Atlantic and Pacific on the Isthmus of Tehuantepec, connecting the construction of two commercial ports in Salina Cruz, Oaxaca and Coatzacoalcos, Veracruz with a cargo railroad and the expansion of the existing highway.
29. We will improve transportation throughout the Republic. Specifically, we will build a modern railroad or bullet train running from the capital to the US border.
30. We will construct a new international airport in Tizayuca, Hidalgo with the service of a fast, modern train to the capital.
31. We will promote tourism. Mexico posesses splendid archeological sites, important colonial cities, beaches, and exceptional flora and fauna. In addition, tourism services greatly increase employment and the earnings of workers.
32. We will convert the Islas Marías into a center for ecotourism. The legendary Isla Madre, which was converted into a prison in the Porfirian era and is a symbol of social and political repression, will be converted into Isla de los Niños, where recreation, education and coexistence with nature will be the primary themes.
33. We will respect freedom of expression and religion. We are in favor of dialogue, tolerance, plurality, equality, diversity, openness and human rights.
34. We will guarantee public tranquility and security. The fight against crime is much more than a matter of cops and robbers. The ultimate solution--the most effective and probably the least expensive--should be to combat unemployment, poverty, family disintegration, the loss of values and the absence of alternatives. But it isn't enough to encourage social development; the corruption in the police forces must be brought to justice, working cooperatively on all levels of government and acting with intelligence, professionalism and perserverence.
35. We will strengthen the armed forces as a fundamental institution to guarantee the integrity of the territory and the defense of the nation. We will not use the military for resolving conflicts of social origen: never again will there be a massacre to suppress demands for liberty and justice.
36. We will maintain a respectful relationship with all the people and governments of the world. We will honor the principles of non-intervention, self-determination of the people and peaceful resolution of conflict.
37. We will seek a relationship with the US and Canada that goes beyond the WTO, and that includes cooperation for our development. On the agenda with the US government, the principle issue will be immigration and the rights of the Mexicans that cross the border out of necessity to work in their country.
38. We will implement a firm policy that reduces, to the benefit of society, the extremely high cost of the bureaucratic apparatus.
The presidential salary will be reduced by half, and no other member of the Executive Branch will receive a higher salary. The president will live and work in the Palacio Nacional, and the current official residence of Los Pinos will become part of the Bosque de Chapultepec park.
Similarly, without affecting common workers or unions, adjusting the structure of command, ending wasteful spending and special priveledges, we will achieve, from the first year, a savings of 100 billion pesos (10 billion USD) which will be used for the basic needs of the country.
39. We will fight from the ground up against corruption, lack of punishment and traffic of influences. Combating corruption is a moral imperative; furthermore, it is instrumental in creating freedom for productive petitions for change.
40. We will improve revenue services. We will not increase taxes in real terms, nor will there be new taxes. Sales tax will not be charged on medicine or food. We will confront tax evasion, which amounts to more than 50%.
41. We will simplify the payment of taxes. In the case of Real Estate tax, self-declaration of earnings and the payment of the corresponding tax will suffice. Other than those who are accused of falsification, citizens can pay their taxes simply in commercial centers and banks or online, and the audits will be carried out by raffle.
42. We will allow for the operation of regional banks to help confront the problem of the lack of credit for development.
43. We will reorganize the public debt. We will begin by revealing the real amount of the debt, putting aside double accountability: officially only $150 million is recognized, when in reality the debt reaches $273 billion. Furthermore, simulations implicate paying higher interest.
44. We will difinitively resolve the question of Fobaproa and other black holes, like the Pidiregas, the Highway Rescue and the credits of the so-called Bank of Development. Once the debt is revealed and declared, terms will be sought to reduce the cost of financing and allow free demands for social and economic development.
45. We will respect the autonomy of the Bank of Mexico. We will maintain macroeconomic equilibrium; that is to say, there will be an adequate policy of finance and discipline in the management of information and the public deficit.
46. We will initiate a new federal attitude to clearly define the rules of coexistence and cooperation between federal, state, municipal and capitol governments.
47. We will be respectful of the autonomy of the Legeslative Branch, seeking compromises for the benefit of social, economical and political developent of the country.
48. We will respect the descisions of the Judicial Branch. Respectfully, we will continue to insist on the need for reform to create within it a truthful system of control and vigilance that rejects corruption and guarantees the fair proceedings of judges, magistrates and ministers.
49. We will bring prestige and respectability to the position of the Presidency. The President of Mexico will act as a respectable politician; that is to say, as a man of the State, not as the head of a party, fraction or group.
The President will not use institutions in a divisive manner, neither to help his friends nor to destroy his adversaries. He will respect all Mexicans and will be an agent of harmony and national unity.
50. As was done in Mexico City, and carrying out the necessary legal reforms, the President of the Republic will submit fundamentally to the revocation of command.
After 3 years, there will be a consultation with only one question: "Should he continue in the capacity of the Presidency, or is the command revoked?"
The people are sovereign: just as they can grant power, they can revoke it. The people can give, and the people can take away.
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