Mexico faces federal elections

The 2021 Mexican federal elections will elect 500 new representatives to the Federal Chamber, 300 of whom will be from direct voting constituencies, i.e. the candidate with the most votes will win, while the remaining 200 candidates will be elected by a proportional representation system. Regional authorities, 15 governorships, 30 local congresses and several mayors' offices in the country will also be renewed. Electoral data includes 94 million people registered to exercise their right to vote, and a high voter turnout is expected on Election Day.

Since the beginning of the electoral campaign, the traditional parties announced a coalition to try to win the largest number of public offices, so the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI) and the National Action Party (PAN), historically rivals, presented a single and joint candidacy, called "Va por México" (Go for Mexico). They were joined by the Party of the Democratic Revolution (PRD). On February 15 this year, the electoral strategy was presented: out of 219 districts to be contested, the PRI will have 77 nominations, the PAN 72 and the PRD 70. These parties feel the threat of the governing party "Morena", which, like the opposition, decided to go to the elections as a unitary bloc, together with the political formations of the Workers' Party (PT) and the Ecologist Green Party of Mexico (PVEM), which will form the candidacy of "Together We Make History", with Morena being allocated 88 districts, the PT 50 and the PVEM 45 districts.

In the electoral race for the governorships, the Morena party, according to the latest polls, has an ample majority in 6 of the 15 governorships in dispute, in the states of Guerrero, Baja California, Sinaloa and Sonora, where it has a 40% lead over its rivals. There are two states that are key to the Mexican economy, Nuevo León and San Luís Potosí, both of which are in a fairly even electoral battle. 

Let's remember that this election campaign has been one of the most violent in the history of Mexico, where 88 politicians have been murdered since the dates of these federal elections were announced in September 2020, and, according to the firm Etellekt Consultores, at least 565 politicians have been subjected to violence. Without a doubt, this could be the biggest election in Mexico's history, but also the bloodiest. One of the candidates killed was Abel Murrieta, who was in the town of Cajeme, where he was a local candidate. Two men in a van shot him 10 times in the body. Murrieta was a person known for his proposals against organised crime "Enough with the drugs that steal our kids and destroy our families. I am a man of the law. I am going to impose order. My hand isn't shaking. I am not afraid," Murrieta said in his latest campaign ad. 

Another known victim was Alma Rosa Barragán, a candidate from the city of Moroleón, who was shot dead during a campaign event, and the Guanajuato state prosecutor's office has opened an investigation into her death.  Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, made a statement on the murders condemning the violent acts, guaranteeing peace and freedom during the electoral process. There is “peace and tranquility” in the entire country. “There is governability, there are no risks of instability, freedoms are guaranteed, in this case the freedom to elect the representatives of the people... There are, as in any electoral process, confrontations, sometimes aggressions, but there is political normality," said the president.

Latin America Coordinator: José Antonio Sierra.