Mexico - Be Forewarned: No sales of alcohol during the election (July 2)

I've been reading in other places (e.g., Tripadvisor forums) that there will be no sales of alcohol during the upcoming election. There is some debate whether hotels in tourist zones such as Cancun are exempt.

Perhaps some residents of Mexico can set me straight but I wanted to pass it on....

PS-Mrs. D2 and I recently went to Guanajuato....what an incredible place!

Traditionally, voters have taken the opportunity to get loaded - those who backed the winning party, to celebrate, those who didn't to blow off steam - which has resulted in violence. And in some areas, liquor has been used as a "behavioral lubricant" to turn loose angry groups supported by local caciques onto a popolation for reasons real or imagined.

This year, it would appear the two minority parties (PRD, leftish and populist) and PAN (rightish and Church-supported) will take the leading roles nationally, and the traditional (dinosaur and corruption central) PRI party that ran Mexico for so many years seems to be taking a back seat in presidential elections at least - but many local elections will be likely be contested or protested.

Banning booze on election day (July 2 this year) is not a new tradition in Mexico, it is just an ordinary precuation. And this weekend, I'd recommend that visitors avoid any demonstrations or large masses of people in cown or city centers and plan a calm day.

At the W in D.F--they came by friday evening with a cart and cleaned out our mini-bar! But the bar in the lobby is set to resume sales at the stroke of midnight.

The elections in Mexico City and the entire Republic have been too close to call at this time. Alcohol sales may be resumed at the stroke of midnight tonight, but I recommend people check with locals and stay aware - depending on where you are, you might see demonstrations and other street actions the next day or more; these could be quashed with truncheons, tear gas or water cannons. Avoid them, and be aware you may deal with traffic and service disruptions.

These issues might be highly localized, but you might be in one of those locations affected, so check and be safe. Avoid big crowds gathering, especially near any city or town squares.

Update morning of July 3: Last night, both conservative PAN and leftist PRD presidential candidates declared an electoral vistory, with only 44% of polls reporting and a margin that was meaningless. Leftist candidate appeared before a crowd of tens of thousands in Mexico City's central square (Zócalo) where his supporters began crying out "Fraud! Fraud!"

This morning, PAN conservative presidential candidate Felipe Calderón has claimed a vicotry, saying that with 96% of polls reporting he has a lead of 400,000 votes that can not be undone. "AMLO" Lopez Obradór still says he has won, wants a recount but says he wil lobey the wil of the people.

Reuters says (in part) "The official returns and Lopez Obrador's softer tone reduced the risk of a major political crisis of a contested election, and Mexico's financial markets jumped on a wave of investor optimism.

Legislative election results from Sunday showed Calderon's party made major gains and would be the largest single party in the next Congress, although it fell short of a majority.

The stock market jumped 4.5 percent in early trade and Mexico's peso currency rose 1.5 percent.

Mexico's top election official said late on Sunday the race was too close to declare a winner and a recount was needed, but Calderon insisted that was no longer necessary.

With returns in from 96.3 percent of polling stations, the conservative had 36.4 percent support, 1 percentage point ahead of his rival. Lopez Obrador would have to see a dramatic swing in the remaining polling stations to catch up.

If the Federal Electoral Institute goes ahead with a recount, however, it could be days before a final vote count is in."

(AMLO received much of his support from the Ferderal District and surrounding area urban areas where counting is likely over... and in the three Gubernatorial races in Aguascalientes, Jalisco and Morelos, the PAN conservative candidates apepared to have won.)

I continue to advise visitors in Mexico to avoid large crowds and demonstrations for the next week, and to be aware of possible occasional or sporadic disruptions of traffic and services in some areas, such as highways passing through some of the poorer suburbs of Mexico City. I don't expect any major trouble, but we have a history of sporadic and localized events after elections reflecting anger and poor impulse control.

From my own rambling around D.F. today, and chats with various locals, it sounds like things have been calmer than expected in the center of town.

The biggest problem I've encountered is my inability to remember that it rains every late afternoon for an hour or so.

ROFL! Be thankful - the rains keep the polution from being as bad as it can be.

It does appear center-right candidate Calderón has won by a very narrow margin, about 1%, which apparently is to be certified by the IFE (electoral commission) on or about Sunday, if they are proceeding with a ballot recount to begin Wednesday. And the PRI, which has run congress for nearly a century, has lost its predominant position there, in addition to the historic loss of the presidency six years ago.

I'd still keep away from any large gatherings and demonstrations through the remainder of this week anyway, just as a precaution, particularly in Oaxaca and Mexico City (check with locals; it's hard to beat local knowledge, as HSBC seems to say these days also.) But it does appear Mexico's democracy is maturing - a far cry from when I was a little one and my mother was shot at by a sniper with an automatic weapon from a neighboring rooftop - she had come out to see what was happening in the streets, only to see a number of people who had been hanged by a mob and to be shot at. (Thank goodness most untrained people are lousy shots.)

From my own rambling around D.F. today, and chats with various locals, it sounds like things have been calmer than expected in the center of town.

The biggest problem I've encountered is my inability to remember that it rains every late afternoon for an hour or so.

Today (Saturday July 8) over 100,000 people (according to most of theworld's news media; the PRD says over 400,000,) demonstrated in Mexico City's "Zocalo" central square to call on the IFE (electoral commission) to count every one of the 48 million votes and listen to Andrés Manuel López Obrador. He says he will go to the country's election tribunal and to the Supreme Court to overturn an election he alleges was "plagued with irregularities". “We are faced with a typical case of electoral fraud in Mexico,” López Obrador told foreign correspondents just hours before the rally, though the EU obervers declared they saw a clean electoral process with no fraud.

Demonstrations were also called on other Mexican cities and towns; many demonstrators have expressed anger and the deeply held belief there has been electoral fraud, probably based on the history of prior electoral frauds and the polarizing trash talk used by both major presidential candidates in the waning days of the election campaign. A Mexican television crew was yelled at and some Spaniards attending the demonstration were threateend by approximately 30 angered demonstrators.

Further demonstrations ar elikely to be called periodically (Mr. López Obrador is said to have called for 1 million demonstrators for next Sunday,) until the votes are counted to his satisfaction or he agrees to another settlement. The electoral tribunal has until August 31 to rule on Lopez Obrador’s challenges to the vote and until September 6 to formally declare the election winner.

Keep an eye on México - we may well see that the nation has matured in its democratic aspirations. But in the meantime, be prepared of possible service and traffic disruptions and stay away from demonstrating crowds.

Link (http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/5163978.stm) to Monday July 10 article on BBC.