The Presidential elections in Mexico this year are unlike any other seen by the country in its history. The elections will be held on July 2, 2006 and because re-election is not allowed in Mexico the incumbent President Vicente Fox Quesada is unable to run again.

Fox is the envoy of the Partido de Accion Nacionale (PAN) and in 2000 Fox ended a 71 year domination of the Partido Revolucionario Institucional (PRI) party. Until that year there was no doubt which candidate would win the PRI controlled faux-elections, but now Mexican voters hold the future in their own hands. And Mexican voters are turning to the Web for information, to engage in debate, to make their opinions heard and to prepare for what looks to be Mexico’s closest election ever.

For the first time, the Internet is playing an important role in this year’s elections by encouraging constituents to vote, providing them with election coverage, and helping them to get to know their candidates a little better.

Of the just over 70 million Mexicans eligible to vote 30.8 million are between the ages of 18 and 35. Of that total, 10.8 million are likely not to vote, according to opinion polls. Mimicking MTV’s Rock the Vote Campaign from 2004, David Ortigosa and MTV Latin America have initiated Tu Rock Es Votar (TREV) to encourage young people to get out and vote with the tag line “If you don’t vote, shut up”. TREV has sponsored a tour featuring popular artists that stops in nearly every state in Mexico to encourage Mexican youths to get out and get involved.

TREV also has a MySpace Music Profile that boasts over 2200 friends, mostly Mexican youths pledging to vote this year. TREV has issued four blogs since January that are meant to spark discussion amongst its readers (and has received over 80 comments in total from engaged and thoughtful members). MySpace members campaign for their candidate and affront the competitors on the TREV comment page accented by pictures, music, and video clips. One member posts a picture of Felipe Calderon in front of a swastika, with the caption “bloody hands.” Another member chooses to put up a cute cartoonish Andres Manuel Obrador with the title “smile, we go to win.”

But not every MySpace member and potential voter is ready to jump on the voting bandwagon, and some profess “I will not vote and I will not shut up; I will organize and I will fight.” One member uploads a disturbing picture of Adolf Hitler framed within the TREV poster, the TREV symbol turned into a swastika with the caption “This is our right-winged state; this July 2nd, thinking is prohibited.”

A surprising number of MySpace users making comments on the TREV page are living in the United States, according to their profiles. This means that even when living abroad, some Mexican voters are staying involved in the politics of their homeland.

For the first time in history Mexicans living abroad can register and vote absentee. Of those Mexican emigrants who are eligible only 1% registered, but it still adds an additional 40,854 registered voters (almost 37,000 living in the United States). The problem is that only Mexicans who already have their voter registration cards are eligible to vote and people who don't have the cards must travel to Mexico to register.

Those who had their voter registration cards simply filled out an online form to request their absentee ballots which they would receive in a few weeks following their request. They fill out their ballots, and send the ballots to Mexico City by registered mail. The ballots must be received by Election Day in order to be counted.

Those who have registered and plan on voting need online resources to learn about Mexican politics and the candidates that are contending for the voters’ support.

According to e-Mexico , the number of Internet users in Mexico will exceed 17 million by 2006. Most of the Internet users are you and so is the electorate: more than 40 percent of registered voters are under the age of 30! Those surveyed said that they were very likely to use the internet to find information that they needed, listing this second behind checking email as the most important feature of the internet.

With the elections right around the corner, more Internet users are searching for election information and finding it everywhere. Yahoo! Mexico has added a section for the elections that includes political biographies of the candidates, special reports, daily updates, photos, blogs, discussion pages and daily opinion polls. The blogs are manned by four prominent Mexian authors and bloggers: Ana María Salazar, Jorge Fernández Menéndez, Rodolfo Soriano Nuñez, and Carlos Lugo Galera.

Ana María Salazar also writes an English blog called Mexico Today that follows the election campaigns and engages numerous readers in discussion about the candidates. The Washington Post has also began a blog (in English) on the Mexican elections as well. The blog discusses everything from candidate profiles to dirty campaigning and scandals.

While Bloggings by Boz enlightened the candidates with some pre-debate pointers, the Federal Electoral Institute streamlined the debates, the last of which was on June 6, on the Internet for users to watch on demand.

And check out the Statesman Journal online, which has conducted interviews in English with the two most popular candidates Andrés Manuel López Obrador and Felipe de Jesús Calderón Hinjosa .

Who doesn’t have a MySpace page these days? While MySpace has been increasingly used by American Politicians (no potential Presidential candidates seem to have legitimate accounts so far, however), two of the Presidential candidates in Mexico have utilized the network for their campaign: Felipe Calderón and Andre Manuel Obrador . Of the two of them, only Obrador has even acquired friends and kept up his profile (which is maintained by colleagues) which is linked to his official page as well. Calderón has included several YouTube videos of his speeches and interviews for MySpace browsers to view at their leisure, although since he is networked to no other person one must search directly for him in order to find his profile.

In an ever-changing Internet and media world, it is important that candidates utilize every medium possible to further their campaign and get their message to the voters. Mexico’s are no different from any other democratic elections, and they have adopted both the good and bad aspects of political advertising. Some televised media ads have adopted the smear- campaign style so well known in the United States, and the growing number of unreliable candidate bashing Web sites is astounding. Internet and message-receiving cell phones have registered at least 7 million anonymous messages saying things like, “Lopez Obrador is a danger to Mexico.”.

Of all of the candidates, Obrador has certainly born the brunt of most of the negative campaigning. Amongst the most famous were those accusing Lopez Obrador of being a "danger" for Mexico, including false accusations of receiving campaign funds from Hugo Chavez or because of false charges of corruption during his time as mayor of Mexico City. After two months the TV ads were deemed "inappropriate" by the electoral authorities and banned from transmission, but the emails keep coming because the IFE has no such control over the internet. So Obrador campaign coordinator Ricardo Monreal filed a complaint with the federal Attorney General's Office claiming that President Vicente Fox's administration used government workers to send out 7 million e-mails backing Calderon and simultaneously Obrador strikes back with email campaign of his own that includes slide shows and pictures depict his opponents as vampires and Nazi propagandist.
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Madrazo has been the victim of campaign attacks as well mostly in reference to his affiliation with the PRI party who until 2000 retained control of the Mexican government through forged elections.

In terms of congressional representation and share of the national vote, only three parties can be considered major. These candidates are really utilizing the Web to keep their constituents informed and involved.

Felipe de Jesús Calderón Hinjosa

Felipe de Jesús Calderón Hinjosa represents Partido de Accio"n Nacionale (PAN). Calderon is a staunch supporter of Mexicans living abroad because they send millions of dollars back to the country each year, and he was highly supportive of making absentee voting available to eligible emigrants. On his Web site, you can chat with other supporters in the chat rooms, read his speeches, check out photos, and answer online polls. For fun, you can play some games helping a little cape-wearing Felipe dodge lizards, aliens, and rats (satirizing his opponents) and score votes from the undecided. You can demonstrate your dedication to a better Mexico by playing a soccer game, or help little Felipe build the Mexico of the future. And if you want to get closer to Felipe, have questions or just want to comment you can send an SMS message to him from your cellular phone as well as email him! You can also show your dedication to the PAN party by registering and donating online. According to an IFE study, Calderón has spent more money on Internet ads than any other candidate, exceeding $240,000.
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As for his platform, the main focus of Calderón's campaign has been jobs and stability. He has traditionally been backed by a wealthier minority of business leaders and executives. As the elections come to a close, Calderón has begun to focus his campaign toward receiving votes from the middle and lower classes, resorting mostly to negative campaigning.
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Andrés Manuel López Obrador

Former Mayor of Mexico City Andrés Manuel López Obrador is backed by an alliance of Partido del Trabajo (PT), Partido de la Revolución Democrática (PRD), Convergenci a por la Democracia and is called Partido por el Bien de Todos (AMLO). Obrador also has an unofficial Web site. Both sites are loaded down with music, videos, and photo galleries. There are links to Obrador’s speeches, schedules for upcoming ones, and his platform (including his 25 promises for a better Mexico). If you want to get in touch with AMLO you can call or email, and you can register for the party and donate money over the phone.

Online and offline, Obrador has defined himself as an antidote to the corrupt, wealthy leaders of the past, and a crusader for the underdogs. He has vowed, for example, to force Mexican monopolies to hire on the basis of merit rather than connections. Obrador’s slogan is “Por el Bien de Todos. Primero los Pobres," which translates into "For the good of all. First the poor," and he is by far the favorite of Mexico’s vast under-class. A vicious attack campaign spearheaded by Felipe Calderón left Obrador with the reputation of an uncultured Robin Hood figure who would rob from the rich to give to the poor and ultimately ruin everything for everyone.

Roberto Madrazo Pintado

Roberto Madrazo Pintado represents the Alianza por Mexico, a coalition of the Partido Revolucionario Institucional (PRI) and the Partido Verde Ecologista de México , a minor party that throughout most of its existence has been managed by a single family. The PRI has been the most influential party in Mexico for most of the 20th century, and still controls both houses of Congress. While Madrazo’s Web site houses a biography, some photos, and his platforms it is certainly not as elaborate or engaging as the sites of his two closest competitors.

Madrazo has proposed a special fund for the betterment of poor southern Mexico, but allegations of corruption and political infighting have stained Madrazo's campaign. He has been characterized as a member of the "old guard" and faces opposition even within his own party.

Also there are two new parties recognized by the Federal Electoral Institute in 2005 who will be appearing in the 2006 elections:

Patricia Mercado Castro

Patricia Mercado Castro, founder and former president of the Alternativa Socialdemocrata y Campesina is now running for President under their nomination. Castro is the only female candidate running, a former supporter of Obrador, ardent feminist and cunning politician. Her Web site contains links to blogs about her, her party, and the elections in general. Chat rooms and message boards keep her supporters engaged and involved and subscribers can receive almost daily updates on her campaign in their inbox. There are no archives of her speeches, videos, or photos and it seems that Castro is more concerned with engaging and listening to her supporters than with inundating them with her own words.

Castro’s obvious concern with hearing the voices of her constituents has had her focusing her campaign on the compelling inequalities of Mexican society, and she pledges to equalize opportunities for members of all social classes, genders, ethnicities, religions, sexual orientations and geographic areas. As staunch feminist, she backs abortion rights and has publicly criticized Mexico's powerful Catholic Church for working against women.

Roberto Campa Cifrián

Also there is Partido Nueva Alianza , which will be represented by Roberto Campa Cifrián in the upcoming elections. Many of the members of his party attended Instituto Tecnológico Autónomo de México, a highly esteemed private research institution in Mexico City. Go to Campa’s Web site and view all of his televised interviews, listen to audio clips, view pictures in the gallery and read his speeches from the archives. Voters can participate in discussions in Campa’s chat rooms, and email the candidate as well.

Campa emphasizes that it is only through improving the educational system that Mexico can move forward to First World status. While he encourages good relationships with the United States, he asserts that the U.S. needs to wake up and acknowledge the indispensable role Mexicans play in its economy.

With the elections right around the corner, opinion polls still greatly vary in their predictions of who will become the next President. Most show AMLO and PAN to be neck and neck. Here is a summary of a few polls taken in the past two weeks:
Source

El Universal: Calderon 37, AMLO 34, Madrazo 22
Milenio: AMLO 34, Calderon 31, Madrazo 30
Reforma: AMLO 37, Calderon 35, Madrazo 23
GEA-ISA: Calderon 39, AMLO 35, Madrazo 23
Mitofsky: AMLO 35, Calderon 32, Madrazo 28
MATT: AMLO 36, Madrazo 28, Calderon 29

Some journalists speculate that the 2006 elections will be reminicent of the 2004 presidential elections in the United States and that Mexico may find itself locked into a recount.

Watch the Web for the results on (hopefully) July 3!