September 22, 2006

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In the Face of Two Presidents, Chiapanecans Still Don't Feel Represented

By Marissa Revilla

SAN CRISTÓBAL DE LAS CASAS -- Nearly four months after the presidential elections in Mexico, many Chiapanecans maintain a feeling of distrust as both major candidates for the presidency, Andrés Manuel López Obrador of the Democratic Revolution Party (PRD) and Felipe Calderón of the National Action Party (PAN), are set to take office.

For months Mexico has been entangled in controversy. It began when supporters of PRD candidate López Obrador alleged fraud and challenged the election results to the Federal Electoral Tribunal. The tribunal decided in favor of Calderon (PAN) on September 5. In response, the National Democratic Convention, organized by the country's leftist groups and prominent intellectuals, gathered on September 16 of September in Mexico City, where they declared López Obrador as the "legitimate president" of Mexico.

More than one million Mexicans gathered in the Zocalo of the capital as López Obrador announced the creation of a new cabinet, and an itinerant government with headquarters in Mexico City, but a presence in the rest of the country.

On a busy afternoon, walking through the Plaza de la Paz in the heart of San Cristóbal de Las Casas, many say they are still filled with questions and resignation about the election, about what will happen next, and if either candidate will address the social problems of Chiapas.

In San Cristobal, the second largest city in Chiapas, voter turn out for the July elections was low, as many as 43 percent of Chiapanecos did not vote, and skepticism remains high. "[In] these elections there was a lot of abstention [because] our governors that have not known what is needed in different parts of our community," said Santiago López, who works for the city government.

Chiapas is a state characterized by its large indigenous population, 34 percent, abject poverty, and the Zapatista rebellion. In 1994,the Zapatista Army of National Liberation (EZLN), a rebel group that maintains a strong presence in Chiapas, led an armed uprising in order to better represent the rights of indigenous people in Chiapas.

Immediately after the 2006 elections, media outlets in San Cristobal reported that many of the estimated 400,000 sympathizers of the EZLN and the Zapatistas' "Other Campaign" abstained from voting.

Due in part to the strong Zapatista presence, a common sentiment is that neither major party represents the people of Chiapas. "The country will continue to be the same, whoever wins, it is the same," said Adrian Rojas, an unemployed youth.

But of course, not everyone is disillusioned by the elections. "These elections have been very complicated because everybody wants to be in power, [in order] to do whatever he wants. I did vote and I believe everything was legal, but nobody agrees with me. I am in agreement with the elections," said the Claudia Tejo, a candy vendor in San Cristobal.

For Rosario Domínguez Moreno, a salesperson in San Cristobal, there seems to be little hope. "Either way it is going to be the same. Why keep arguing and fighting? There may even be war due to so many problems," she said. Meanwhile the uncertainty in the capital and throughout Mexico continues. Some Chiapanecans are hopeful that one of the candidates planning to assume the role of president will have concrete plans to better life in Chiapas.

"Whomever the [president] is, I hope he turns his eyes on San Cristóbal," said Santiago López.

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