It has been a hectic day for Senator José Miguel Insulza, who leads an international observation mission of 45 experts from around the world for the elections of president, parliamentarians, mayors, councilors and trustees of Mexico this June 2.
Shortly before opening the tables, the candidate for trustee of the municipality of Cuitzeo, Michoacán, Israel Delgado, was shot dead. Hours later, an armed group of hooded men stole the votes from the Gabriela Mistral School in Puebla and a woman was murdered at another voting station in that same city.
The former secretary general of the OAS sounds calm, but he points out that in recent days at least 20 candidates have been murdered in different cities, mainly rural areas of Mexico. It is a country that he knows perfectly: he lived part of his exile in the capital, between 1981 and 1988, his current wife is Mexican and one of his three children resides there. In addition, he was a professor at the National Autonomous University of Mexico and at the Matías Romero Institute of Diplomatic Studies.
In interview with The counter, the senator explains some of the difficulties of the electoral process in a state with 100 million voters and who, he highlights, “they all vote perfectly in a single day.” Likewise, he affirms that the next president of Mexico will be a woman.
“My team is very special. We only have forty-five observers, the OAS has more than 100. But ours has a particularity, and that is that it is made up only of people who have served in electoral services or electoral tribunals. In other words, our specialists are by definition specialized people. And some have even come here, for example, with us the boss, the president of the electoral service of Ukraine,” Insulza comments enthusiastically in the middle of a place that seems gloomy.
-How have you seen the Mexican electoral process?
–This is an immense process, with 98.4 million registered voters. There are more than 20,000 candidates for all types of positions. In most states, voting is done on up to six different ballots, ranging from President to council members. And the polling stations (voting headquarters) are a large number too, close to 80,000. Now, despite everything, they manage to do it in one day, unlike in Chile where we want to do it in two. And in some places that we have visited, they even offer the possibility that those who want to vote by electronic vote can do so. And that takes less time, by the way.
-Is there a significant level of violence present in this election?
–Well, there have been more than 20 deaths in this electoral process. That is, if you ask me for an average between what the government says and what the opposition says. There have been more than twenty deaths. The strange thing is that there was a death once the voting had started. That hadn’t happened before. And it happens in specific areas of the country, generally rather rural towns, where there are mayoral candidates who are murdered.
-Other than that, does the process seem normal for a democracy?
–The lines are huge, the lines of people are huge. But things are going quite normal. It is mandatory to vote, but there is no fine for people for not voting. But you do see the biggest and longest queue at what are called special polling stations, which are voting places for people who can vote while away from their voting place (more than 200 kilometers away). And they can vote, but it takes longer and, therefore, the line there is long, but there are facilities for everything. Thats the reality. Even the prisoners already voted a few days ago.
-It seems like a more modern electoral system…
–Yes, I would say so. There is an Electoral Service, the National Electoral Institute, which has invented every possible way for everyone to vote and participate. Even bedridden people will have their vote taken at home. You can also vote online.
-And how do you see Mexico?
–I can say that this country is very divided. There is a lot of division.
-The polls give Claudia Sheinbaum the winner. Does she share it?
–The only thing that is known is that a woman is going to win and there will be a female president, that’s for sure. There is a male candidate too, but quite far away. So the next president of Mexico is going to be a woman. Other than that I couldn’t say anything else because I’m not supposed to comment on possible results.
-Did you know the two candidates, the opposition Xóchitl Gálvez and the official Claudia Sheinbaum?
–No, I didn’t know either of them. We were recently with Xóchitl Gálvez on a visit we had with the main electoral missions. But Claudia Sheinbaum did not accept visits. She didn’t do meetings. People are happy to have a woman. In fact, the vote, as I said, is 98 million voters with a relatively higher margin for women. Something like 52 million women and 46 million men voters.