Mexico to vote amid violence, discontent with democracy

David Agren | Special for USA TODAY

MEXICO CITY — Sandra Ramirez, 46, has voted all her adult life, but on Sunday she plans to stay home.

Like many in this corruption-plagued nation, Ramirez says she has become disenchanted by Mexican democracy. Politicians and political parties have taken over the system and don't act in the people's interests, she says.

"They're all thieves. They're all corrupt. None of them cares about solving problems. They all look out for personal interests, getting rich and doing business," Ramirez says. "There's disappointment — in giant letters."

Many Mexicans are expressing similar disappointments as the country prepares to hold midterm elections Sunday for the 500-seat Congress as well as a number of governorships and mayorships.

"Spare some cities, I have the impression that we're not going enthusiastically into a civic festival, rather a funeral," says Sergio Aguayo, political science professor at the Colegio de México.

The process is proving tense in some areas, especially in southern states such as Oaxaca, Chiapas and Guerrero. Teachers there have attacked offices belonging to electoral officials, burned ballots and even prevented the provision of gasoline to service stations in Oaxaca city.

It's an attempt at sabotaging the elections — part of the pressure they're applying to have the government roll back an education reform, which would subject them to evaluations and curb union control of the teacher hiring and firing process. The government has temporarily canceled the evaluations for unexplained reasons.

National Electoral Institute President Lorenzo Cordoba told Televisa on Friday that 5,042 polling stations in Oaxaca — 3% of the total in the state — would not be installed due to the security situation.

"The message is: rob, commit crimes, take over airports (as happened in Oaxaca) and the government will receive you," says Claudio X. González, director of the education advocacy group Mexicanos Primero, and critic of the teachers unions. "The government is stuck in a trap and it can't escape."

President Enrique Peña Nieto assumed office in December 2012 and immediately pursued reforms in areas such energy, telecommunications and taxation. He achieved a multiparty pact to accomplish his agenda, starting with an overhaul of the school system — something González says has been reversed with the government suspension of teacher examinations.

It's the latest setback for Peña Nieto, who has been sidetracked by a steady stream of scandals. Investigative reporters revealed last year that his wife, actress Angelica Rivera, had bought a $7 million mansion from a prominent government contractor — which also provided credit. TheWall Street Journal later reported that the president and his finance minister, Luis Videgaray, also purchased properties from contractors — with Videgaray receiving a preferential interest rate. The president, first lady and Videgaray deny any wrongdoing.

Still, polls show Peña Nieto's Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI) and its ally, the Green Party, leading the midterm races. Analysts attribute the lead to a lack of attractive alternatives, rather than Peña Nieto's performance.

Peña Nieto has an approval rating of just 39%, according to a poll in Reforma. The same poll found that 60% said corruption had increased under his administration. Meanwhile, the opposition initially worked with Peña Nieto to achieve reforms, but then stayed silent as corruption scandals swirled.

"There's enormous frustration," Juan Pardinas, director of the Mexican Center for Competitiveness (IMCO) think thank, says of the national mood. "You have a government besieged due to its own ineptness and a sequence of corruption scandals that it hasn't addressed … and an opposition that isn't worthy of that name, which has stood out for its indifference and callousness in the face of public indignation."

Mexico's 10 registered political parties collect in roughly $350 million annually in public money. IMCO released a report in May that showed 91% of Mexicans consider political parties corrupt, worse than any other institution in the country.

Jaime Rodríguez, better known as "El Bronco," is campaigning as an independent against the power and privileges of political parties that rile so many Mexicans. The farmer and rancher leads several polls for governor in Nuevo León — one of the nation's wealthiest states — where he accuses the parties of protecting each other, instead of investigating cases of corruption.

"I'm not trying to do away with political parties," says Rodríguez, famous for using salty language and surviving two assassination attempts by drug cartel Los Zetas. "I'm trying to give them honest competition."