Democracy ain’t for sissies

The campaign season for the July elections has officially kicked off with the usual flurry of dirty tricks, threats and confusion.

In Hidalgo, Xochitl Galvez, a former Fox Admistration cabinet secretary (Indigenous Affairs) from one of the minor “social democratic” coalition parties that ran with PAN in the 2000 Presidential campaign, is — or isn’t — the candidate of a PAN, PRD, PT, Convengenica fusion ticket.  With Vicente Fox stumping for Galvez, the PT (with is Maoist, Cheguevarist or Carlosalinasist… or maybe Andresmanuallopezobradorist, depending on who you ask on what day in what state) threatening to pull out of the coalition as a result.

In Quintano Roo, Gregorio Sanchez, the Presidente Municipal of Cancún is the PRD heads the left to right anti-PRI coalition ticket (PRD-PT-Convengencia-PAN) candidate for Governor.  He’s claiming to have received death threats, which may, or may not have anything to do with last week’s arrest of one of his campaign aids, Manuel Vera Salinas who had a houseful of illegal bugging and spy equipment… and, incidentally, used to work for the Oaxaca State Police and was muscle for the entrenched PRI party machine there.

And, here in Sinaloa, where the PRI candidate is said to be tied to the Sinaloa Cartel, but is running as a backer of  the Calderón “War on Drugs”, the anti PRI coalition candidate was a PRI politico up until a few weeks ago, when he joined PAN — backed by PAN leaders who quit the party complaining that the Calderón Adminstration isn’t fighting the Sinaloa Cartel.  So that he can run as a PAN candidate with PRD and PT support.  That PRI turned PAN guy’s teenaged son was pulled out of a car and beaten up yesterday by masked gunmen of unknown political (or narcotical) persuasion.  And there’s still 89 days to go until the election.  A long 89 days.