A Ballot Debate before Mexico's Midterm Elections

Two weeks ahead of Mexico’s midterm vote, an electoral movement is gaining ground—or at least headlines. Known as voto en blanco or voto nulo, the movement calls on voters to submit annulled ballots as a way to signal anger with the country’s main political parties, corruption, and violent crime. “Voting for the least bad candidate is like buying the least rotten fruit,” José Antonio Crespo of the Centro de Investigación y Docencia Económicas told TIME. “I prefer to leave a note saying, ‘Hey. All your fruit is rotten. I’ll come back next time and I hope you have something fresh and edible.’” Up for grabs in the July 5 elections are 128 federal senate position, the 500 seats in the Chamber of Deputies, six governorships, and hundreds of local offices.

The movement in support of voto en blanco won attention online, particularly through YouTube videos. One shows a cake in the shape of Mexico being torn apart by three men representing the main political parties—the governing National Action Party (PAN), the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI), and the Party of the Democratic Revolution (PRD). As many as 15 percent of Mexicans may annul their votes, according to a new poll. Last week the movement earned the endorsement of Dulce María Sauri, the former head of the PRI and ex-governor of the Yucatan state. Sauri said voters should take the action as a way to reject “the powers that be.”

But the movement also has its fair share of detractors. Among them is former President Vicente Fox, whose electoral victory in 2000 marked the end of 71 years of the PRI in power. Fox took to the streets this week to campaign on behalf of the PAN and refuted the idea of destroying votes, arguing that “our democracy must be cared for.” Senator Santiago Creel, also of the PAN, wrote on his website that defacing ballots involves a rejection “without an alternative proposal” and that taking such action would do little to foster change. The Catholic Church joined the fray, with bishops urging voters not to deface their ballots.

In a country where concerns over false elections resonate, those supporting the voto en blanco urge participants to mark ballots with a large crossed circle to avoid confusion or possible fraud. Others recommend writing in and registering a vote for a candidate named “Esperanza Marchita” (“Fading Hope”). One website argues that: “Abstention is apathy, but to annul a ballot is participation.” Mexico’s electoral agency, the Instituto Federal Electoral, said it will count the defaced ballots and that such action is a legal manner to participate at the polls. But in an interview with El Economista, electoral analyst Octavio Nava Manrique warned that, while the opinion of voto en blanco supporters may be valid, the annulled votes threaten to complicate the counting of votes. Moreover, with voter turnout expected to be as low as 35 percent, he says the voto en blanco movement “will end up favoring the major parties.”

The PRI and PAN are in a close race to capture votes on July 5, with Mitofsky polling giving them 34 and 31 percent respectively. The PRD will garner 13 percent, according to the same survey, which sees smaller parties gaining votes. That the PRI will likely edge out the governing PAN may seem surprising, given President Felipe Calderón’s rising popularity. According to a June Reforma poll, the president’s approval rating hit an all-time high of 69 percent.

Learn more:

• June 23, 2009 - AS/COA Program: “Mexico Congressional Elections: Public Opinion, Economic Impact, and Political Implications”
• Instituto Federal Electoral.
• El Economista multimedia coverage of July 5 elections.
• Google tools for following the midterm elections.
• Mitofsky poll predicting electoral outcomes.