Tuesday, June 26, 2018

LatAm in Focus: Millennials' Big Role in the Mexican Elections

By Carin Zissis

Nación321’s Pancho Parra talks about why the youngest voters back the oldest candidate and their expectations for the future.

</p> <div class="wrapper" style="width: 100%;"> <table align="right" border="0" cellpadding="5" cellspacing="5" style="width: 40%;"> <tbody> <tr> <td> <p style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.as-coa.org/content/guide-2018-latin-american-elections"><img alt="" src="/sites/default/files/electionsguide2018-button.png" style="border-width: 0px; border-style: solid; width: 100%; height: 100%;" /></a></p> </td> </tr> </tbody> </table> </div> <p>At 64, Mexican presidential frontrunner <strong>Andr</strong><strong>és Manuel López </strong><strong>Obrador</strong> is the oldest candidate on the ballot, but that’s not stopping <a href="http://www.nacion321.com/votomillennial/">51 percent of millennials from backing him</a>. And their support matters, because that age group has the potential to account for nearly half of the electorate on Mexico’s July 1 election day, says Pancho Parra, editor of polls for millennial-focused news site Nación321.</p> <p>The fact that <a href="https://www.americaeconomia.com/analisis-opinion/por-que-los-jovenes-mexicanos-adoran-amlo">younger voters back López Obrador, or AMLO, to a greater degree than do other age groups</a> may seem contradictory. Besides the age factor, millennials consider solving crime and violence to be a top issue but disagree with his proposal to give amnesty to criminals.</p> <div class="wrapper" style="width: 100%;"> <table align="left" border="0" cellpadding="5" cellspacing="5" style="width: 40%;"> <tbody> <tr> <td> <p style="text-align: center;"><em><b style="font-size: 20px;">“</b></em><em><b style="font-size: 20px;">A lot of traditional political parties have failed to appeal to young voters.”</b></em><em><b style="font-size: 20px;"> </b></em></p> </td> </tr> </tbody> </table> </div> <p>So why does the largest portion go for AMLO? One reason is rejection of the sitting government. In Nación321’s millennial poll, respondents were asked to qualify current President <strong>Enrique Pe</strong><strong>ña Nieto</strong> with a happy or angry emoji, and 89 percent went with latter. But Parra tells AS/COA Online’s Carin Zissis that AMLO’s “direct and easy” manner of speaking that compares to ex-President of Uruguay José “Pepe” Mujica—<a href="http://www.bbc.com/mundo/noticias/2012/11/121108_mujica_entrevista_gl">famous for his austere way of living</a>—or former U.S. presidential hopeful Bernie Sanders.</p> <div class="wrapper" style="width: 100%;"> <table align="right" border="0" cellpadding="5" cellspacing="5" style="width: 30%;"> <tbody> <tr> <td> <p style="text-align: center;"><em><b style="font-size: 20px;"><img alt="" src="/sites/default/files/PanchoParra.jpg" style="width: 100%; height: 100%;" /></b></em><br /> <span style="font-size:10px;">Pancho Parra</span></p> </td> </tr> </tbody> </table> </div> <p>On the other hand, Mexican millennials don’t wear their politics on their sleeve. They say <a href="http://www.nacion321.com/encuestas/millennials-rechazarian-selfie-y-solicitud-de-amistad-de-los-candidatos">they wouldn’t want to post a selfie with a candidate or chat with one of them on WhatsApp</a>. And they don’t see themselves allied with parties: <a href="http://www.nacion321.com/voto-millennial/para-los-millennials-los-independientes-no-son-tan-cool1">59 percent don’t identify as belonging to any party</a>.</p> <p>Parra says that 2018 marks Mexico’s first social media race, and that’s resulted in <a href="http://www.eluniversal.com.mx/galeria/elecciones-2018/amlo-y-anaya-aparecen-en-nuevos-memes-del-debate#imagen-1">a race defined by memes</a> and <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=baGM8YDDz24">viral humor</a>. But, in covering and polling millennials, he found they are looking toward the future rather than for quick fixes to problems like the economy and better public safety.</p> <p>So what comes after the July vote? “Everything’s been promised to the young people: That they’re going to have jobs, that they’re going to be better paid,” says Parra. “But if [the next government] doesn’t accomplish those kinds of things, I think there will be a big democracy fail.”</p> <hr /> <ul> <li>For more on the Mexican election, go to our guide at: <strong><a href="http://www.as-coa.org/mxelex">www.as-coa.org/mxelex</a></strong></li> <li>Check out Nación321’s <a href="https://bit.ly/2KdlgT6"><strong>2018 millennial pol</strong>l</a>.</li> <li>Listen to <strong><a href="https://www.as-coa.org/articles/latam-focus-millennials-and-future-mexican-elections">our first podcast with Pancho Parra on millennials and the future of Mexican elections</a></strong>.</li> <li>Like this podcast? Subscribe on <strong><a href="http://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/latin-america-in-focus/id1089353175" target="_blank">iTunes</a></strong>, <strong><a href="https://soundcloud.com/ascoa" target="_blank">Soundcloud</a></strong>, <strong><a href="https://www.stitcher.com/podcast/americas-societycouncil-of-the-americas/latin-america-in-focus" target="_blank">Stitcher</a></strong>, and <strong><a href="https://play.google.com/music/listen?u=0#/ps/Iyxv543ogl3psytvd7ywk4cjoe4" target="_blank">Google Play</a></strong>.</li> </ul> <hr /> <p><em>This episode was produced by Luisa Leme. The music in this podcast was performed at Americas Society in New York. Learn more about upcoming concerts at <a href="http://www.as-coa.org/music"><strong>musicoftheamericas.org</strong></a>.</em></p>

Share

LatAm in Focus: Millennials' Big Role in the Mexican Elections

Related

Explore