The Majority Retorted. 

"Spanfeller is a twat" (theaspiringengineer) 07/02/2018 at 09:00 • Filed to: None

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This man saved Mexico.

My country is being painted “Morena brown” with specs of “PAN blue” and the conclusion of this election could not point out to be sadder but also more rewarding for the health of our country than it was.

I disagree with Obrador, I think he’s dangerous to the country, and I think he’s nothing new. His party is filling up with former PRI members, and his policies are kind of baseless and stupid. He won’t change Mexico, however, he was the real choice of Mexicans and that is the whole point.

Today we saw the establishment let go of power, we saw a blue and green nation paint itself brown: it was almost difficult to believe as PREP advanced, state after state, district after district, going to Obrador’s party; for Morena. PRI has struggled to carry a single state for Senatorial posts, and will be lucky to carry more than ten Representatives.

Let me tell you how massive this was: Former President Carlos Salinas de Gortari tweeted a congratulatory message to Obrador almost immediately after PREP started reporting. Carlos Salinas let me remind you won the presidency fraudulently; the ballots were burned and the computer system was ignored. He ruled against the will of the people, and is today one of the most influential people of all Mexico thanks to PRI yet he congratulated Obrador. He was not alone either; all candidates, and other party members were quick to concede the election

It’s so overwhelming that one could even think that PRI had something to do and they’re deep inside Morena. That somehow they knew this would happen and their contingency plan involved this guy. But it’s hard to tell, and that’s pretty conspiracy ridden.

It’s obvious why PAN and PRI lost: People are simply tired of them. It’s understandable that they’d put their trust on a man like Obrador because they feel that the rest have nothing to offer and Obrador, even if he’s unproven, might be better. Mexico right now is reeling from one of the most violent periods of it’s history with a quarter of a million deaths from a pointless drug war, as at the same time we see ourselves divided by our socioeconomic status: we’re loosing our capacity to see each other eye to eye without feeling disenfranchised. Mexicans live different realities in the same countries, heck, in the same neighborhoods. Realities that make us susceptible to feeling hopeless about the political process because it is a bad process: no matter how you cut it.

Right now, and for the first time in multi-party history , we’ll have a president who will govern with a popular majority. Recognizing the value of democracy means recognizing this astounding achievement despite my clear opposition to the man.

For now, I’ll wake up in a nation that had a contentious election, but at least it was an election that we’re certain was fair, and that alone is a step in the right direction.

ttyymmnn > Spanfeller is a twat 07/02/2018 at 09:15

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Your caption reads, “The man who saved Mexico.” Who is he?

HoustonRunner > Spanfeller is a twat 07/02/2018 at 09:36

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As a Texan (and one who can not read Spanish), where would you suggest I go to read “real” coverage as this progresses. Obviously I don’t know all of the issues that are important, but the corruption and criminal violence are topics that get much of the press on this side of the border. I’m in the oil industry so I’ve read a number of stories (particularly on Reuters) about corruption and violence at the refineries in particular. We certainly have our own issues, but I’m not sure how sensationalized those articles are versus a common occurrence ?  I like to try and read from a few different sources in hope of getting a more balanced view, but Reuters is my normal morning reading.

Spanfeller is a twat > ttyymmnn 07/02/2018 at 09:38

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He’s the director of the national electoral Institute; without him this votw could’ve been jeopardized.

But he’s not all good; he made fun of how Mexico’s notoriously oppressed   minority, the indigenous population, speak

kanadanmajava1 > Spanfeller is a twat 07/02/2018 at 09:41

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W e i r d . O u r n e w s described the guy as a f a i r l y g o o d g u y w h o p r o m i s e d t o g e t r i d o f c o r r u p t i o n i n M e x i c o . T h e a r t i c l e a l s o m e n t i o n s s e veral times that he’ s a l e f t i s t b u t t h i s i s n ’ t a b a d w o r d i n m y c o u n t r y .

random001 > Spanfeller is a twat 07/02/2018 at 09:48

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Take heart, I guess.  At least it’s not Trump?

Spanfeller is a twat > HoustonRunner 07/02/2018 at 09:53

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It’s a tough question. BBC has good reports on Mexico but there are few, I’ve also noticed The Guardian and The Washington Post have good stuff. However as far as laws go I’d stick to Reuters or AP who probably report directly from the diario oficial de la federac ion; an internet publication by the Secretariat of Governance that covers policy changes, judiciary reports, and other stuff like the recognized exchange rate and other economic performance indicators.

I read Animal Politico, and I think its the best source of news in Mexico because they’re a non profit, independent outfit with an excellent team of reporters, writers, and investigators.

However, my cousin used to work with their sister outfit, Mexicanos contra la corrupcion and he told me the reporters and writers are biased towards Obrador, and the investigative staff is biased towards Anaya. Both groups are social liberals however this doesn’t effect their reporting . So keep it in mind if you go to Animal Politico and read an OpEd through google translate.

Spanfeller is a twat > kanadanmajava1 07/02/2018 at 09:58

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Obrador is not a leftist.

He’s promising not to raise taxes

His cabinet is filled with corrupted politicians with huge, and clear ties to Mexican billionaires.

His tenure as mayor of Mexico City was strictly for the rich.

I am a leftist, I am downright socialist, it’s not a thing of hating  him for being a leftist, it’s a thing of hating him for being a psychopathic liar and a con man. 

Spanfeller is a twat > random001 07/02/2018 at 09:59

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Well. He’s an ultranationalist who’s trying to entrench race and sociopolitical standing into national identity that thinks the IMF and other ultranational organizations are hell bent in seeing Mexico fail. 

nj959 > Spanfeller is a twat 07/02/2018 at 10:24

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Save us Canada, you’re our only hope.

random001 > Spanfeller is a twat 07/02/2018 at 10:24

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What did your country do that the Impossible Mission F orce is out to get you?

Spanfeller is a twat > nj959 07/02/2018 at 10:24

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You make the Chargers, we make the HEMIS

Spanfeller is a twat > random001 07/02/2018 at 10:26

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Might be sketchy translation with ultranational I mean NGOs like the UN, International Monetary Fund, etc. 

random001 > Spanfeller is a twat 07/02/2018 at 11:04

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I was just messing with you.  The IMF I speak of is from the TV show/movie franchise Mission: Impossible.

kanadanmajava1 > Spanfeller is a twat 07/02/2018 at 12:10

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It seems that our news reporters haven’t been doing their background studies quite well. Usually they report things around the world accurately without much favoritism towards any political directions (but they do not seem to like Trump, Duterte, Orban, Erdogan very much).

Maybe they were j u s t lazy today?

Chariotoflove > Spanfeller is a twat 07/02/2018 at 12:16

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When Bush II was elected over Al Gore, we had some people calling to ignore the Constitution and go with the popular vote instead of the Electoral College. Stupid people, and no one ever took that call seriously. That was the most important and cherished principle of our gover nment, that whatever happens, we stick with the Constitution. Without that, th3 stability of our government crumbles and all is lost.

That’s why, btw, I grimace when people say, “not my president! and “resist!” What they are implicitly saying is they want to disregard our country’s  entire foundation because they cannot stomach one offensive asshole.  Again, the folks that are serious when they say that are, thankfully, a minority.

Kanaric > random001 07/02/2018 at 12:25

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lol he is Trump pretty much. The last time he lost an election he even refused to concede like Trump claimed he would do. 

Kanaric > kanadanmajava1 07/02/2018 at 12:26

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What country?

John Oliver did a good segment on him a weekend ago. 

Spanfeller is a twat > Chariotoflove 07/02/2018 at 12:35

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Well, the Electoral College system is very weird and could potentially work IF it was respected more than it is. The President of the United States is not elected by direct democracy and given that what the Founders wanted was a semi parliamentary style system, it would’ve been completely reasonable for the states to have unburdened electors that represented what the states wanted and not their citizens . In the end a Republican would’ve probably won in both elections under that interpretation , but it would’ve been a different republican in 2016.

In Mexico we have that kind of party-centered representative system in the congress, where parties get awarded senators if they get second place results in the elections (plurinominal representation )

Chariotoflove > Spanfeller is a twat 07/02/2018 at 12:43

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The whole point is that, if we want to remove the Electoral College, then we have to amend the Constitution, and there is a process for that.    What we cannot do is just up and say “this sucks” and get rid of it.

Spanfeller is a twat > kanadanmajava1 07/02/2018 at 12:47

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Well, covering Obrador is kind of very difficult because his plans are very vague, he was a popular mayor (by virtue of my fellow citizens being stupid and easy to skew), and his party is too new to have scandals, though they started with one scandal of diverting millions of pesos from a fund to aid earthquake victims into Obrador’s campaign, INE fined them with 10 million dollars.

He’s also hard to cover because his main goal in Mexico City, the elevated ring road, was built using a trust fund that has been kept private for years, so people don’t really know what happened with those six billion pesos. The few contracts that have slipped through the cracks stink of favoritism tho.

Think of Obrador as having the same populist ideas as the UK’s Labour Party, and all the substance of Spain’s PSOE during Zapatero’s tenure. As in, he’s just like Trump just that he’s interpreted as being socialist for some goddamn reason, so publication that hate Trump and Erdogan for being clearly conservative are inclined to like Obrador by the first article they see of him.

Spanfeller is a twat > Chariotoflove 07/02/2018 at 12:51

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Well, yeah there’s a lengthy process that could be asked for if it’s the will of the people .

I’m not sure why you brought this up though, Mexico’s elections are decided by direct democracy, we just didn’t have a majority president because we’ve become used to having a three horse race. 

Chariotoflove > Spanfeller is a twat 07/02/2018 at 12:56

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Oh, I was just riffing off what you said about recognizing the achievement of Democracy.  That the person who won may be a bad choice or even dangerous policy-wise, but the fact that he won fair and square is the real victory here for the country.  I was pointing out that we had something similar here a while back, but the process won out, so victory for us as well.

Spanfeller is a twat > Chariotoflove 07/02/2018 at 13:06

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I don’t think the US has had rigged elections (well, say what you will about Bush V. Gore but it was ultimately legally binding ) to the scale Mexico does. I think this candidate is an idiot, but as long as there are bureaucrats at INE who are faithfully executing their jobs we can vote him out of office in six years or simply vote the opposition party into congress in three.

If anything the theme of this election was how rigged the system could be, time will tell how bad Obrador is at the job (I hope he isn’t for the sake of my county but my hopes are low) and time itself is against him because of elections . Having that option is refreshing to most Mexicans who are used to having their entire country ran by PRI against their will.

kanadanmajava1 > Kanaric 07/02/2018 at 14:28

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Finland! We just re-elected our sitting president. One of the nicest guys in our politic scene and the most of the country likes him. Nearly all of our presidents are remembered in quite good thougths  but the current one is really in different level.

random001 > Kanaric 07/02/2018 at 14:36

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............

well, shit.....

dogrivergrad68 > Spanfeller is a twat 07/02/2018 at 23:36

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Do you have a link to a map with the state-by-state results?

dogrivergrad68 > Spanfeller is a twat 07/02/2018 at 23:43

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That’s one reason why “ranked voting” should be implemented in more elections.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ranked_voting

Spanfeller is a twat > dogrivergrad68 07/02/2018 at 23:44

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Prep c losed today and they had the best maps :(

Obrador carried every single state with a majority save for Guanajuato, and Meade lost in every single precinct.

since senatorial elections are still being called, I can’t find conclusive maps.

Spanfeller is a twat > dogrivergrad68 07/02/2018 at 23:46

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We have that in a sense with senatorial elections, plurinomial senators are those that got second place in the general elections.

Though that would’ve changed some results, not the presidency, but who knows about Mexico City mayor? Sheinbaum won with less than 50%!

dogrivergrad68 > Spanfeller is a twat 07/03/2018 at 00:19

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Well, it wouldn’t have changed the results in this election, but it would have helped in previous years where no candidate won a majority or in the US primary races where there are often lots of candidates. It would help weed out the vocal whack-jobs in crowded races who despite not getting close a majority of the vote still win because the sane vote is split half a dozen different ways.

Spanfeller is a twat > dogrivergrad68 07/03/2018 at 00:20

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That is very true, and given the polarized political climate, it’s probably worthy of the added cost now.

Chariotoflove > dogrivergrad68 07/03/2018 at 14:29

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I would have been interested to see the tallies from our last presidential election in that scenario.