Mexico -- who would you vote for

[YoMartin]

Them: http://www.alternativadf.org.mx/j/. They´re really excited a recent poll gave them... 3.7%

Ag, you don´t need to tell us who you´re voting for, we already know...

[YoMartin]

Whoever the most conservative party is. I guess since Jake voted "PAN" that would be it.

Sure. Though, except on the role of religion (strong Catholic), you'd find they are quite leftist for your taste.

As long as they aren't that New England liberal Catholic nonsense.

Depending on what. They are against abortions, etc. (as are many of Mexico's sociallists as well), but a key proposal by Calderon is gradual introduction of universal medical insurance (government-provided) - so, here they might be to the left of those NE Dems. So, figure it out for yourself.

I thought Mexico had universal health insurance. You can´t call PRI´s rule "socialist" if they didn´t pass that in 70 years...

Slightly left of center could be Mercado, too. Of course, it all depends on what you understand by "left" and "right".

[YoMartin]

PS Fox has vetoed the drugs bill. It appears, the administration was one of its sponsors, and he had said he'd sign it, but 7 hours later his office made a correction. The bill is "returned to Congress w/ observations".  Figure it out.

It was too good to be true, too liberal (in the original meaning of the word) to pass so easily in the middle of a presidential campaign. And I had found a way not to commit a crime before doing drugs: to have found them (you didn´t buy it, you didn´t make, anyone gave it to you. Finding something and taking it can´t be a crime).

[YoMartin]

PS Fox has vetoed the drugs bill. It appears, the administration was one of its sponsors, and he had said he'd sign it, but 7 hours later his office made a correction. The bill is "returned to Congress w/ observations".  Figure it out.

It was too good to be true, too liberal (in the original meaning of the word) to pass so easily in the middle of a presidential campaign. And I had found a way not to commit a crime before doing drugs: to have found them (you didn´t buy it, you didn´t make, anyone gave it to you. Finding something and taking it can´t be a crime).

Presidential campaign had nothing to do with it: this was entirely a non-issue. Much more controversial legislation was being passed at the end of the session several times a day - if anything, campaign serves to cover things up.

As for this bill, no candidate ever mentioned it, all parties were, mostly, in favor, the administration itself had proposed it. The only debate there were was, mostly, among the experts in the field. The objective was and remains not to have to arrest addicts, but concentrate on dealers - the same bill actually toughened the penalties for those. A version of the bill is still likely to get through, "with corrections". Despite denials, it was, mainly, the pressure from the North - it had 10 times as much to do with the US immigration debate as it had to do with all of the domestic politics taken together.

Ok, I see.

BTW, if Lopez Obrador is fiscally irresponsible, Kirchner is not a good match: his administration has constantly maintained large (and record) surplus, even in an electoral year like 2005. It´s funny how rethoric can be so powerful. Supposedly "orthodox" Carlos Menem worked with a tremendous deficit, while supposedly "populist" Kirchner is much more fiscally responsible.

AG,
Is that the guy that wears the mask and refuses to show his face in public? If that's him I saw a rally he had on TV and their were a bunch of communist flags being used. I REALLY hope that guy doesn't win out.

Haha, did you REALLY believed a guy not showing his face could be leading the polls?

[YoMartin]

Likewise, we should keep in mind that Kirchner hasn't really been able to borrow, without enormous cost - either financial or political.  In his case, the major constraint is the post-crisis suspicion of the lenders - I doubt Argentina could get acceptable interest rates without strong IMF backing, and getting that would be extremely costly politically.

To sum up, on occasion one can make a virtue of necessity (and, of course, a vice of an opportunity). 

True. But (a) if he can´t run a deficit it´s also true that he doesn´t need such a major surplus, especially considering 2005 was a crucial electoral year when he was battling to control his own party; and (b) even as governor in the 90´s, when both the federal and most provincial governments were running huge deficits, hw was quite conservative on fiscal matters. He CAN´T be a populist, but I think he WOULDN´T act like one anyway. All we know is that he ISN´T one; Menem´s actual policies were much more populist, if by that we mean fiscal irresponsability (as Bush is more populist than Clinton). If you want to add an "anti-americanism" variable, he´s not populist in that aspect either. He knows very well who he can fight with. His disagreement with the US on the FTAA issue is the same both Argentina and Brazil have with Europe: farm subsidies. And, on a more personal level, he seems to like the US. Before becoming president he had never been to Europe (the "mecca" of most latin american leftists) but he regularly visited New York. I´d prefer a more calm and moderate "style" on a president, but when you look at actual policies he´s not extreme at all.