” The constitution says that if the people oppose the president, we can have another presidential election”
POR: JORGE NERI
EL NUEVO SOL
Protestors walk around McArthur park to get the attention of Angelinos and the Mexican Consulate #yosoy132. By Yasmeen Al-Shawwa
The student movement #yosoy132 was not enough to stop the victory from future president of Mexico Enrique Peña Nieto this past July 1st regardless of their accusations of electoral fraud.
According to the Federal Electoral Institute (IFE in its Spanish abbreviation) the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI in its Spanish abbreviation) has return to govern Mexico with Peña Nieto taking office on December 1st regardless of the opposition taken by students and communities.
Dr. Emily Acevedo Ph. D. teaches international relations at Cal State Los Angeles, and said that according to the results, Enrique Peña Nieto has won the presidential elections. The student movement is a frustrated movement because when you analyze the votes you can see that most 20 to 29 year-olds voted for leftist candidate Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, she added.
The effort of the student movement #yosoy132, was to promote an educated vote, but this was not enough to avoid Peña Nieto’s victory. However, there are several accusations of electoral fraud. Leftist ex-presidential candidate Lopez Obrador organized an event in Mexico City called “Expo Fraude” which took place August 11 and 12 and exposed all the evidence to prove that the elections were fraudulent.
Since the electoral results were released, the student movement #yosoy132 have organized 4 national protests, some of the cities in Mexico were Mexico City, Guadalajara, Veracruz, Tijuana and Hermosillo. To these protests, Mexicans around the globe have responded in solidarity by organizing protests in the country where they reside, some of those cities are Los Angeles, New York City, London, Paris, Madrid and many more.
In Los Angeles, the student movement #yosoy132 went to McArthur Park and held a protest in front of the Mexican Consulate which is across from McArthur Park. The students that were at the protest were calling the victory of Peña Nieto “an imposition”.
Ángela Meléndez joined the student movement #yosoy132 since she was living in Mexicali, Baja California. By Yasmeen Al-Shawwa
“There wasn’t a celebration on July 1st or 2nd and if it was, it was only for those who had their bone to chew on, but not a celebration from the people. In reality, this was the vote of ignorance and extreme poverty in Mexico,” said Angela Melendez, 23, a graduated student from the Autonomous University of Baja California in Mexicali.
This is not a participatory democracy anymore; this is a representative democracy that is disguised said Melendez.
“I came to support my fellow Mexicans fighting the electoral fraud that happened in Mexico,” said Juan Schott Martinez, who took his entire family to the protest. He added that since he is not in his country he feels the necessity to do something from the other side of the border.
The only way these students are going to have an impact is if they focus in making a campaign that promotes educated voting in other communities, communities that are not students said Dr. Acevedo.
“Our mission now is to unite everyone, we all have something to fight for. We are not going to allow this to happen again, this is important and for the sake of our safety and rights,” said Alejandra Esquer, student from the Autonomous University of Baja California in Tijuana who is also an organizer for the #yosoy132 student movement.
Esquer said that if Peña Nieto goes into office things will get worse and that there will be an imposition. “The constitution says that if the people oppose the president, we can have another presidential election,” said Esquer.
Tags: Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador Cal State Los Angeles CSUN Dr. Emily Acevedo Ph. D elecciones Enrique Peña Nieto IFE Jorge Neri Los Angeles mexicanos Mexico Peña Nieto política postelectoral PRD PRI UABC yo soy 132 yo soy 132 Los Angeles yosoy132
