Expatriates see Mexico vote as democracy test

By Lourdes Medrano

ARIZONA DAILY STAR

To some Mexican expatriates in Tucson, Mexico's hotly disputed presidential election exemplifies the growing pains of democracy.

"The controversy is testing the institutional democracies of Mexico," said Florencio Zara-goza of Fundación México. "The hope is that the process will work itself out — the stability of Mexico is at stake."

The Sunday election was too close to call initially. After three days of ballot counting, the final tally from Mexico's Federal Electoral Institute Thursday showed Felipe Calderón as the winner.

Calderón, of the conservative National Action Party, or PAN, received 243,000 more votes than his main rival, Andrés Manuel López Obrador, of the leftist Democratic Revolution Party, or PRD. The Federal Election Tribunal still must ratify the count. Calderón received 35.8 percent of the vote, while 35.3 percent went to López Obrador.

For his part, López Obrador — who came to be known as the champion of the poor — already has said he will challenge the election results in court. He and his supporters plan to hold a rally Saturday in Mexico City.