Mexico's 2006 Elections (CRS Report for Congress)
| Release Date |
Revised Oct. 3, 2006 |
| Report Number |
RS22462 |
| Report Type |
Report |
| Authors |
Colleen W. Cook, Foreign Affairs, Defense, and Trade Division |
| Source Agency |
Congressional Research Service |
| Older Revisions |
-
Premium July 7, 2006 (6 pages, $24.95)
add
|
Summary:
Mexico held national elections for a new president and congress on July 2, 2006. The election was the closest in Mexican history, with official vote counts conducted by the Federal Elections Institute (IFE) showing conservative Felipe Calderón of the National Action Party (PAN) with 35.89% of the vote and leftist Andrés Manuel López Obrador of the Party of the Democratic Revolution (PRD) with 35.31% of the vote. Both Calderón and López Obrador had declared victory after a preliminary vote count, while Roberto Madrazo of the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI), who finished in third place, accepted defeat. After the official vote county concluded on July 6, López Obrador called for a full manual recount and vowed to challenge the results in the Federal Elections Tribunal. The Tribunal has until September 6 to certify the results or call for a recount. López Obrador has called for his supporters to attend a mass rally in Mexico City on July 8. The electoral campaign touched on issues of interest to the United States including migration, border security, drug trafficking, energy policy, and the future of Mexican relations with Venezuela and Cuba. This report will be updated to reflect final election results. See also CRS [Congressional Research Service] Report RL32724, 'Mexico-U.S. Relations: Issues for the 109th Congress', by Colleen W. Cook; CRS Report RL32735, 'Mexico- United States Dialogue on Migration and Border Issues'', by Colleen W. Cook; and CRS Report RL32934, 'U.S.-Mexico Economic Relations: Trends, Issues, and Implications', by M. Angeles Villarreal.
