Results of July 2000 state and municipal government elections in Veracruz, particularly in the municipality of Cotaxtla; treatment of PAN party members in Veracruz since July 2000 elections [MEX36748.E]

No references to a state or municipal government election in the state of Veracruz in July 2000 could be found among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate.

Various sources report that state government elections in Veracruz were held in August 1998, with Miguel Aleman of the Partido Revolucionario Institucional (PRI) being elected governor for the period 1 December 1998 to 30 November 2004 (Gobierno de Veracruz 29 Mar. 2001).

The Congress of Veracruz has 45 deputies, 24 assigned through district majority vote count and 21 assigned through proportional representation (ibid. 9 Apr. 2001).

In addition to the gubernatorial seat, during the August 1998 elections 24 majority vote State Congress seats were contested. According to one source, the PRI won 21 seats (La Jornada 12 Aug. 1998). The attached table published by the Consejo Electoral Estatal de Veracruz (State Electoral Council of Veracruz, CEEVER) provides results of the majority vote State Congress elections distributed throughout the state's 24 electoral districts, showing a majority vote for the PRI in 21 districts, two for the PAN and one for the PRD (21 Feb. 2001). Please note that Coataxtla is part of District XIII, Paso Del Macho; no results of the congressional vote by municipality could be found among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate.

In the 3 September 2000 State Congress and municipal elections of Veracruz, 21 proportional representation State Congress vote seats were contested (La Jornada 11 Sept. 2000). Of these, preliminary results gave seven seats to the PRI, seven to Partido de Accion Nacional (PAN) candidates, four to the Partido de la Revolucion Democratica (PRD), and one each to the Convergencia por la Democracia, the Partido de los Trabajadores (PT) and the Partido Verde Ecologista Mexicano (PVEM) (ibid.). The attached table published by CEEVER provides the 2000 State Congress elections vote count distribution for the state's 24 electoral districts (9 Jan. 2001). Please note that Coataxtla is part of District XIII, Paso Del Macho; no results of the congressional vote by municipality could be found among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate.

Municipal elections were held in Veracruz in 1997 and 2000 (CEEVER 9 Jan. 2001; La Jornada 11 Sept. 2000). According to official results of the 3 September 2000 municipal election, whose tabulation was completed on 9 September 2000 and three days after the deadline stipulated in the State Electoral Code, the PRI won 116 municipal governments, while the PAN won 43, the PRD 29, with the remaining 22 distributed among the PT, the PVEM, the Convergencia por la Democracia and the Partido Alianza Social (PAS) (La Jornada 11 Sept. 2000). A day earlier, it was reported that the PT won nine municipal presidencies, Convergencia por la Democracia won seven, the PVEM five and PAS one (ibid. 8 Sept. 2000).

The 3 September 2000 elections experienced some problems and criticisms (ibid. 9 Sept. 2000). In the municipality of Ayahualulco, militants of the PAN, PRD and PT reportedly violently entered the facilities where votes were being held, disarmed policemen, stole the voting documents and set them on fire in the town square (ibid. 7 Sept. 2000). In the municipality of Oluta, PRI supporters burned the voting documentation after a recount favoured the PAN (ibid.). Vote scrutiny in five other municipalities3/4Atzalan, Hueyapan, Ixtaczotitlan, Hidalgotitlan and Atlahuilco3/4was prevented by militants from different parties, who took over facilities and assaulted electoral officials who then abandoned the facilities (ibid.). Scuffles occurred in Coatzacoalcos, Castillo de Teallo and Acayucan, when militants forced their way into areas where the votes were being counted (ibid.).

Three days before these elections, a group of PAN activists in the Veracruz city of Jalapa (also spelled Xalapa) intercepted a caravan of municipal vehicles manned by persons wearing shirts of the Convergencia por la Democracia political group, who were reportedly taking supplies for distribution (La Jornada 1 Sept. 2000). The panistas (PAN members or supporters), which included the local PAN state congress candidate and a PAN city councillor, were reportedly attacked by municipal workers and supporters of Dante Delgado, former Veracruz PRI governor and leader of Convergencia por la Democracia (ibid.). The municipal government of Jalapa at that moment was presided by Rafael Hernandez Villalpando, a follower of Dante Delgado; Villalpando ran for mayor as a candidate of the PRD at a time when Convergencia por la Democracia had not been formed; he reportedly broke links with the PRD upon being elected mayor and more recently his political group paid for advertisements directed against the PRD (ibid.). The municipal vote in Jalapa was initially "protested furiously" by Convergencia por la Democracia, which argued it was being "cheated out of victory" (Mexico & NAFTA Report 19 Sept. 2000, 2). After final recounts, the candidate of Convergencia por la Democracia was declared the winner (La Jornada 8 Sept. 2000).

Additional reports on a particular treatment of PAN party members surrounding or after the September 2000 elections could not be found among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate. The Research Directorate was unable to communicate with PAN national or state representatives for this purpose within the constraints of this Response.

CEEVER reports municipal election results for the municipality of Cotaxtla as follows (CEEVER 9 Jan. 2001):

Total votes: 8,762; votes annulled: 177; valid votes: 8,585; PRD: 4,830 votes; PRI: 3,256 votes; PAN: 499 votes. No votes for other political groups are reported for this municipality.

This Response was prepared after researching publicly accessible information currently available to the Research Directorate within time constraints. This Response is not, and does not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular claim to refugee status or asylum. Please find below the list of additional sources consulted in researching this Information Request.

References


Consejo Electoral Estatal de Veracruz (CEEVER), Veracruz. 9 January 2001. "Eleccion de Ayuntamientos 2000." http://www.ceever.org.mx [Accessed 3 May 2001]

Gobierno de Veracruz, Veracruz. 9 April 2001. "Semblanza del Estado." http://www.veracruz.gob.mx/historia/semblanza.php3 (Google Cache) [Accessed 2 May 2001]

_____. 29 March 2001. "Gobernadores del Estado." http://www.veracruz.gob.mx/info/gobernadores.php3 (Google Cache) [Accessed 1 May 2001]

La Jornada [Mexico City]. 11 September 2000. Guadalupe Lopez Espinosa. "Oficial: PRI ganó 116 municipios de Veracruz, PAN 43 y PRD 29." http://www.jornada.unam.mx/2000/sep00/000911/038n1est.html [Accessed 3 May 2001]

_____. 9 September 2000. Alberto J. Olvera. "Elecciones en Veracruz: la involución democrática." http://www.jornada.unam.mx/2000/sep00/000909/014a1gen.html [Accessed 2 May 2001]

_____. 8 September 2000. Mireya Cuellar and Guadalupe Lopez. "El dantista Escobar Pérez es edil de Jalapa." http://www.jornada.unam.mx/2000/sep00/000908/032n2est.html [Accessed 2 May 2001]

_____. 7 September 2000. Mireya Cuellar and Guadalupe Lopez. "La alcaldía de Jalapa, en poder del dantista Reynaldo Escobar." http://www.jornada.unam.mx/2000/sep00/000907/031n2est.html [Accessed 2 May 2001]

_____. 5 September 2000. Mireya Cuellar, Guadalupe Lopez and José Gil Olmos. "Triunfa el PRI en 20 de los 24 distritos veracruzanos; para el PAN, los restantes." http://www.jornada.unam.mx/2000/sep00/000905/029n1est.html [Accessed 3 May 2001]

_____. 1 September 2000. Mireya Cuellar and Guadalupe Lopez. "Veracruz: la violencia apareció a tres días de las elecciones." http://www.jornada.unam.mx/2000/sep00/000901/030n1gen.html [Accessed 2 May 2001]

_____. 12 August 1998. Alberto J. Olivera. "Las enseñanzas de las elecciones en Veracruz." http://www.jornada.unam.mx/1998/ago98/980812/olvera.html [Accessed 3 May 2001]

Latin American Regional Reports: Mexico & NAFTA Report [London]. 19 September 2000. "PRI Loses in Chiapas."

Attachments


Consejo Electoral Estatal de Veracruz (CEEVER), Veracruz. 21 February 2001. "Elección de Diputados Locales 1998." http://www.ceever.org.mx/gobydip98b.htm [Accessed 3 May 2001]

_____. 9 January 2001. "Eleccion de Diputados 2000." http://www.ceever.org.mx/dipm [Accessed 3 May 2001]

Additional Sources Consulted


Country Reports 2000.

IRB Databases.

La Jornada [Mexico City]. Searchable Archives. 1999-2000.

Latin American Regional Reports: Mexico & NAFTA [London]. 2000.

REFWORLD.

Internet Websites and Internet search engines.

Note:

This list is not exhaustive. Country-specific publications available at the Resource Centre are not listed.