1988_12 The Daily Collegian December 1988

              The Daily CoOegian
Monday. December 5. 1988     PsTtge 3
ELECTION
Continued-from page I
The P.R.I. has ruled continuously for
60 years. Each P.RJ president has hand-
picked his successor, who has then been
clecied by the voters. This system pro¬
vided Mexico with years of rule and stabil¬
ity tiricqualcd by any other Western nat¬
ion, said Garcia. Only the Communist
Party in Russia has ruled longer.
Yet, the prudential campaign and
election, which look place this past July
were different, Garcia said; they were
marked by a turbulence unseen in Mex¬
ico's modem history.
Just prior to the election, Garcia said, a
close Cardenas ally and friend was killed
in what she characterized as a "brutal polit¬
ical assasinalion." She also said that four
30 0
OFF
college students were killed by the army.
She stressed thai though these deaths had
occurred, killing was and is not a wide¬
spread tactic of the army. Instead, intim¬
idation is often used.
Hanassment by the army during the
election was widespread, she said. "Sold¬
iers were everywhere, intimidating every¬
one."'
The turbulence seen during the cam¬
paign has seemingly not abated, but
rather still haunts lhe halls of power and
the Mexican landscape, Garcia said.
According to Garcia, in September
when then-President Miguel De la Madrid
gave his lasl Slate of the Union speech io
the Mexican Congress, members of the
right-wing party booed him, while mem¬
bers of Cardenas's jjany walked out. Re¬
cently, as the President-elect Salinas
walked into the Mexican Congress for his
inauguration ceremony, members of Car-
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denas's party walked out.
And across the country, Garcia said,
civil discontent still abounds. "Cardenas
is going around the country speaking to
rallies of up to 200.000 workers denounc¬
ing the (vote) fraud and asking for an in¬
vestigation."
A New York Tunes article reported a
recent rally of 250,000 at the Zocalo, the
main square of Mexico City and reported
in another article thai during the Salinas
inauguration lasl week, riot police were
beating anti-Salinas protestors with clubs
and rifle butts at the Zocalo.
The anti-Salinas protests seem to be
rallying mostly behind Cardenas, accord¬
ing to Garcia.
The reason for his popularity is two¬
fold, she said.
Much of it, she said, stems from his
being Lazaro Cardenas's son. General Laz-
aro Cardenas was president from 1934-
1940. During his tenure he instigated
sweeping land reforms and government
takeovers of foreign oil companies. For
ihcsc changes he is still revered by much
of Mexico.
Another factor, said Garcia, has to do
with his campaign platform, which called
for a moratorium on foreign debt pay-
men is in order to take care of the needs of
the Mexican people first
The Harvard-trained Salinas vowed
during his campaign to continue the out¬
going President De la Madrid's economic
policies, which include repayment of the
foreign debt and an increasingly open and
competitive market. .
The foreign debt was a pivotal issue in
the presidential campaign, said Garcia, be¬
cause Mexicans undersiood it to be the
cause of/iheir economic and social woes.
From 1940-1980. Mexico enjoyed an
average steady six percent growth in ihe
economy. But during De la Madrid's pres¬
idency, which began in 1982, Mexican's
saw a 40 percent drop in living condit¬
ions, a devaluation of Ihe peso from 150
to 2.250 to the dollar and inflation sky¬
rocket to 160 percent in 1987. It now
stands at 60 percent.
A plunge in oil prices was p.mly to
blame, most U.S. economists concede,
yet they say primary blame must go to
the foreign debt-linked. De la Madrid eco¬
nomic policies.
Garcia explained the issue in terms of
human costs. Of the 82-3 million Mex-
Pleasc see ELECTION, page 5
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