Mexicans living abroad and the Federal Electoral Process in 2012

By Adina Moloman

Sources: The Economist

This year will take place the Mexican presidential election on July 1, but there is one aspect that continues to be a work in progress and that  is the vote of the Mexicans living abroad.

A voter registration card is required to vote in Mexico. The law mentions that a registration card can only be issued on Mexican territory by the Federal Electoral Institute (IFE).

The majority of Mexican citizens living abroad who are eligible to vote might not do this because they cannot return to the country either because of their legal status or the cost to make the trip.

So much work remains to be done because democratic rights are not fully extended by the Mexican government to Mexicans voting abroad.

Sources from The Economist are seeing this as a political strategy for not simplifying the electoral process. First of all The Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI), has its concerns over making this process more efficient and transparent because  in 2006 it won 22% of the national vote, but just 4% of those cast by Mexicans abroad.

2006 was the last Mexican presidential election and the first time the Mexican government, through IFE, enabled Mexicans outside the country to vote.

The majorities of Mexican abroad are located in United States and are considered to be around 12 millions a little bit more that 10% of the total Mexican population.

The majority are likely from California. The solution for the Mexican in California is to cross to Tijuana Border City and vote, but there is also an apathy regarding the elections back in Mexico.

This apathy could be explained  by the weak ties to Mexico, were  many of the migrants have no plans to return to their home country, so they are not very interested in elections in Mexico.

Another argument is that the elections tended to be addressed to a different type of Mexican with high income and education levels, which is a small percentage comparing to the typical migrant to the US.

The change of the election process concerning the Mexicans abroad would have to be adopted by Mexico’s Congress, which appears unwilling to support outreach to expand the number of Mexican voting out of Mexico.