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Mexican expatriate voter drive comes up far short
Chicago Trib EFL Of 4 million eligible, only 15,500 register At a registration drive in Pilsen, radio host Javier Salas tried to energize his countrymen about their historic opportunity to vote in Chicago for their homeland's next president. "Let's hear it!" he shouted into his microphone Thursday. "Viva Mexico!" But Salas later acknowledged that few are tuning in to that message: Three days before the registration deadline, it appears that the widely heralded debut of Mexican expatriate voting has fizzled. Since registration started in October, only about 15,500 Mexicans in the U.S. have registered to vote by mail in the July presidential election, of an estimated 4 million eligible voters. When the Mexican Congress approved the plan last year, organizers predicted a turnout of about 300,000 voters. The hand-wringing has spread to Mexico, where lawmakers and pundits have questioned whether it is worth the government's expense to organize expatriate voting when so few signed up. Mexico's Federal Electoral Institute has spent $10 million on organizing the effort. Both election organizers and immigrant activists acknowledged shortcomings but vowed to do better in the future. The Federal Electoral Institute "has done all that is within its power. but we also have to be self-critical," said Patricio Ballados, in charge of overseas voting for the agency in Mexico. "We've learned a lot of things. Why? Because this is the first time we are doing it." Salas predicted that Mexicans back home would question the commitment of expatriates. Jorge Santibanez, president of the Colegio de la Frontera Norte in Tijuana, said high expectations were unrealistic, given that even Mexicans at home do not see voting as an answer to their problems. Santibanez did not think the Mexican Congress would abandon the idea in future elections but predicted "a lot of noise in the debate" after final registration numbers are compiled. Jose Luis Gutierrez, president of a federation of Michoacan natives in Chicago, said even one expatriate vote was better than none, noting that the exercise would make Mexicans more politically active in both countries. Right on cue, a voter who had just registered tapped Gutierrez on the shoulder and asked about becoming a naturalized U.S. citizen. "See what I mean," Gutierrez said. "We are learning. We are learning how to speak our minds. This is the awakening of a new community, one that is binational, active here and there." Posted by: Nimble Spemble 2006-01-13 |
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