Mexico: Reactions on Twitter following the Elections · Global Voices
J. Tadeo

[All links in Spanish unless otherwise indicated]
Following the end of the presidential candidates’ campaigns, election day was held last Sunday 1 July 2012, from which the next President of the United Mexican States would emerge victorious. Mexicans also elected 128 senators and 500 members of parliament. Citizens went to the polls to vote without restrictions or major incidents.
At the time of writing this post, according to official, albeit preliminary, information released by Mexico's electoral monitoring organisation, the Instituto Federal Electoral (IFE), turnout was at 63.14% with 90.82% of the votes counted. Preliminary counts seemed to favour the candidate Enrique Peña Nieto [en], from the political party coalition known as Compromiso por México (“Compromise for Mexico”), with 37.83 of the electoral vote.
The candidate from the Progressive Movement coalition, Andrés Manuel López Obrador [en], was in second place with 31.88% of the votes, whereas Josefina Vázquez Mota [en] from the current President's party, the National Action Party (PAN), had 25.48% of the votes. The candidate  from the New Alliance Party, Gabriel Quadri [en], had gained 2.32% of votes at the time. It should be reiterated that, according the the IFE, this information is official but preliminary, and at the time of writing this post, none of the presidential candidates have yet been formally and legally declared as the winner.
“The vote is free and secret”. Mexicans voting in Mexico City on 1 July. Photo by Jazmín Adrían, copyright Demotix.
An expert in Constitutional Law, Miguel Carbonell (@MiguelCarbonell) highlights the following about the preliminary results:
Los resultados oficiales los tendremos el miércoles. Lo que hay ahora son tendencias (aunque bastante consolidadas).
In addition to this, the author spoke about the reactions generated among those who think their preferred candidate will not be elected:
Es curioso que para muchos la única opción democrática es que gane su candidato. Si no gana, entonces no hay democracia ‪#fail
The country's Head of State, Felipe Calderón (@FelipeCalderon) said the following about the elections:
Que México pueda votar en libertad es un privilegio que nos distingue como nación democrática y debemos conservarlo y valorarlo.
Nevertheless, the current President generated controversy at midnight on Sunday when he publicly congratulated Peña Nieto, before the final count has been released. Supporters of the Party of the Democratic Revolution, (PRD, which is a member of the coalition behind presidential candidate Andres Manuel López Obrador) had accused Calderón of making a pact with Peña Nieto's party, the PRI: Calderón would help them win the election, and in return he wouldn't be judged for the 60,000 deaths caused by his war on crime. Although there is no evidence supporting this pact, some believe that the President's quick reaction proves that he wanted the PRI to win. In response to this, Adriana Valero (@adrianavr) said the following:
Que feliz se le va a Calderón anunciando la tendencia que le da ventaja a ‪#EPN. Asegurando su impunidad. ‪#PAN
Later, the same person said this about President Calderón:
#Calderon: Espurio sin principios, que juró en la tumba de su padre derrotar al ‪#PRI y hoy se vende a cambio de inmunidad. ‪#EPN ‪#PAN
Other Twitter users went even further. Kid A (@KID_A_OK) launched the following warning:
Si hay imposición habrá Revolución @IFEMexico Elecciones 2012
Paula Sofia (@pauletta_sofia) referred to the illegal practice of buying votes, although she did not specify which party engaged in the activity nor did she say that she had made a formal complaint about it:
Espero q esos mil pesos por los q vendieron su voto les duren estos 6 años, ignorantes.
Gerardo (@todosarmados) shared the following comment with his followers, in which his excitement for election day is plain to see:
Me emociona todo hoy, pero más ir a votar. Hasta me voy a bañar.
Twitter user Facebrooker (@facebrooker) reminds netizens that in a system like the Mexican one, legislative power is what approves or prevents legal reform:
¿Saben a lo que debemos estar atentos? A las reformas que se debatan en ambas cámaras. Ahí es donde se hará crecer o no a México.
Nora Gabriela (@noravargas) recalls that during the campaign, opinion polls favoured Peña Nieto, which, as a consequence meant that his opposition accused them of publishing false data or of being “bought”. At the same time, she expresses her approval for the trends they revealed:
Y estaban compradas las encuestas? Admitanlo! Los mexicanos votamos y decidimos @EPN próximo Presidente d ‪#Mexico2012 Viva la alternancia!
These are just some of the reactions of Mexicans following the presidential elections. They show plurality, opposing views and discontent from those who think that the candidate of their choice will not win the election.
As previously mentioned, there is currently no definitive result and IFE, the independent constitutional body responsible for organizing the elections, has not finished counting votes.