Palast: Stealing Mexico
GEORGE Bush’s operatives have plans to jigger with the upcoming elections. I’m not talking about the November ’06 vote in the USA (though they have plans for that, too). I’m talking about the election this Sunday in Mexico for their Presidency.
It begins with an FBI document marked, ‘Counterterrorism’ and ‘Foreign Intelligence Collection’ and ‘Secret.’ Date: ‘9/17/2001,’ six days after the attack on the World Trade towers. It’s nice to know the feds got right on the ball, if a little late.
What does this have to do with jiggering Mexico’s election? Hold that thought.
This document is what’s called a ‘guidance’ memo for using a private contractor to provide databases on dangerous foreigners. Good idea. We know the 19 hijackers came from Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and the Persian Gulf Emirates. So you’d think the ‘Intelligence Collection’ would be aimed at getting info on the guys in the Gulf.
No so. When we received the document, we obtained as well its classified appendix. The target nations for ‘foreign counterterrorism investigation’ were nowhere near the Persian Gulf. Every one was in Latin America: Argentina, Venezuela, Mexico and a handful of others.
Latin America?! Was there a terror cell about to cross into San Diego with exploding enchiladas?
informationclearinghouse.info
Stealing It In Front Of Your Eyes
As in Florida in 2000, as in Ohio in 2004, the exit polls show the voters voted for the progressive candidate, but the race is ‘officially’ too close to call.
But they will call it: after they steal it. Reuters News agency reports that, as of 8pm Eastern time, as voting concluded in Mexico, exit polls show Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador of the ‘left-wing’ Party of the Democratic Revolution (PRD) leading in exit polls over Felipe Calderon of the ruling conservative National Action Party (PAN).
We’ve said again and again: Exit polls tell us how voters say they voted, but the voters can’t tell pollsters if their vote will be counted. In Mexico, counting the vote is an art, not a science, and Calderon’s ruling crew is very artful indeed. The PAN-controlled official electoral commission, not surprisingly, has announced that the presidential tally is too close to call.
Calderon’s election is openly supported by the Bush Administration.
On the ground in Mexico City, our news team reports accusations from inside the Obrador campaign that operatives of the PAN had access to voter files which are supposed to be the sole property of the nation’s electoral commission.
We are not surprised.
Mexican left’s anger simmers after contested vote
MEXICO CITY (Reuters) – Mexico’s left, still smarting from a 1988 presidential vote it says was stolen from it, simmered with anger on Monday as its dreams of power were frustrated by another contested election.
Conservative candidate Felipe Calderon claimed victory in Sunday’s hard-fought presidential election and official returns appeared to show anti-poverty campaigner Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador would be unable to catch him.
Harvard-educated Calderon held a one-point lead over former Indian welfare officer Lopez Obrador on Monday with returns in from almost 98 percent of polling stations. A top electoral official said a recount this week was unlikely to change that.
Leaders of the leftist Party of the Democratic Revolution, or PRD, were to meet Lopez Obrador to try to rescue his attempt to become president and join the ranks of leftist leaders in Latin America.
A tiny group of defiant Lopez Obrador supporters gathered outside his campaign headquarters. Many said their candidate, the former mayor of Mexico City, had been cheated of victory by fraud. “He won more points that Calderon,” said retired factory worker Arturo Jimenez, 74.
“He lost, but unfairly. There was sleight of hand involved,” said office cleaner Carmen Sanchez.
No candidate has claimed to have evidence of vote-rigging in the election, which the Federal Electoral Institute said was too close to call yet.