The leftist candidate Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador (widely known as AMLO) won the presidency of Mexico on July 1 with more than 53%聽of the vote, according to a preliminary count released by Mexico's聽electoral authority INE.
With participation at 62.9% participation, Ricardo Anaya from the right-wing National Action Party (PAN) came聽second with just over 22% of the vote.
Writing at Real News, independent journalist 聽AMLO will be the first president not from either the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI) or PAN president in almost a century.
In his first public speech after the quick count was published, that AMLO addressed his supporters from his campaign headquarters at the Hilton Hotel in Mexico City's and said he will combat and punish corruption, even if he has to go after his own partners in the struggle.
鈥淭he transformation we will carry out will basically consist on kicking out聽corruption from our country ... [C]orruption is not a cultural phenomena, but the result of a decadent political regime,鈥 he said.
Regarding migration, AMLO said he would promote聽strengthening the internal market, to produce what the country consumes, and do everything necessary so Mexicans can stay, work and be happy in their place of origin. 鈥淲hoever wants to migrate he should do it out of pleasure and not out of necessity,鈥 he said.
AMLO takes office on December 1, and said he would tour the country as president-elect as part of creating a government "of the people, by the people, for the people".聽He said聽his government will be a transition period for a new era in Mexico's history.
Pearson noted that AMLO's Moreno party聽supports 鈥渮ero tolerance鈥 of security force corruption, a law against conflict of interest, an 鈥渁ccelerated鈥 transition over to renewable energy, and a return to peace in the streets and homes.
She said that there were fears of electoral fraud despite the early results indicating a big victory for the leftist candidate, noting "most Mexicans have little faith in their electoral system, with just 2% believing there is complete democracy in Mexico." In 2006, AMLO list a presidential election that many believed was stolen -- with huge protests erupting across Mexico against electoral fraud. At the time AMLO said聽鈥淭here has never been democracy in Mexico.鈥澛
Pearson said by 2pm on election day,聽"there had been 324 electoral crimes denounced during voting, with vote buying and stolen voting credentials the most common crimes denounced".
"Meanwhile, some indigenous groups rejected the electoral process outright. The [radical indigenous] Zapatista movement rejected the 'rotten' system, and in Nahuatz茅n, Michoacan indigenous groups told authorities they wouldn鈥檛 allow booths in their communities. These communities elect their own leaders."