By The Global Journal | May 24, 2011 - 14:00 GMT 
An estimated 10,000 Mexicans, mainly students, marched today (24 May) in Mexico City to voice their dissatisfaction with the expected winner of July’s presidential elections, Enrique Peña Nieto from the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI). Peña Nieto is running to unseat the incumbent, Felipe Calderón.
Thousands of students protested against a perceived bias in media coverage and priorities. They screamed “we want schools, not soap operas”, a direct reference to Peña Nieto’s wife, a soap opera actress. The protesters also expressed their discontent at the lack of plurality in domestic broadcasting media, accusing Televisa, the main broadcasting conglomerate in Mexico, of supporting Peña Nieto. Many ended their march at the television channel’s headquarters — where Peña Nieto was giving an interview.
The PRI ruled Mexico from 1929-2000, a period marked for large periods by significant electoral fraud and institutionalized corruption. According to polls conducted by the newspaper El Universal at the beginning of May, 49.6% of voters intend to support Peña Nieto. The key issue of the campaign relates to the state’s ongoing, violent war against drug cartels. Since Calderón declared a war on these organizations, involving the armed forces since 2007, more than 50,000 Mexicans have lost their lives.
(With AFP)
(Photo © AP)
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