Associated Press
July 05, 2002
http://www.arizonarepublic.com/news/articles/0705mexparties05.html
MEXICO CITY - Mexican electoral officials added two new political parties to
the list of eight officially-recognized groups Wednesday, bringing to 10 the
number of parties now qualified to receive hundreds of millions of dollars in
government funding.
The Federal Electoral Institute rejected requests by eight other "political associations" for elevation to the status of parties, saying they had failed to meet some requirements such as collecting signatures, carrying out assemblies, or writing bylaws and platforms.
The addition of new parties may further splinter Mexico's already-crowded political field, where three large parties dominate the right, left and center, while smaller parties struggle to define themselves and, in some cases, are run like family businesses.
On a 7-2 vote the Institute's general council approved the two new parties, which, like most of the eight rejected groups, describe themselves as leftist or progressive.
Patricia Mercado, president of the Progressive Liberal Party, one of newly-approved parties, pledged "to form a broad social-left coalition" to oppose President Vicente Fox's conservative National Action Party.
The other, the Mexico Possible Party, is headed by human rights activist and academic Sergio Aguayo.
Among the rejected groups was the Rose Party, a social-democrat group with perhaps the largest public following among the tiny candidate organizations.
The Rose Party's application was rejected because its bylaws were judged to be too vague. However, all those rejected may appeal the decision to federal courts, and some vowed to do so.
The officially recognized parties get annual government payments of almost 5 billion pesos ($500 million).
Some legislators have recently suggested cutting the government campaign subsidies, in order to force the parties to rely more on funding from their own members and supporters rather than on taxpayers.
The payments have caused resentment in a country where the minimum wage is 43 pesos ($4.30) per day.
Under Mexican law, only officially recognized parties can field candidates
in federal elections, and they must win at least 2 percent of votes to hold
on to their party status, government funding, free media time and postage rights.
Three parties were delisted in 2000 after they failed to meet that requirement.
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