AMERICA/MEXICO - “Keep calm and be willing to dialogue” says Archbishop of Durango following elections

Durango (Agenzia Fides) – After the elections that were held in different states of Mexico, the Church of Durango, in the person of Archbishop Héctor González Martínez, urged all politicians to accept the results and to maintain the calm needed to re-start social life in the community. In a statement sent to Fides from the Archdiocese of Durango, the Archbishop congratulated the community for exercising their civic duty by going to vote in Durango. Nearly 60 percent of those eligible voted.
"The local church has fulfilled its role in society in trying to raise awareness, especially with the Easter message from the bishops and the day of prayer. Our task is to form consciences and let the laity freely choose their party," the note says. "Unfortunately, we see that on both sides there are still vices such as the waste of money, inequality and prejudice, lies, personal attacks, insults, pride and arrogance, shots are even fired into the air as a threat, votes are purchased by offering goods and money in exchange, both in the countryside and in the cities."
According to data provided by the Program for Preliminary Results of the Electoral and Citizen Participation Institute (PREP of the IEPC), the vote for Governor was as follows: 283,794 votes for the PRI-PVEM-PD-NA coalition and 272,368 votes for the PAN-PRD-CONV coalition.
The note continues: "We already have the results of the PREP of the IEPC, but both parties are vying for the victory ... I strongly urge - says Archbishop González Martínez - all those involved, when taking legal steps to interpret the truth, to maintain serenity and calm, to have the willingness to listen and communicate, to avoid visceral disputes. We are one society and one Church and beyond this divide, we need mutual cooperation for the good of Durango." Mexico has suffered several episodes of violence in recent months, and even during the election campaign there have been tragic events (see Fides 02/07/2010). (CE) (Agenzia Fides 07/08/2010)