AMERICA/MEXICO - Meeting between the Church and those responsible of the elections: no to boycott

Mexico City (Agenzia Fides) - The President of the National Electoral Institute (INE), Lorenzo Córdova, met with members of the Permanent Council of the Mexican Episcopal Conference, for an exchange of views on the June 7 elections, which will take place throughout the country, on the new electoral rules and its characteristics. According to INE, one will have to vote for: nine governors, 641 municipal councils, 500 seats in the Chamber of Deputies, 993 mayors and 16 delegations of individual states in Mexico City.
The meeting was sponsored by the Mexican Episcopal Conference (CEM), and was attended, besides the Chairman of CEM, by Cardinal José Francisco Robles Ortega, Vice President and Secretary General, also 18 Bishops representing the 18 ecclesiastical provinces of country.
According to information sent to Agenzia Fides, the President of INE said that the electoral process in the country continues as planned, despite the unprecedented challenges: the elections in fact provide the largest number of potential voters in the history of Mexico and the particular social context that the country lives. Lorenzo Córdova also emphasized that it is a historic moment to show the democratic vocation of the Mexican people, provided that all institutions carry out their task. He also warned against the intention of some sectors of wanting to boycott the elections, a proposal that would not bring any benefit to democracy and would be just another problem for Mexico.
Among the changes of this electoral event are: the participation of "independent" candidates, the high number of potential young voters (between 18 and 30 of age) and the information on the theme, which occurs mainly through social media, in which the Catholic Church is very present, paying particular attention to young people. (CE) (Agenzia Fides 14/04/2015)