Mexican Mayor Steps Aside in Election Dispute
The ruling party’s candidates in a hotly disputed election for mayor and City Council of Merida, capital of the southern state of Yucatan, have stepped aside, turning over City Hall to the conservative opposition.
The resignation of Mayor-elect Orlando Paredes on Tuesday came after leaders of the conservative National Action Party, or PAN, organized weeks of nationwide protests--including one that blocked an international bridge--against alleged fraud in the Nov. 28 state elections.
The resignation appears to be the result of a deal to halt the protests, which PAN leaders called off shortly after the announcement. PAN will be allowed to govern the capital, but the Institutional Revolutionary Party, known by the initials PRI, has neither admitted defeat nor given up the governor’s mansion.
The Yucatan case is the most recent in a series of such deals that have plagued Mexican state elections in recent years. Opposition parties have been less and less willing to accept PRI victories they consider fraudulent.
PAN has tended to negotiate settlements such as this one, while the left-wing Democratic Revolutionary Party, or PRD, has generally refused to make deals.
Start your day right
Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.A. Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
