Mexico 2012: Jalisco election news

Candidate disrobes to motivate voters

In a bold bid for publicity, a local representative of the leftist Party of the Democratic Revolution (PRD) has ditched her clothes while campaigning for a seat in Mexico’s lower house (Camara de Diputados).

Banners displayed across Guadalajara this week show Natalia Juarez topless, along with six other women, with only their hands covering their breasts.

Juarez, 34, teaches philosophy at the University of Guadalajara. She explained the images as a “provocative, different and unprejudiced” campaign to “demystify” the woman’s body.

“It’s an attempt to run a campaign that is different and cheerful, but also an invitation for people to reveal who they are and commit themselves,” Juarez added, not entirely convincingly.

Governed by the right-wing National Action Party (PAN), Jalisco is one of Mexico’s more conservative states, meaning the images were sure to provoke debate.  The idea of the campaign is “to make an impact and not go unnoticed” among voters, making the most of her scant financial resources, Juarez said. She also promised more images that “will also be controversial.”

Electronic voting tests beset by problems

The latest testing of electronic voting booths in municipalities such as Chapala, Jocotepec and Tequila revealed serious flaws ahead of the July 1 elections.

Of 1,167 machines tested this week by the Electoral Institute of Citizen Participation (IEPC) in Jalisco, only 939 submitted their results immediately, while the remaining 228 were delayed due to a lack of network coverage.

Problems with the electrical power supply also produced several setbacks, while unfamiliarity with the machines led some voters to mistakenly choose the wrong option, said Ana Bertha Guzman Alatorre, president of the Electoral Affairs Commission of the State Congress.

Furthermore, voter confidentiality could not be guaranteed. After each vote, the machines print and deposit slips at the side of the touch screen, easily visible to those nearby.

Citizen participation for the tests was low, and IEPC will be heavily promoting further trials scheduled for May 27 and June 17.

Electronic voting will be used in electoral districts 1 and 17 on July 1. Results are expected to come in four hours after the polls close at 6 p.m.Electronic voting tests beset by problems.