Of words, poorly made rhymes, and lies. Yes, Merida will be hosting the 3rd presidential debate on June 12th.
Merida is an interesting city because it is considered the safest Mexican large city. Citizens of Merida in a sense don’t even consider themselves a part of Mexico, which would be apt considering it and the rest of the Yucatan peninsula once tried to secede from Mexico...
Anyway,
It is isolated culturally, economically, and in terms of safety as well. In a sense it is not prepared to host a debate where desperate men will try to win over a nation desperate for a steady hand to guide us through the internal and external turmoil around us.
How isolated? Well. There were 46 homicides in Yucatan last year. Of the seven cases that have happened this year only one has not been resolved.... That number is unheard off in the rest of the nation. The unemployment rate is 1.8%. Merida isn’t even some rich haven like Zapopan or San Pedro Garza Garcia where cops are given fucking bazookas to work, the average income in the state lags behind the rest of the nation remarkably.
The debates have been widely accredited with being hit and miss; the format is apt but the “town hall” approach taken in Tijuana did not work as expected, neither are we the public getting any clear answers out of the candidates despite expert, astute moderation by some of Mexico’s best journalists.
This third debate is supposed to talk about climate change, the economy,health, and the focus we should give on education and the STEM fields.
Mexican laws (NOM) are considered within Latin America as some of the best written when it comes to climate science, we’re also leaders in STEM fields globally, once overtaking the US in graduated engineers per capita. However, what we have learnt the hard way is that a degree and a fancy law won’t get a person a good paying job or even some breathable air, so this debate is bound to be interesting.... if we can get some answers out of the candidates.
But more than anything, Mexican politics isn’t easily debated; most people only care about which candidate is the least corrupt, and in these debates, staying quite seems to be the best strategy for the more populist candidates, Obrador and Rodriguez. One in first place and the other in last.
A debate between people who have struggled to connect with the public, in a city that struggles to connect with the rest of the nation, about complex subjects that are hard to explain or understand. It’s bound to be hilarious.
