In the middle of a complex election day, Mexicans abroad came out this Sunday, June 2, to exercise their right to vote. However, from very early on social networks were filled with various publications reporting the high influx both at the Mexican consulates in the United States, as well as at the Mexican embassies in Canada, Spain and France.
The polling stations in said foreign establishments They opened at 8:30 a.m. (central Mexico time), but some testimonies from Mexicans abroad reported that from 5:00 a.m. they began to line up to be the first to vote. Due to the influx, men and women Those who have shown up to vote in these special polling stations report on networks various problems of delays, disorganization and little attention from the Mexican electoral authorities abroad.
Although in USA is found almost 94% of Mexicans who emigrate from the countryIn France and Spain there are also a considerable number of people of Mexican nationality. According to figures from federal authorities, until 2020 there were more than 40 thousand Mexican men and women in France and more than 60 thousand nationals in Spain.
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In the first posts that appeared on Twitter, users showed videos to report the long waiting lines under the sun. In the same way, these first reports complained about the poor organization that was deployed at the Mexican Embassy in Madrid Spain. Later, the complaints of Mexican voters in the streets of Madrid became more demanding, because although at first they mentioned lack of agility in this process, they later became complaints about a obstruction of voting.
The lawyer and economist Luis Pazos wrote in a publication that she herself Mexico’s embassy in Madrid he had “superior orders” to hinder the vote, since the majority of those who vote from Spain would have a different party preference than that of the government in power.
“The Mexican Embassy in Spain hinders voting by superior orders, since they consider that more than 90% of voters are not going to vote for MORENA. The General Law on Electoral Crimes classifies this act as a criminal offense, with fines of 3 years in prison or more,” reads the economic specialist’s tweet, which he accompanied with a video in which people are seen lined up outside the diplomatic delegation while shouting over and over again the slogan “we want to vote!”
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On the same social network, the journalist Marcela Turati shared a series of publications in which part of the protests and dialogues that Mexicans had with the authorities are observed to demand their right to vote in the face of lines that do not advance and people who have been in formation since 6:00 in the morning (Spain time) who have not been able to vote and who claim that, of the more than 3 thousand people who are in the Mexican Embassyonly 159 have been able to exercise the suffrage.
Later, Turati added that apparently only 1,500 people who did not have prior registration on the nominal list could vote, and that after 10 hours of work, only a total of 595 Mexican people had managed to vote.
In other videos you can hear how people shout “INE traitor”, as well as “INE, show your face”.
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Although no official response has been posted in the official accounts of the electoral authorities, people outside the Embassy stated that those responsible for the polling stations in the Spanish Embassy extended the election day until 1:00 a.m. early morning (Spain time)
“All missing registered Mexicans and unregistered Mexicans will be able to vote. The vote is expected to last until 1 am, the INE is providing poor information on its social networks. The consulates are NOT closed, keep voting,” reads a tweet from the @conexiohispanoa account.
Prior to election day, the Mexican Embassy did share informative content about the election, such as the hours of the polls, the location and how the process would develop.
