Mexico's 2018 Election: What's at Stake?

Mexicans vote in the 2012 Federal Election

Photo by ProtoplasmaKid/CC-BY-SA 4.0

Program

On July 1, 2018, Mexicans will elect a new president, as well as 128 Senators and 500 members of the Chamber of Deputies. The entrance of new political actors to the fore, coupled with a vibrant and young generation of voters who have known no other political alternatives for most of their lives, promise to deliver a unique and momentous election. The global “anti-establishment” trend that has been witnessed in democracies around the world is also an exceptional factor that will reshape the political landscape of the country for years to come. The outcome will undoubtedly redefine Mexico’s relationship to the U.S. and set the tone for other concurrent elections throughout Latin America.

The International Development Speaker Series, in conjunction with the RAND Center for Latin American Social Policy, welcomed the President of the National Commission for the Vote of Mexicans Resident Abroad at the National Electoral Institute, Enrique Andrade Gonzalez, for a conversation on the outlook and considerations for this pivotal event in Mexico.

Speaker

Enrique Andrade Gonzalez was elected by the plenary of the Chamber of Deputies as Electoral Councilor for the period from 2014 to 2020. He currently chairs the Temporary Committee on the Voting of Mexicans Resident Abroad and the Commission of the Federal Register of Voters. He previously served as Adviser to the Electoral Council of the Federal Electoral Institute (IFE) from 2008 to 2013.

Among his publications are "The New Model of Oversight" and "Electoral Federalism in Mexico: Antecedents, evolution and a look to the future," both published by the Sufragio magazine of the Electoral Tribunal of the Federal Judicial Branch (TEPJF). Dr. Andrade Gonzalez has a degree in law from the Universidad Iberoamericana and has a master's and doctorate in law from the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM).