Mexicans will vote on whether their president should be removed from office

Mexicans will vote on whether their president should be removed from office

Transcript¹

Mexico's president has set a recall election for Sunday on his own term in office. He's expected to win what critics say is an act of political theater.

STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

A recall election is usually launched by someone who wants to get a person out of office. But in this case, in Mexico, the recall election was the president's own idea. On Sunday, Mexicans decide the fate of President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador. Here's NPR's Carrie Kahn.

CARRIE KAHN, BYLINE²: Eighteen-year-old Andrea Cabrera (ph) and her mom are enjoying an ice cream on this recent day in a working-class neighborhood near Mexico City's airport. Above their head is a huge banner in support of President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador.

ANDREA CABRERA: (Speaking Spanish).

KAHN: "I'm his fan 100%," says Cabrera. Her pink T-shirt sports a cartoon likeness³ of Lopez Obrador with gray hair and a bucktoothed smile. She's voting Sunday for him to finish out his term till 2024.

CABRERA: (Speaking Spanish).

KAHN: "The president has given a lot of support to both me and my mom," she says. She gets financial aid for high school. Her mother, Fabiola Rivera (ph), receives a small stipend⁴ for single mothers.

FABIOLA RIVERA: (Speaking Spanish).

KAHN: "He has shown how he helps all Mexicans," she says. Lopez Obrador swept into office in 2018, pledging to put the poor first and crack down on Mexico's endemic corruption⁵. He also said he would hold a recall vote. As he explained last December at a State of the Union address, such votes ensure the people are in charge...

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

PRESIDENT ANDRES MANUEL LOPEZ OBRADOR: (Speaking Spanish).

(CHEERING)

KAHN: ...And can get rid of greedy, bad leaders, he said to thunderous applause. Polls show Mexicans want to keep him in power. Lopez Obrador is popular, and his opposition⁶ is weak. But Carlos Bravo Regidor, an analyst⁷ at the research center CIDE in Mexico City says inflation, the country's staggering violence and several political scandals have chipped away at the president's high marks.

CARLOS BRAVO REGIDOR: This is a way for him to say, I'm still strong; in spite of all, people support me.

KAHN: Critics charge that the recall is a waste of money. The president, usually known for his fiscal⁸ austerity, allocated⁹ $77 million for the vote.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

UNIDENTIFIED PEOPLE: (Chanting in Spanish).

KAHN: Last Sunday, his opponents rallied in cities around the country, but turnout like this one in the capital was small. Shouting, finish and get out, ralliers like 62-year-old retiree Dalia Reyes (ph) says she won't participate in a farce¹⁰.

DALIA REYES: (Speaking Spanish).

KAHN: "It's a trap, a way for him to feel glorious, like he's the emperor of Mexico," she says. In the recall, not only is a no vote needed to oust¹¹ him, but it requires a 40% turnout to be binding¹². Neither is expected. Critics say the president is using this recall vote to build momentum¹³ in the second half of his term and to step up attacks on the federal elections institute, known as INE, which runs national elections. He's long maintained it stole a previous election from him. Luis Ugalde, a former director of INE, says Lopez Obrador is moving to strip Mexico's few functioning institutions of their independence.

LUIS UGALDE: Our very young democracy with a lot of deficiencies (ph) is going to collapse¹⁴. That is what is at stake at this moment in Mexico.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

UNIDENTIFIED PEOPLE: (Chanting in Spanish).

CLAUDIA SHEINBAUM: (Speaking Spanish).

KAHN: Defying rules on campaigning by public officials, Mexico City's mayor addressed thousands Wednesday in support of Lopez Obrador.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

SHEINBAUM: (Speaking Spanish).

KAHN: Mayor Claudia Sheinbaum, star of the ruling party, riled up the city's supporters. She's the president's most likely pick to be his successor in 2024.

Carrie Kahn, NPR News, Mexico City.

1 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

2 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

3 likeness   

n.相像，相似（之处）

参考例句：

• I think the painter has produced a very true likeness.我认为这位画家画得非常逼真。
• She treasured the painted likeness of her son.她珍藏她儿子的画像。

4 stipend   

n.薪贴；奖学金；养老金

参考例句：

• The company is going to ajust my stipend from this month onwards.从这一个月开始公司将对我的薪金作调整。
• This sum was nearly a third of his total stipend.这笔钱几乎是他全部津贴的三分之一。

5 corruption   

n.腐败，堕落，贪污

参考例句：

• The people asked the government to hit out against corruption and theft.人民要求政府严惩贪污盗窃。
• The old man reviled against corruption.那老人痛斥了贪污舞弊。

6 opposition   

n.反对，敌对

参考例句：

• The party leader is facing opposition in his own backyard.该党领袖在自己的党內遇到了反对。
• The police tried to break down the prisoner's opposition.警察设法制住了那个囚犯的反抗。

7 analyst   

n.分析家，化验员；心理分析学家

参考例句：

• What can you contribute to the position of a market analyst?你有什么技能可有助于市场分析员的职务？
• The analyst is required to interpolate values between standards.分析人员需要在这些标准中插入一些值。

8 fiscal   

adj.财政的，会计的，国库的，国库岁入的

参考例句：

• The increase of taxation is an important fiscal policy.增税是一项重要的财政政策。
• The government has two basic strategies of fiscal policy available.政府有两个可行的财政政策基本战略。

9 allocated   

adj. 分配的 动词allocate的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• The Ford Foundation allocated millions of dollars for cancer research. 福特基金会拨款数百万美元用于癌症研究。
• More funds will now be allocated to charitable organizations. 现在会拨更多的资金给慈善组织。

10 farce   

n.闹剧，笑剧，滑稽戏；胡闹

参考例句：

• They played a shameful role in this farce.他们在这场闹剧中扮演了可耻的角色。
• The audience roared at the farce.闹剧使观众哄堂大笑。

11 oust   

vt.剥夺，取代，驱逐

参考例句：

• The committee wanted to oust him from the union.委员会想把他从工会中驱逐出去。
• The leaders have been ousted from power by nationalists.这些领导人被民族主义者赶下了台。

12 binding   

有约束力的，有效的，应遵守的

参考例句：

• The contract was not signed and has no binding force. 合同没有签署因而没有约束力。
• Both sides have agreed that the arbitration will be binding. 双方都赞同仲裁具有约束力。

13 momentum   

n.动力，冲力，势头；动量

参考例句：

• We exploit the energy and momentum conservation laws in this way.我们就是这样利用能量和动量守恒定律的。
• The law of momentum conservation could supplant Newton's third law.动量守恒定律可以取代牛顿第三定律。

14 collapse   

vi.累倒；昏倒；倒塌；塌陷

参考例句：

• The country's economy is on the verge of collapse.国家的经济已到了崩溃的边缘。
• The engineer made a complete diagnosis of the bridge's collapse.工程师对桥的倒塌做了一次彻底的调查分析。