2006年VOA标准英语-Leftist Mexican Presidential Candidate To Chall

By Greg Flakus
Mexico City
04 July 2006

In Mexico, Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, candidate of the leftist Party of the Democratic Revolution, is charging election officials with "manipulation" of the vote count in Sunday's presidential election that shows ruling party candidate Felipe Calderon with a lead of about one percent. Lopez Obrador says he will file legal challenges if the final official count favors Calderon.

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Felipe Calderon waves to supporters  
  
After more than 98 percent of the vote from Sunday's election had been counted, Felipe Calderon maintained a slight lead, which he said was supported by several independent exit polls that showed him as the victor. The Mexican Federal Electoral Institute, however, refrained from declaring any winner, having already announced a recount of the vote to commence on Wednesday.

Coming before reporters after the release of the initial vote count results, Lopez Obrador promised a legal challenge.
 

Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador waves during press conference in Mexico City  
  
He says there was an evident manipulation of the preliminary vote count that would have to be explained. He points to inconsistencies in the count that appeared in the early morning hours as the preliminary results were released. He says he will challenge the result polling place by polling place, if necessary.

Many political analysts¹ here and abroad have expressed concern that the fiery² populist might call for massive protests in the streets if he was to lose this election, but Lopez Obrador asked his followers³ to remain calm, and said he would pursue legal challenges to the vote result. He did not, however, rule out calling for protests later if his legal challenges fail.

The statements by Lopez Obrador put him in conflict with the electoral institute that has run elections here in Mexico for the past several years, to the applause of international observers as well as Mexican citizens. Mexicans tend to hold the I.F.E., as the institute is known, in higher regard than they do most politicians.

Members of the leftist coalition⁴ that supported Lopez Obrador recall the 1988 election that leftist candidate Cuahtemoc Cardenas was widely believed to have won. The election machinery⁵ at that time was under the control of the Institutional Revolutionary Party, or P.R.I., and the final vote count gave the victory to P.R.I. candidate Carlos Salinas de Gortari.

The P.R.I. hold on power was broken with the election of Vicente Fox in 2000, the first election in which the independent and professional I.F.E. was in charge of all voting stations and vote counting. The P.R.I. candidate in this year's election, Roberto Madrazo, ran a distant third in the vote count.

Mexican financial markets responded to the prospect⁶ of a Calderon victory with a more than 4.7 percent jump in the stock market Monday and a strengthening of the Mexican peso. Analysts say many investors⁷ sold stock in the week or two leading up to the election when polls showed a possible win by Lopez Obrador. Investors were worried about the populist rhetoric⁸ of Lopez Obrador and his tendency to blame Mexico's wealthier classes for the nation's widespread poverty.

Calderon, on the other hand, is pro-business, and says the solution to poverty is job creation through economic expansion. He ran on a detailed⁹ platform that included judicial¹⁰ reform, fiscal¹¹ reform and energy sector¹² reform. President Fox has proposed some of the same reforms, but he was unable to get his proposals through a divided Congress.

Calderon, if his victory is confirmed, will face a similar divide, with no one party enjoying a majority. Calderon has said he will try to build coalitions¹³ and make deals with the other parties, something Mr. Fox was also unable to do.

1 analysts   

分析家，化验员( analyst的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• City analysts forecast huge profits this year. 伦敦金融分析家预测今年的利润非常丰厚。
• I was impressed by the high calibre of the researchers and analysts. 研究人员和分析人员的高素质给我留下了深刻印象。

2 fiery   

adj.燃烧着的，火红的；暴躁的；激烈的

参考例句：

• She has fiery red hair.她有一头火红的头发。
• His fiery speech agitated the crowd.他热情洋溢的讲话激动了群众。

3 followers   

追随者( follower的名词复数 )； 用户； 契据的附面； 从动件

参考例句：

• the followers of Mahatma Gandhi 圣雄甘地的拥护者
• The reformer soon gathered a band of followers round him. 改革者很快就获得一群追随者支持他。

4 coalition   

n.结合体，同盟，结合，联合

参考例句：

• The several parties formed a coalition.这几个政党组成了政治联盟。
• Coalition forces take great care to avoid civilian casualties.联盟军队竭尽全力避免造成平民伤亡。

5 machinery   

n.(总称)机械，机器；机构

参考例句：

• Has the machinery been put up ready for the broadcast?广播器材安装完毕了吗？
• Machinery ought to be well maintained all the time.机器应该随时注意维护。

6 prospect   

n.前景，前途；景色，视野

参考例句：

• This state of things holds out a cheerful prospect.事态呈现出可喜的前景。
• The prospect became more evident.前景变得更加明朗了。

7 investors   

n.投资者，出资者( investor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• a con man who bilked investors out of millions of dollars 诈取投资者几百万元的骗子
• a cash bonanza for investors 投资者的赚钱机会

8 rhetoric   

n.修辞学，浮夸之言语

参考例句：

• Do you know something about rhetoric?你懂点修辞学吗？
• Behind all the rhetoric,his relations with the army are dangerously poised.在冠冕堂皇的言辞背后，他和军队的关系岌岌可危。

9 detailed   

adj.详细的，详尽的，极注意细节的，完全的

参考例句：

• He had made a detailed study of the terrain.他对地形作了缜密的研究。
• A detailed list of our publications is available on request.我们的出版物有一份详细的目录备索。

10 judicial   

adj.司法的，法庭的，审判的，明断的，公正的

参考例句：

• He is a man with a judicial mind.他是个公正的人。
• Tom takes judicial proceedings against his father.汤姆对他的父亲正式提出诉讼。

11 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。

12 sector   

n.部门，部分；防御地段，防区；扇形

参考例句：

• The export sector will aid the economic recovery. 出口产业将促进经济复苏。
• The enemy have attacked the British sector.敌人已进攻英国防区。

13 coalitions   

结合体，同盟( coalition的名词复数 )； （两党或多党）联合政府

参考例句：

• History testifies to the ineptitude of coalitions in waging war. 历史昭示我们，多数国家联合作战，其进行甚为困难。
• All the coalitions in history have disintegrated sooner or later. 历史上任何联盟迟早都垮台了。