2006年VOA标准英语-Calderon Confronts Divisions in Mexico as He Pr

By Greg Flakus
Mexico City
07 July 2006

The official final vote count in Mexico's presidential election showed ruling party candidate Felipe Calderon winning by only 236,000 votes. His main rival is threatening to challenge the outcome, and, even if that effort fails, the apparent president-elect faces animosity from the almost two-thirds of the electorate¹, who did not vote for him. VOA's Greg Flakus has more on the challenges facing the man who would be Mexico's new president.

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Felipe Calderon greets reporters at  news conference in Mexico City, July 7, 2006  
  
Immediately after the final results were announced, Felipe Calderon came before supporters and television cameras to speak to the nation about his willingness to promote reconciliation².

He said that, as a result of the election, Mexicans had chosen him to be the next president of the country.

But he also recognized that, in a race against four other candidates, he had won by a thin margin³, winning just over one-third of the votes cast. Given the abstention rate of 40 percent, his actual support could be far lower.

With this in mind, Calderon called for a coalition⁴ government, and said he would include members of rival parties in his Cabinet. His party, the conservative, pro-business National Action Party, known as the PAN, will enjoy a plurality in the new Congress, but will be far short of the votes needed to pass programs.

In an interview on Mexico's Televisa network, Calderon said he was open to making deals.

He said he would consider offering Cabinet positions to other parties, in exchange for their votes in Congress to pass reforms that Mexico desperately⁵ needs. Calderon wants to enact⁶ fiscal⁷ reform, energy reform and judicial⁸ reform, in an effort to modernize⁹ the country and make Mexico more competitive in a global economy.

President Vicente Fox, who will pass the presidential sash to Calderon in December, if challenges to the vote are not successful, tried to pass similar reforms, but was blocked by opposition¹⁰ parties in the Congress.

 
Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador  
  
One of the parties most hostile to the PAN's free-market policies is the leftist Party of the Democratic Revolution, or PRD, whose presidential candidate, Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, lost by a thin margin to Calderon in the final count.

He has rejected the results and will challenge them in the electoral tribunal, which has until August 31 to make a decision. Even if this effort ultimately fails, the bad blood produced by the dispute could make reconciliation with the PAN problematic.

Mexico is a country of great divisions, where forming a consensus¹¹ on any course of action often involves spirited fights between people whose world views are completely opposite.

One of the people protesting the election results is Gustavo Ortega Bravo, coordinator¹² of the Movimiento Aqui Estamos, or Here We Are Movement. Speaking to VOA at a protest in front of the electoral institute, he rejected what he said was a fraudulent election.

"This is more than politics; it is a clash between two proposals, that of the neo-liberal or free-market, free-trade policies of the PAN, and the Lopez Obrador vision of a more equitable¹³ society, in which the riches now enjoyed by a few hundred families would be shared with the poor," he said.

But such words and such protests frighten many Mexicans, even among the poor, a good portion of whom voted for Calderon in spite of the promises from Lopez Obrador to improve their lot.

Street sweeper Manuel is one of the working class people who voted PAN.

He says he voted PAN even though Lopez Obrador might have increased his pay, because he worried that the fiery¹⁴ populist would shake up the economy, and cause another devaluation of the Mexican peso.

The economic stability of the Fox government was a big factor in helping¹⁵ Calderon win. The current government has produced around four percent annual growth, and helped build a larger middle class, in which young people can more easily buy a house and purchase goods from other countries at lower prices than existed here before free trade.

People look at elections results at a polling station in Mexico City, July 3, 2006   
  
An analysis of the vote shows that Calderon won heavily in the northern states, where the PAN has always had its strongest support, and the PRD captured most of the central and southern states. This geographic¹⁶ split could be a serious problem for Mexico, if any strife¹⁷ develops in the south over the perception that the election was fraudulent.

Lopez Obrador is demanding that the electoral tribunal order a vote-by-vote recount. Whether the seven judges on the tribunal will opt¹⁸ for such a lengthy¹⁹ and costly²⁰ procedure is far from certain, but anything less could provide support to those who think there was some manipulation of results.

Felipe Calderon plans to begin forming his transition team Monday, but the legal challenges hanging over the political scene could delay his efforts to promote reconciliation.

1 electorate   

n.全体选民；选区

参考例句：

• The government was responsible to the electorate.政府对全体选民负责。
• He has the backing of almost a quarter of the electorate.他得到了几乎1/4选民的支持。

2 reconciliation   

n.和解，和谐，一致

参考例句：

• He was taken up with the reconciliation of husband and wife.他忙于做夫妻间的调解工作。
• Their handshake appeared to be a gesture of reconciliation.他们的握手似乎是和解的表示。

3 margin   

n.页边空白；差额；余地，余裕；边，边缘

参考例句：

• We allowed a margin of 20 minutes in catching the train.我们有20分钟的余地赶火车。
• The village is situated at the margin of a forest.村子位于森林的边缘。

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 desperately   

adv.极度渴望地，绝望地，孤注一掷地

参考例句：

• He was desperately seeking a way to see her again.他正拼命想办法再见她一面。
• He longed desperately to be back at home.他非常渴望回家。

6 enact   

vt.制定(法律)；上演，扮演

参考例句：

• The U.S. Congress has exclusive authority to enact federal legislation.美国国会是唯一有权颁布联邦法律的。
• For example,a country can enact laws and economic policies to attract foreign investment fairly quickly.例如一个国家可以很快颁布吸引外资的法令和经济政策。

7 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。

8 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。

9 modernize   

vt.使现代化，使适应现代的需要

参考例句：

• It was their manifest failure to modernize the country's industries.他们使国家进行工业现代化，明显失败了。
• There is a pressing need to modernise our electoral system.我们的选举制度迫切需要现代化。

10 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。

11 consensus   

n.(意见等的)一致，一致同意，共识

参考例句：

• Can we reach a consensus on this issue?我们能在这个问题上取得一致意见吗？
• What is the consensus of opinion at the afternoon meeting?下午会议上一致的意见是什么？

12 coordinator   

n.协调人

参考例句：

• The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, headed by the Emergency Relief Coordinator, coordinates all UN emergency relief. 联合国人道主义事务协调厅在紧急救济协调员领导下，负责协调联合国的所有紧急救济工作。
• How am I supposed to find the client-relations coordinator? 我怎么才能找到客户关系协调员的办公室？

13 equitable   

adj.公平的；公正的

参考例句：

• This is an equitable solution to the dispute. 这是对该项争议的公正解决。
• Paying a person what he has earned is equitable. 酬其应得,乃公平之事。

14 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。

15 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

16 geographic   

adj.地理学的，地理的

参考例句：

• The city's success owes much to its geographic position. 这座城市的成功很大程度上归功于它的地理位置。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Environmental problems pay no heed to these geographic lines. 环境问题并不理会这些地理界限。 来自英汉非文学 - 环境法 - 环境法

17 strife   

n.争吵，冲突，倾轧，竞争

参考例句：

• We do not intend to be drawn into the internal strife.我们不想卷入内乱之中。
• Money is a major cause of strife in many marriages.金钱是造成很多婚姻不和的一个主要原因。

18 opt   

vi.选择，决定做某事

参考例句：

• They opt for more holiday instead of more pay.他们选择了延长假期而不是增加工资。
• Will individual schools be given the right to opt out of the local school authority?各个学校可能有权选择退出地方教育局吗？

19 lengthy   

adj.漫长的，冗长的

参考例句：

• We devoted a lengthy and full discussion to this topic.我们对这个题目进行了长时间的充分讨论。
• The professor wrote a lengthy book on Napoleon.教授写了一部有关拿破仑的巨著。

20 costly   

adj.昂贵的，价值高的，豪华的

参考例句：

• It must be very costly to keep up a house like this.维修这么一幢房子一定很昂贵。
• This dictionary is very useful,only it is a bit costly.这本词典很有用，左不过贵了些。