November 6, 2006 [LINK / comment]
With 40 percent of the votes counted, Daniel Ortega appears certain to win the presidential election without going to a second round, a historic comeback for the Sandinista leader. He presently has 40.1 percent of the vote, while second-place candidate Eduardo Montealegre has 32.7 percent. See La Prensa (in Spanish); CNN.com had a preliminary report yesterday, noting that the U.S. embassy's "concerns" about possible voting irregularities were dismissed by local authorities. As noted on Nov. 3, Nicaragua's electoral laws have a very low threshold for determining the winner, which makes it possible for leaders to take office without a solid popular mandate.
Homemade bombs exploded at three different locations in Mexico City today: the Federal Electoral Tribunal, a bank, and the Revolutionary Institutional Party headquarters. It is no doubt linked to the ongoing political violence in Oaxaca, where 20,000 leftists marched yesterday. As Inauguration Day approaches, there is a distinct possibility that Mexico will descend into further turmoil. See CNN.com. I'd like to see how the "pacifist" folks at Indymedia are going to explain this; so far, they've been silent on the matter.