During the start of production of the ballots for the elections on June 6, the Secretary of the Governorate and the president of the National Electoral Institute (INE) exchanged comments on neutrality in the electoral contest.
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Secretary Olga Sánchez Cordero noted that neutrality is not only up to governments, but also to administrative and judicial electoral authorities.
“I consider neutrality an obligation of rulers, so is administrative and judicial electoral authorities. I also remember hearing a few years ago the then inE adviser, José Woldenberg, to say that the electoral referee should be discreet,” Sanchez Cordero said.
He also noted that “the referee does not seek applause from the public, but in compliance with the rules of the game. The premise is clear: by definition the arbitrator is neutral or not an arbitrator.”
Lorenzo Córdova noted that the INE not only organizes the elections, but serves as arbitrator in the electoral contest.
“Even if there are those who confuse law enforcement with biases and partial attitudes, the referee will continue to enforce the laws and ensure fairness and impartiality in the electoral process,” he said.
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Córdova added that the INE is an autonomous constitutional body “very jealous of its independence and autonomy, but we are also clear that autonomy does not mean autarchy, so we maintain collaborative relations with all the institutions of the Mexican State”.
Subsequently, on social media he commented that he agreed that the INE should be a discreet and neutral arbiter, although he said, in the face of violations of the law “must be strict and punctual.”
Today it has been said that the referee must be discreet and neutral. I totally agree! But it must be added: being discreet and neutral does not mean being disregarded and indifferent to violations of the law, but quite the opposite; in the face of this, it must be strict and punctual.
— Lorenzo Córdova V. (@lorenzocordovav) April 6, 2021
During the following days, 166,000 copies of posters will be printed at the Graphic Workshops in Mexico to record the election results of each box, support guides for management tables, voting station count labels and more than one million documents with self-copying paper.
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