Mexican bishops ask that election results be respected

Mexico City, Mexico, Jun 8, 2021 / 15:01 pm (CNA).

The Mexican bishops’ conference on Monday asked the political forces in the country to respect the results of Sunday’s elections and encouraged the resumption of dialogue to find a common path “beyond partisan differences.”

In a June 7 statement the bishops of Mexico praised citizens for their participation but lamented the violence that took place around the elections.

“We note that this has been a political process marked by a great deal of violence, and so we lift up our prayers for those who have taken up the vocation to politics and held up dreams for a better Mexico and have been attacked or lost their lives,” the bishops said.

During the 2021 election cycle, 91 politicians were killed and almost 700 candidates were attacked. 

“We ask everyone, the political forces, elected officials and members of civil society, to respect the results of the electoral process as expressed by  the vote, to resume dialogue and to find a common path beyond partisan differences,” the Mexican bishops urged.

Mexico held legislative, gubernatorial, and local elections June 6.

El País reported that Juntos Hacemos Historia, an alliance of the National Regeneration Movement, the Labor Party, and the Ecologist Green Party, held on to a simple majority in the Congress of Deputies, but did not obtain the supermajority required to pass certain legislation.

According to preliminary instant results from the National Electoral Institute, the ruling National Regeneration Movement, which currently holds 256 seats, will have between 190 and 203 seats, which means it will no longer have the required supermajority to pass constitutional reforms in Congress which President Andrés Manuel López Obrador wanted.

On the state level, preliminary results show the National Regeneration Movement won at least 10 governorships.

In Mexico City, preliminary results show the National Regeneration Movement losing six boroughs and holding on to seven, while opposition parties won nine.

In their statement, the bishops urged the candidates who were elected to “honor the will of the people and to work for unity, integral development and the dignity of the inhabitants of this country.”

The bishops also encouraged elected officials to regain the trust of the citizens, and to “follow up on this (election) process, demand the fulfillment of campaign promises and demand accountability with transparency, a duty which every politician is obliged to fulfill.”

“We, the bishops of Mexico, offer our collaboration with the government entities that order public life in order to face the challenges before our nation, broadening perspectives, and ensuring that there is decent work, education and health care for all citizens,” the bishops stated.

Finally, the bishops of Mexico prayed “that Our Lady of Guadalupe, Mother of the true God for whom we live, will guard and bless all the people who are making their pilgrimage on our Mexican soil.”