Mexico's Election Is 'Miracle' of Democracy

What once seemed impossible is now ordinary: Bret Stephens
By John Johnson,  Newser Staff
Posted Jul 3, 2012 1:28 PM CDT
Mexico's Election Is 'Miracle' of Democracy
A person casts a vote during presidential elections in San Pedro el Alto, Mexico State, on July 1.   (Getty Images)

Something remarkable just happened in Mexico, all the more so because it seemed so "ho-hum," writes Bret Stephens in the Wall Street Journal. It's called a democratic election. The nation may be in the midst of a horrendous drug war, but the vote somehow came off peacefully and with a lack of corruption that would've been startling in days gone by. What's more, the ruling party gave way, even if it is to the ruling party of old.

Genuine democracy in Mexico seemed inconceivable not too long ago, during the long "perfect dictatorship" reign of PRI, writes Stephens. And just because PRI won again, don't think its victory heralds a return to the bad old days of rigged ballots. Real democracy looks to be "inevitable" now, and there's no going back. "That's the Mexican miracle, the one the drug war shouldn't obscure, the one hardly anyone notices because it now seems so utterly ordinary." Read about some protesters who might beg to differ with Stephens, or read Stephens' full column here. (More Mexico stories.)

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