The Narco News Bulletin
"The name
of our country is América"
-- Simón
Bolívar
From
The Political Hotline in Washington DC:
Shriek
and Ye Shall Find....
"In countries
like Mexico that are sensitive to U.S. intervention, the role
of the U.S. is a constant subtext in campaigns. El Buzz,
having covered recent pres. elections in seven Latin American
countries, has seen key campaign moments played out in U.S. Embassies
and witnessed U.S. consultants treated like rock stars. U.S.
consultants are now a fact of life internationally. Some come
without speaking the language. Others come without knowing a
country's history. And others come in blatant disregard of a
country's norms -- practicing rogue tactics that would be unacceptable
even in the U.S.
"In Mexico,
pollsters Penn & Schoen (D) and Rob Allyn (R) have launched
a project called "Democracy
Watch," with
the stated goal of conducting the country's "largest exit
poll ever" on Election Day in order to ensure that "the
process is free of fraud and that Mexico transitions to a real
democracy." After conducting at least 10,000 exit interviews,
they plan to announce their results when the polls close at 8:00
p.m. Sunday -- 3 hours before official exit polls conducted for
the independent Federal Elections Institute (IFE) are to be released.
None of this appears unwelcome, especially in a country with
a long history of election fraud. However, Penn, Schoen and Allyn, have raised serious
questions about their intentions by refusing to say who is funding their project.
And in so doing, they have denied the direct request by the IFE
to reveal this information and register themselves as accredited
exit pollsters.
"The independent
El Universal newspaper has said that Mexicans
have a right to know if "Democracy Watch" is a vehicle
for foreign manipulation of their country's delicate politics
on its most delicate day, or if the pollsters are being paid
by backers of one of the campaigns. NarcoNews.com shrieks the same question in English. The professional
society for pollsters, the American Association of Public Opinion
Research, states in its "Standard for Minimal Disclosure"
that a pollster must disclose "who sponsored the survey,
and who conducted it." Critics are asking, if Penn &
Schoen and Allyn would not work in this manner in the U.S., why
should it be acceptable in Mexico?"
Comentarios?
Preguntas? Write El Buzz (Bob Balkin) at bbob@internet.com.mx
Excerpted from
The
Political Hotline
on June 27, 2000. The Hotline is a daily report for subscribers,
among them nearly every political consultant and lobbyist in
Washington DC. As the US
narco-ambassador to the Dominican Republic Charles Mannatt has said, "Knowledge is power
and The Hotline is the key." Thus, this story now
strikes in the heart of the empire. Subscriptions to The Hotline
cost $3,795 US dollars, but The Hotline does offer free
two-week trial scrips and also maintains a public web page through
AOL, titled Hotline
Scoop.
América
Calling