Mexican citizens outside Mexico register to vote

By James Blears

For the first time ever, Mexicans living outside Mexico, are being allowed to register to vote on foreign soil,  to vote in its July 1st presidential election, deciding who will lead the country for the next six years.  So far, more than 600,000 people have done just this.  But thousands upon thousands  more,  are still striving to beat the March 31st, non negotiable deadline,  set by Mexico`s National Electoral Institute. 

In 2006, the margin of victory was just 244,000 votes.  Six years later it was reported to be less than three and a half million.  Yet, there are more than ten million people born in Mexico, over the age of eighteen, living in the United States and many more globally.

The fact that this could be a decisive factor is not lost on the Candidates.  National Action Party Presidential hopeful Ricardo Anaya, has already – and historically – held a campaign rally North of the Border,  on US soil.

Mexican consulates around the world, are seeing a huge surge in registrations to vote. Some  in the United States,  are struggling to deal with as many as five hundred applications each and every day.