An Open Letter From Ohio To The People Of Mexico

The patterns are much too familar to ignore. Those of us who saw first-hand how the U.S. presidential election of 2004 was stolen here in Ohio cannot avoid the conclusion that Mexico's presidential election is also on the brink of being stolen. Too much of what happened in Florida 2000 and Ohio 2004 is being repeated in Mexico 2006 to believe otherwise.

To those in Mexico who still believe in democracy, we urge you to avoid the mistakes made here. Do not doubt for one minute that fraud, intimidation and outright theft are the tell-tale trademarks of the Bush junta and its overseas minions.

Above all, DO NOT GIVE IN.

The most crucial difference between the United States in 2000 and 2004 versus Mexico 2006 is that in Mexico, there is a candidate willing to stand up to this outrageous theft. Perhaps you will ultimately get the recount that was so thoroughly denied here.

But make no mistake: to allow this election to be stolen is to welcome the death of what is left of your democracy. Those who think they can somehow go on with their daily lives and avoid the fallout of such a theft are engaging in delusional folly.

If you allow this theft to stand, every facet of life in your country will be tainted and polluted, as has happened here.

Many in the United States believed that because of Al Gore's clear margin of victory in 2000, Bush and his head henchman, Karl Rove, would graciously seek middle ground, and attempt to conciliate those from whom the election had been so obviously stolen.

But they've done the opposite. Despite losing the popular vote by more than 500,000 ballots (not counting those so obviously trashed or stolen), the Bush junta immediately launched a total assault against its opponents. It has waged a full-bore attack against every sacred pillar of American democracy. It plunged into a catastrophic, illegal war. It has shredded the Bill of Rights. It operates with complete contempt for the U.S. Constitution. It considers itself above the law and will tolerate no one who says otherwise. It has established concentration camps and indulges in torture. It also steals from the public treasury with absolute impunity. For all their "religious faith," these are the moneychangers who have taken over the temple.

Emboldened by its theft of the 2004 election, the Bush junta's attacks on the remnants of American democracy are only escalating.

This is what you can expect in Mexico if this election is finally stolen. It's clear this latest theft was engineered at least in part by those who perpetrated the frauds of Florida 2000 and Ohio 2004. We have seen how they did it here. The same things were done in Mexico, but with local variations.

So if he is allowed to take office, this illegitimate, unelected leader being foisted on you is almost certain to do to you what Bush/ Rove has done to us. He will shred your democracy, spy on you, arrest you in the name of fighting terror or whatever other excuse he can concoct. He will also ruin your economy, pollute your land, air and water and make every aspect of Mexican life more dangerous and less just.

If you believe a middle ground will emerge and that such an illegitimate regime will seek compromise, you could not be more wrong.

You need only look at what has been done to the United States to see what is in store for you if you do not reverse this catastrophic theft.

From the tragic land of Ohio, we cannot urge you strongly enough: DO NOT LET THEM STEAL THIS ELECTION. Your lives and immediate future depend on it, not to mention the future of your nation.

Bob Fitrakis & Harvey Wasserman are co-editors of WHAT HAPPENED IN OHIO?, upcoming from the New Press, and co-authors of HOW THE GOP STOLE AMERICA'S 2004 ELECTION & IS RIGGING 2008, available at http://www.freepress.org/. and www.harveywasserman.com.

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