2006年VOA标准英语-Mexico Remains Calm in Face of Election Impasse

By Greg Flakus
Mexico City
03 July 2006

Mexico remained calm the day after a presidential election that ended in a tight race too close to call and two candidates both claiming victory. Most Mexicans appear ready to wait a few days for official results, even if the candidates are not.

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Excelsior's headline 
  
Newspaper headlines Monday announced the impasse¹, in what is described as the closest presidential election in Mexican history. Excelsior, one of the nation's oldest newspapers had one word in its large headline- "Quien?"-Spanish for "who?" El Universal proclaimed a "Vote-for-vote Fight," while Reforma's headline put forth² the question: "And the winner is?"

The anxious situation is the result of a close vote count in Sunday's election between presidential candidates Felipe Calderon Hinojosa of the ruling National Action Party and Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador of the leftist Party of the Democratic Revolution. Federal Electoral Institute experts said the vote count was so close that they could not determine a winner through a random³ sample quick count. They said the slight difference between the two candidates fell within the margin⁴ of error for the quick count and that a complete, official count would commence Wednesday. 

Newspaper stand in Mexico City  
  
The results posted by the electoral body since the close of polls Sunday show Calderon with a lead of about one percent, but any large influx⁵ of votes from an area where Lopez Obrador was popular could change the picture.

That leaves politicians, journalists and commentators⁶ in a state of high anxiety, but there is little of it apparent in the rest of Mexican society. The Mexican stock market rallied at its opening Monday and many people on the streets of Mexico City said they were content to wait until Wednesday, or even longer if necessary, for a final, official election result.

Giselle    
  
A woman named Giselle told VOA that she has total confidence in the electoral institute and the nation's electoral system, but not as much in the candidates. She said she fears that if Calderon is the winner, Lopez Obrador might not accept the results and create problems.

But Jorge, who says he voted for Lopez Obrador, dismissed that notion. He said the country would remain calm and that losing candidates would accept the final result, whatever it may be.

 
Jorge Sanchez Ortiz 
  
But concern over possible strife⁷ remains⁸ a hot topic among many political analysts⁹, including George Grayson of the College of William and Mary, who recently published a book about Lopez Obrador. He says the fiery¹⁰ populist will call for widespread protests if does not win.

Whether that scenario¹¹ plays out or not, there is no question that the election results reveal deep divisions in Mexican society. Whoever ends up being declared the winner in the presidential race will have won only slightly more than a third of the vote and, as Reforma columnist¹² Sergio Sarmiento notes, the percentage of Mexicans who actually brought the new president to power will be even less - around 20 percent - when the abstention rate of 40 percent is taken into account.

The national Congress, likewise, will remain divided between the three parties, so that no major reform can pass without the formation of coalitions¹³, something that current President Vicente Fox was unable to achieve during his six-year term. Sarmiento and other political analysts fear another six years could pass in a political impasse while much-needed reforms are left on the sidelines.

1 impasse   

n.僵局；死路

参考例句：

• The government had reached an impasse.政府陷入绝境。
• Negotiations seemed to have reached an impasse.谈判似乎已经陷入僵局。

2 forth   

adv.向前；向外，往外

参考例句：

• The wind moved the trees gently back and forth.风吹得树轻轻地来回摇晃。
• He gave forth a series of works in rapid succession.他很快连续发表了一系列的作品。

3 random   

adj.随机的；任意的；n.偶然的(或随便的)行动

参考例句：

• The list is arranged in a random order.名单排列不分先后。
• On random inspection the meat was found to be bad.经抽查，发现肉变质了。

4 margin   

n.页边空白；差额；余地，余裕；边，边缘

参考例句：

• We allowed a margin of 20 minutes in catching the train.我们有20分钟的余地赶火车。
• The village is situated at the margin of a forest.村子位于森林的边缘。

5 influx   

n.流入，注入

参考例句：

• The country simply cannot absorb this influx of refugees.这个国家实在不能接纳这么多涌入的难民。
• Textile workers favoured protection because they feared an influx of cheap cloth.纺织工人拥护贸易保护措施，因为他们担心涌入廉价纺织品。

6 commentators   

n.评论员( commentator的名词复数 )；时事评论员；注释者；实况广播员

参考例句：

• Sports commentators repeat the same phrases ad nauseam. 体育解说员翻来覆去说着同样的词语，真叫人腻烦。
• Television sports commentators repeat the same phrases ad nauseam. 电视体育解说员说来说去就是那么几句话，令人厌烦。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 strife   

n.争吵，冲突，倾轧，竞争

参考例句：

• We do not intend to be drawn into the internal strife.我们不想卷入内乱之中。
• Money is a major cause of strife in many marriages.金钱是造成很多婚姻不和的一个主要原因。

8 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

9 analysts   

分析家，化验员( analyst的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• City analysts forecast huge profits this year. 伦敦金融分析家预测今年的利润非常丰厚。
• I was impressed by the high calibre of the researchers and analysts. 研究人员和分析人员的高素质给我留下了深刻印象。

10 fiery   

adj.燃烧着的，火红的；暴躁的；激烈的

参考例句：

• She has fiery red hair.她有一头火红的头发。
• His fiery speech agitated the crowd.他热情洋溢的讲话激动了群众。

11 scenario   

n.剧本，脚本；概要

参考例句：

• But the birth scenario is not completely accurate.然而分娩脚本并非完全准确的。
• This is a totally different scenario.这是完全不同的剧本。

12 columnist   

n.专栏作家

参考例句：

• The host was interviewing a local columnist.节目主持人正在同一位当地的专栏作家交谈。
• She's a columnist for USA Today.她是《今日美国报》的专栏作家。

13 coalitions   

结合体，同盟( coalition的名词复数 )； （两党或多党）联合政府

参考例句：

• History testifies to the ineptitude of coalitions in waging war. 历史昭示我们，多数国家联合作战，其进行甚为困难。
• All the coalitions in history have disintegrated sooner or later. 历史上任何联盟迟早都垮台了。