GUERRA SUCIA: CHRONICLE OF A WAR

by Jeff Barnet, Frontera NorteSur Editor

Editor's Note: The following article is a lengthy report in 13 sections which details the five-week war of words between leaders of the PRI and the PAN in the 1998 political campaign. The Guerra Sucia dominated campaign coverage for the entire month of June.

Introduction

A campaign cartoon in El Diario showed two men standing by a barrel of mud. "What's this? Lodo?" the first man asked. "No," came the reply. "It's strategic political material."

What started as a War of Words (Guerra de las Palabras) swiftly became the Guerra Sucia, or Dirty War. Throughout the month of June, candidates from both the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI) and the National Action Party (PAN), and even non-candidates such as Governor Francisco Barrio Terrazas, hurled accusations, denunciations, and threats at one another. The war of words completely overshadowed any attempt to reasonably discuss the issues facing Chihuahua--and, in fact, became the campaign itself. Juárez newspapers gave the Guerra Sucia banner headlines almost daily, though none of the accusations were proven true. Within a few short weeks, El Lodo or El Lodomiento became short-hand terms for the PAN-PRI mudslinging debate.

On two occasions, the state Electoral Institute officially intervened and called for an end to the Guerra Sucia. However, their attempts to get the warring parties to sign a "Civility Pact" were fruitless. Several other citizens' organizations and minor political parties also called for an end to the Guerra Sucia, to no avail.

Who is winning the Guerra Sucia? According to a series of polls conducted by the independent agency MORI of Mexico, in conjunction with El Diario and The Dallas Morning News, support for the PRI rose dramatically from May to June, especially in Ciudad Juárez, where the PRI gained 20 points. The PAN and a Reforma/Norte de la Ciudad Juárez survey questioned the accuracy of the polls, but whatever the polling source, it was clear that the PRI had rallied from a large deficit in the mayor's race and held onto a lead in the governor's race.

Origins of the Guerra Sucia: The PRI Mayoral Primary

The PRI lodo campaign hammered away at the PAN's perceived inability to handle the problem of crime and public insecurity. The PAN, meanwhile, hoped to capitalize on the PRI's bungled mayoral primary of May 9, in which the top two rivals, including eventual winner Jose Eleno, were alleged to have stuffed ballot boxes. Even more damaging were allegations, as yet unproven, that drugtraffickers had given money to one of the PRI candidates. The PAN claimed it had tapes of telephone conversations which alledgedly proved that Eleno was the candidate who had accepted narco money. For weeks following the primary, the PAN ran large newspaper ads listing the crimes of "The Same Old PRI."

PAN gubernatorial candidate Ramón Galindo tried to splash some of the mud from the mayoral primary onto his PRI opponent, Patricio Martínez. At the end of May, Galindo challenged Martínez to make a full disclosure of his finances. Martínez said at first that he would be glad to do so, but a week later had produced nothing, saying only that "I am going to publish a financial statement as soon as my campaign establishes it." Soon, Galindo was joined by other PAN leaders in ridiculing Martínez and insinuating that the PRIista candidate had something to hide. PAN Governor Barrio, though not a candidate himself, joined in the chorus, questioning Martínez's honor.

Martínez, Barrio Spar Over Question of Personal Wealth

Martínez's June 1 response to Barrio produced the first serious exchange of personal accusations in the Guerra Sucia. According to the headline story in El Diario, the PRI candidate responded to the insinuations about his finances "in an unusually energetic tone." Martínez said, "Barrio does not allow anyone to question his honor, but he feels free to question mine. And I say to him this: all the money that I have, I would trade for the money that Federico Barrio has accumulated in the last six years."

The Governor retorted, "If he has any evidence that during my term I have favored my brother Federico in an improper way, and if he can prove it, then I will immediately take leave of my responsibility as governor of this state."

Martínez was also quoted as saying that "It is ironic that the blessed ones of God are only in the PAN. I guess the only people who have earned all their money by working all their lives are in the PAN party."

Barrio challenged Martínez: "As far as his wealth and mine, I would change mine with one-twentieth of what he has, for it is well known that he has infinite wealth."

Barrio called Martínez's language "violent and full of lies."

Martínez noted that "Barrio is not even a candidate."

Candidate Galindo then added his own criticism of the PRIista, charging that "Señor Martinez brings with him a very dirty history of dishonesty and corruption. His dishonesty was apparent when he refused to publish a financial statement. He wants to be able to say what he wants from us, but we can't say anything of him--however, we can say of him that he is dishonest, immoral, and corrupt."

After this exchange, it was rumored that the governor had sent a letter to Mexico's Secretary of State on Monday night June 1, demanding that the federal government intervene in the conflict. Unofficial sources quoted in El Diario alleged that Barrio had information about Martínez which, if known, would cause "negative political repercussions" for the entire PRI party.

Although the state's official spokesperson, Eloy Morales, denied that the governor had sent any written communication to the federal government, one source close to the state executive's office confirmed that Barrio had indeed sent a letter to the Secretary of State, El Diario reported.

Whatever the reason, Martínez was in fact called to Mexico City on Tuesday, June 2, to meet with Mexico's Secretary of the Interior, Francisco Labastiada Ochoa. Martínez suspended a campaign trip to Juárez in order to meet with the Secretary, who, according to a report in El Diario, requested that the candidate stop trading accusations with Barrio concerning each other's personal wealth and campaign financial practices.

Martínez then spend the next 10 days campaigning in small towns across the state. He did not return to Juárez for another two weeks.

Murder In Balleza

Martínez's low profile may also have been necessary because of the assassination of a PRI candidate for mayor in the southeastern Chihuahua town of Balleza. Raul Fernández Villalobos, one-time mayor of Balleza from 1992 to 1995, was gunned down in front his house by two men using .38 and .45 caliber pistols, and, according to one report, an AK-47. (For a complete report on the Balleza murder, please see "PRIista Candidate Assassinated In Balleza.") Fernández had been the target of a similar attack using the same .45 caliber weapon (according to Chihuahua state attorney general Arturo Chávez Chávez) on April 19. Chávez said preliminary investigations suggested that the attack might have been the work of "a group of drugtraffickers." The exact motive for the killing was unclear; the April 19 attack had occured two hours after announcing he would oppose Javier Garfio for the PRI nomination. Chávez said the state had found witnesses who claimed drugtrafficking groups were involved somehow, but that they would not come forward for fear of their lives.

Despite the ambiguity of the killing, Governor Barrio made strong statements suggesting, once again, that this was typical of the PRI, which was still "The Old PRI," as newspaper ads continued to announce. The governor went so far as to suggest that Fernández's murder "was directly linked to internal struggles within the PRI, as well as to drugtrafficking." Barrio compared the assassination to the 1994 slaying of PRI presidential candidate Luis Donaldo Colosio.

"We didn't want to mention it, as we did not want people to think we are trying to profit from it politically. We have wanted to be very prudent, very responsible in relation to this matter. From the first moment, we saw elements that made us think it could have been the work of narcotics traffickers," Barrio said, adding that the Colosio and Fernández assassinations "resembled one another."

State president of the PRI, Jorge Sandoval Ochoa, called the governor "extremely irresponsible" and then went on the attack, suggesting that the governor have "an investigator determine who is responsible for the murders of 130 women in Ciudad Juárez?"

This rejoinder became a popular refrain for PRI candidates throughout the month, especially after the PAN government sought and won an extension on June 12 regarding its requirement to respond to the National Commission for Human Rights (CNDH) recommendation-report on violence against women in Ciudad Juárez.

"How many more young women must die?" asked Jose Eleno Villalva, PRI candidate for municipal president of Ciudad Juárez.

First IEE Peace Document Fails

Determined that the upcoming July 5 elections be "peaceful and transparent," the General Assembly of the Chihuahua State Electoral Institute (IEE) called upon the "sanity" of all political party leaders and candidates and asked them to refrain from personal attacks and "return to an atmosphere of tranquility and mutual respect." The request was put into a formal document June 7, which no political party signed.

Jorge Bermúdez Allende, PAN representative to the IEE, said his party would abstain from signing the document because "this situation was generated as a result of a candidate who instead of answering people's questions resorted to personal attacks." Bermúdez's veiled reference was to Patricio Martínez. He also noted that the PRI was "destroying PAN campaign propaganda."

PRI spokesman Antonio García went on the counteroffensive, charging that the state government was improperly using its own street and newspaper advertisements to promote PAN candidates. PAN candidate Galindo answered García by pointing out that the PRI federal government was providing free publicity for its candidates.

The Revolutionary Democratic Party (PRD) was even more adamant about not signing the document. "It seems unjust that the complaints are so generalized to all parties and groups, when the facts show that the ones who have used personal attacks and failed to respect the citizens of Chihuahua are the candidates of the two parties, PRI and PAN, and the Chief Executive of the State," said PRD spokesman Miguel Vargas.

The PRD, which was earning only 9 percent of the vote statewide in the last MORI poll, continued a strategy of holding themselves up as a reasonable alternative to the lodomiento of the two major parties. In a June 27 rally in Chihuahua City, national PRD party president Andrés Manuel López Obrador insisted that "the PRI and the PAN are the same, like Coca-Cola and Pepsi, they have no differences." PRD candidate for governor Esther Orozco blamed both parties for "inefficiency and corruption."

The presidents of the two largest business organizations, El Centro Empresarial de Chihuahua and Canaco, joined the IEE in demanding an end to the attacks.

Crime Issue Hurled Back At Barrio

Immediately after the IEE's failure to establish tranquility, the PRI and three other opposition parties, the PRD, the Ecological Green Party (PVEM), and the Workers' Party (PT) all united to insist that Barrio produce his facts on the Balleza assassination, then went on to attack the governor's record on crime, June 8.

The PRI, through state secretary García, dared Barrio to take his case to the Public Ministry (MP). Otherwise, said García, "the governor's statements are nothing more than conjecture bordering on gossip."

PRD leaders had the strongest criticisms of Barrio's administration. Nora Elena Yu Hernandez, PRD candidate for mayor of Juárez, said that "the governor has demonstrated his inability to resolve the problem of crime."

The PRDista went on to say that "it is typical of Barrio's administration to look for issues that will help cover up the inefficiency which has angered so many Chihuahuenses."

In particular, Barrio came in for strong criticism of the way his government has handled the issue of violence against women. "The first thing we are told is that the women were walking in dangerous streets, and that all the crimes are the result of drugtrafficking or that the victims had connections with some kind of mafia," Yu Hernandez said.

Barrio answered his critics by reiterating his claim that preliminary police investigations indicated that the persons responsible for the murder in Balleza had connections to drugtrafficking. The governor also used the press conference to again denounce the "insinuations that my government has favored my family or me personally."

PAN candidate Galindo denounced the corruption of his rival Martínez, insisting once again that he reveal his personal and campaign finances. Galindo added that the narcotrafficking problem in Juárez is the fault of the federal PRI government.

Martínez did not respond to the call to reveal his finances, but did ask Galindo how the federal government could be responsible for narcotrafficking in Juárez.

PAN Government Investigated

Responding to earlier PRI charges that the state PAN government was improperly using its publicity and advertising power to covertly and overtly campaign for PAN candidates, the state Congress voted to investigate the matter, June 16.

PRI diputado (representative) Marcelo González Tachiquín charged that "The Chief Executive of the State has wasted resources, destined for the Social Communication budget, to support PAN candidate Ramón Galindo."

González also said that radio and TV ads in which Barrio defended himself against charges that he had improperly favored his family in state financial dealings would also be investigated.

Guerra Sucia Comes To Juárez Mayoral Campaign

Although the PRI stealthily moved Jose Eleno Villalva's primary opponent, Hector González Mocken, to a job in the state executive office in Chihuahua, thus separating the two opponents who allegedly both tried to steal the election from the other, PAN candidate for Juárez mayor Gustavo Elizondo was determined not to let the matter rest there.

In a press conference June 15, Elizondo said that Eleno "does not have the moral solvency" to be mayor. "He stole votes from the people, and his own compañeros in his own party say he stole votes."

Eleno tried to shift voter attention by promptly holding his own press conference in which he produced a copy of a drug test he took, and challenged all his opponents to do the same. "The people deserve a mayor who has a clear mind," Eleno said. The PRI candidate also suggested that his PAN rivals are involved with drugs "in two senses--they consume them and they allow them [to pass through Juárez]."

Elizondo, who later made his own drug test public, questioned Eleno's moral authority in even proposing such a challenge. "I ask, if this man would steal votes, don't you believe that he would steal money if he had the opportunity?"

Catholic Bishop Calls For End of Guerra Sucia

The Bishop of Juárez, Manuel Talamás Camandari, publicly lamented the guerra sucia June 16, asking for all candidates to conduct themselves "in a Christian manner."

"There are people in this world for whom honor means nothing--they will lie, they will cheat, but this is no triumph," he said. The Bishop called the guerra sucia "a vicious circle."

Also on June 16, the state Electoral Institute (IEE) said it would make a second attempt to make the PRI and the PAN sign a "civility pact." The IEE met in an emergency session after leaders from the PRD threatened to bring charges of fraud against the two major parties for their part in disseminating "lies" that PRD candidate for mayor of Juárez, Nora Elena Yu Hernandez, had falsified documents. In addition, Workers' Party (PT) candidate Eduardo Mariscal, holding even at a steady zero percent in the polls, had been accused of once possessing drugs, according to a report in El Norte de Ciudad Juárez.

In addition, candidates from the PRI, PT, and PRD united to accuse Galindo of "complying with drugtraffickers" while he was mayor of Juárez. PRIista Martínez said Juárez citizens could "draw their own conclusions."

Fights Breaks Out At Gubernatorial Candidates' Meeting

That same night, the gubernatorial candidates from the five major parties met in Juárez to answer questions from a city youth group. According to El Diario, the event was "a heated duel of booings and insults," which reached its height when Patricio Martínez took the podium. The tension began to rise as "hundreds of Panistas" shouted Martínez down with boos. Martínez then launched into an attack on Federico Barrio, mentioning specific land deals he insinuated were improper.

As the meeting broke up, PAN city councilwoman Adriana Dúran and PVEM (Green) Secretary Yolanda Villalobos exchanged "allegations and blows" outside the convention center. The fight was broken up before either person was injured, but the two continued to "trade insults, obscenities, and obscene gestures."

The newspapers labeled the fight "el acto bochornoso," the shameful act. Political cartoons depicted the two mud-wrestling. Villalobos, a former PANista, said that her actions should not be confused with those of the "hordes of Galindo" (hordas galindistas), which, she said, "have violently destabilized the electoral process."

IEE Fails A Second Time

Growing pressures from the media, business groups, minor parties, and citizens' groups prompted the IEE to make a more serious and specific attempt at a "civility pact" between the PRI and the PAN on June 17. Both parties expressed their willingness to sign such a pact--if only the other party would stop its negative campaigning first.

PAN leader Guillermo Luján Peña said that his party would be glad "to completely drop all negative campaigning, and move swiftly to a positive campaign which will focus on the political parties' platforms"--if the PRI would "cease their attacks."

PRI state leader Jorge Esteban Sandoval responded by saying the PRI "has already raised the level of content" in the campaign, and has no interest in el lodo (mudslinging) or denunciation. Furthermore, he said the PRI could only sign the document if Governor Barrio "stops coordinating the Galindo campaign. We want a governor for everybody, mature and responsible, impartial and democratic."

This statement seemed to unnerve the governor, who said that the "calumnias priistas" had finally made him "indignant." Barrio said PRI mentiras (lies) had influenced elections in the past, and cited the most recent election in Jalisco, where PRI mentiras "had caused a five percent change in voter preferences." Barrio did not respond to Esteban's statement, but instead gave the press a long list of PRI offenses in the past.

Both PRI and PAN leaders were quick to blame the other party for failure to reach an agreement.

The Aftermath: A War With No Solutions

The failure of the IEE to bring an end to the Guerra Sucia lowered its status greatly among several Chihuahua citizens' groups, who publicly announced that the Institute was without power to bring order or peace. "They are in a boxing match with no rules. They can't stop the wounds, they have no power to negotiate," said one citizens' group leader. Among the many criticisms and eulogies lobbed at the IEE, the most serious came from Villareal Vallina, who said, "We don't believe in the IEE at all."

Without a pact to guide them, the PRI and the PAN continued to fight the Guerra Sucia. The PRI continued to denounce Barrio for his "crimes against the citizens of Chihuahua," specifically his alleged misuse of state monies. Martínez, refreshed after the latest polls showed him with an ever-increasing lead despite the unpleasantness of early June, went on the offensive again, saying that "Chihuahua, and in particular Juárez, has paid a terrible price in horror and blood" under the PANista government. Another PRI leader said the city has "sunk into anarchy."

IEE leader Sergio Marshall Piña, explaining that his Institute is not a court but merely an advisory body, pled with party leaders "not to jeopardize the elections" and said the responsibility for ending the "dirty war" now lay with the citizens.

Governor Barrio, however, said on June 20 "I will not shut up" as long as the PRI continues its "defamations." The governor pointed out to the press that the first party who "shuts up" creates doubt in the public's mind.

National PRI leader, Mariano Palacios, said the governor "should get his hands out of the campaign. Palacios said he would ask the State Congress to investigate the Barrio administration's role in the campaign process. PRD leaders added that they feared "electoral fraud" on July 5 because the PAN party could conceivably "control up to 661,000 votes."

Candidate Galindo said he would be producing new evidence of "corruption" by his opponent Martinez on June 21, specifically in the area of finances. In addition, Galindo said he would "no longer answer respond to the aggressions of his political opponents," and asked the PAN State Directive Committee to do the same.

He began by attacking the PRI mentiras that the PAN intended to do away with free education.

Pollster Says There Is No Guerra Sucia

Is the guerra sucia a creation of the press? Dr. Daniel M. Lund, director of the independent polling agency MORI of Mexico, disagreed with the widespread belief that Chihuahua was enduring a dirty war of words.

"This is not a dirty war, but a debate of an inadequate level," said Lund. "That doesn't mean it is not at a very low level. Unfortunately, this debate does not clarify, it does not deepen, and for that reason it is confusing, especially to young people and women. But this doesn't mean that in other countries it is any better. For example, in France, England, and the United States, the debate is about image rather than content."

"When people feel the the debate is not important, it lowers voter participation," he said.

Asked what he considers to be a real dirty war, Lund replied: "Dirty war? The pants of President Clinton."

Sources: El Diario, El Norte de Ciudad Juárez