Ecologist Green Party of Mexico

Ecologist Green Party of Mexico Partido Verde Ecologista de México
English name	Ecological Green Party of Mexico
Leader	Jorge Emilio González Martínez[1]
Founded	May 14, 1993
Ideology	Green politics[2] Green conservatism
Political position	Center-right[3]
National affiliation	Alliance for Mexico
International affiliation	Global Greens
Continental affiliation	Federation of the Green Parties of the Americas
Colours	Green
Seats in the Chamber of Deputies	42 / 500
Seats in the Senate	7 / 128
Governorships	1 / 32
Website
http://www.partidoverde.org.mx/
Politics of Mexico Political parties Elections

The Ecological Green Party of Mexico (Spanish: Partido Verde Ecologista de México, PVEM or PVE) is one of the six political parties to have representation in the Mexican Congress. In the 2012 Legislative elections, the party took 34 seats in the Chamber of Deputies (out of 500) and nine seats in the Senate (out of 128).^[4]

History

2000 elections

In the general election of 2000, it allied itself with the National Action Party (PAN) to create the (Alianza por el Cambio) or Alliance for Change. It was this PAN/PVEM alliance that helped Vicente Fox Quesada win the presidential election. In the senatorial elections of the same date, the party won 5/128 seats in the Senate of Mexico as part of the Alliance for Change.

2003 elections

The alliance broke down one year into Fox's administration and, in the July 2003 mid-term elections and various other local elections held since 2000 (in particular, the governatorial races in the important states of México and Nuevo León), the PVEM has allied itself more frequently with the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI). In this alliance it won at the last legislative elections, 17 out of 500 seats in the Chamber of Deputies.

Over the same period the party's support has dwindled amidst accusations of corruption, nepotism, and breaches of Mexican electoral law. Since securing its registration as a political party on 9 February 1991, it has been run by a single family: its first president was Jorge González Torres (a public official and former member of the PRI), who was succeeded by his son, Jorge Emilio González Martínez (currently a senator and nicknamed El Niño Verde, or "The Green Boy"). On 3 September 2003 Mexico's top electoral court ruled that its statutes were in violation of the Constitution in that they allowed a restricted inner circle of members to select all the party's candidates and officials. Shortly after, on 10 October 2003, the Federal Electoral Institute imposed a multimillion-dollar fine on the PVEM for campaign finance offenses during the 2000 presidential race.

A further scandal (one of the so-called "videoscandals") engulfed the party in the last week of February 2004 when a video was released in which Jorge Emilio González Martínez was recorded being offered – and, while his reaction is open to interpretation, certainly not vociferously rejecting – a bribe in the amount of US$2 million. According to the video, the funds were being made available by two foulmouthed businessmen in exchange for his assistance in facilitating land use permits for a real estate development near the Caribbean resort of Cancún. (The municipality of Benito Juárez, in which Cancún is located, is currently governed by a PVEM mayor.)

2006 elections

On November 12, 2005, the PVEM formally nominated Bernardo de la Garza as its candidate to the 2006 presidential election, though he resigned on December 5 when the PVEM allied with the PRI. Both parties nominated Roberto Madrazo as their candidate. In the 2006 legislative elections, the party won 17/500 seats in the Chamber of Deputies & 4/128 in the Senators.

  PRI

  PAN

  PRD

  Convergence

  PVEM

State governments by party (2015)

Ideology

The party has based its proposal on the simulation of environmental conservation and natural resources as well as the alleged fighting corruption. It also has declared distant from the traditional Mexican politics ( "not vote for a politician, vote for an environmentalist" was his motto in 1997). On the other hand, Greenpeace taking into account their differences with the Green Party regarding acts of protest and resistance to defend the environmental cause, considers that there is an environmentalist party due to disinterest of the members of his party in the ecology of the country. 3

Wednesday 25 February 2004, the newspaper disappeared Independent City of Mexico published that during a meeting held in London, Jorge Gonzalez Martinez Mexican graduate students, responded to whom I questioned him about programs PVEM in defense the Mexican environment: "my ecology is the least important to me, I represent interests" 4

Recently (2008 and 2009) has been widely criticized for its campaign in favor of the death penalty . This policy has cost the PVEM the 10 of February 2009 the European Green Party withdraws recognition to the PVEM as part of their family, and ask Global Green also discuss the expulsion from the party. 5

It has also been accused of being a family party.

Controversies

Pro-death penalty campaign

In 2008, the PVEM initiated an advertising campaign in favor of reintroducing the death penalty in Mexico.^[5] This led to the European Green Party's withdrawal of recognition of the PVEM as a legitimate green party.^[6]

Anti-LGBT rights stand

During an interview, PVE candidate Gamaliel Ramirez verbally attacked an openly gay candidate for Guadalajara mayor & called for criminal laws against homosexuality to be established. In the following days, Ramirez issued a written apology after the party expressed disappointment at his remarks.^[7]

While the party has pledged to support LGBT rights issues, 3 representatives abstained from a vote on Mexico City granting legal recognition to same-sex couples.

Accusations of corruption and nepotism

As part of the Mexican Videoscandals in 2004, a video showing party leader Jorge Emilio González Martínez accepting a $2 million bribe to give a construction permit in an ecologically protected area aired on national television. González Martínez was taped by one of his own party members, who introduced him to Carlos Ahumada, the businessman interested in the project. The three met in the PVEM headquarters. Later both sides claimed they weren't serious about the bribe, but were testing each other.

The PVEM is also widely criticized because its current leader, Jorge Emilio González Martínez, was appointed for being the son of former leader Jorge González Torres,^[8] and for supporting the political and business agenda of Mexican businessman Víctor González Torres, owner of the Farmacias Similares drugstore franchise and González Martínez's uncle.^[9]

Electoral history

Presidential elections

Election year	Candidate	# votes	% vote	Result	Note
1994	Jorge González Torres	327,313	0.93	N Defeated
2000					support PAN Candidate; Coalition: Alliance for Change
2006					support PRI Candidate; Coalition: Alliance for Mexico
2012					support PRI Candidate; Coalition: Committed to Mexico

Congressional elections

Chamber of Deputies

Election year	Constituency		PR		# of seats	Position	Presidency		Note
	votes	%	votes	%
1994	470,951	1.4	479,594	1.4	00 / 500	Minority	Ernesto Zedillo
1997	1,105,688	3.8	1,116,137	3.8	08 / 500	Minority	Ernesto Zedillo
2000	see: National Action Party				17 / 500	Minority	Vicente Fox		Coalition: Alliance for Change
2003	1,063,741	4.1	1,068,721	4.1	17 / 500	Minority	Vicente Fox
2006	see: Institutional Revolutionary Party				19 / 500	Minority	Felipe Calderón		Coalition: Alliance for Mexico
2009	2,318,138	6.7	2,326,016	6.7	21 / 500	Minority	Felipe Calderón
2012	3,045,385	6.44	3,054,718	6.43	34 / 500	Minority	Enrique Peña Nieto		Coalition: Committed to Mexico
2015	2,740,208	7.57	2,757,170	7.54	47 / 500	Minority	Enrique Peña Nieto		Coalition: PRI PVEM

Senate elections

Election year	Constituency		PR		# of seats	Position	Presidency		Note
	votes	%	votes	%
1994			438,941	1.3	0 / 128	Minority	Ernesto Zedillo
1997			1,180,04	4.0	1 / 128	Minority	Ernesto Zedillo
2000	see: National Action Party				5 / 128	Minority	Vicente Fox		Coalition: Alliance for Change
2006	see: Institutional Revolutionary Party				6 / 128	Minority	Felipe Calderón		Coalition: Alliance for Mexico
2012	867,056	1.9	2,881,923	6.1	9 / 128	Minority	Enrique Peña Nieto		Coalition: Committed to Mexico

References

1. http://www.elsiglodetorreon.com.mx/noticia/54521.html
2. Haynes, Jeffrey (2005), Comparative Politics in a Globalizing World, Polity, p. 177
3. Mexico Today: An Encyclopedia of Life in the Republic, ABC-CLIO, 2012, p. 509
4. Seelke, Claire. "Mexico's 2012 Elections" (PDF). Congressional Research Service. Retrieved 10 December 2012.
5. "La Plaza". Los Angeles Times. 10 December 2008.
6. Tim Johnson, For Mexico's Ecologist Green Party, 'green' mostly means money, not environment, McClatchy Newspapers (June 18, 2012).
7. Guadalajara Reporter (May 16, 2009). "Green Party rival crossed the line, says gay candidate". Retrieved November 27, 2009.
8. Thompson, Barnard. "Corruption inferences and the Green Party of Mexico". MexiData.info. Retrieved 29 August 2014.
9. "Miguel Ángel Toscano, dos años de escándalos sanitarios en la Cofepris" (in Spanish). Retrieved 2016-07-23.

External links

• Official website
• Death penalty debate grows in Mexico
• Mexico to rethink death penalty