MEXICO: Mexico's presidential election campaigns came to an end this week with a flurry of final rallies, a blackout on opinion polls and a ban on alcohol sales as 71 million voters prepared for tomorrow's ballot.
There was a palpable sense of relief inside Mexican homes as the torrent of abusive campaign ads and preposterous promises gave way to the more soothing soap operas and celebrity pap.
The main candidates invested 80 per cent of campaign spending on television propaganda, with one party opting to buy a half-hour "news" slot each evening, during which a procession of hacks lined up to sing the candidate's praises in what appeared to be a "normal" programme.
Meanwhile, an air of gloom pervaded the capital city's streets as Mexicans came to terms with their defeat in the World Cup. If the team had continued in the contest, the elections might have been eclipsed altogether. "We had it in our grasp," said one disgruntled fan-turned-philosopher, "but you know us Mexicans don't like to win, we are conditioned to lose. I blame the Yankees."
The Mexican psyche is a complicated blend of outspoken national pride and inner shame, as schoolchildren are taught how their country was half-stolen by the "gringos", yet millions of compatriots cross the border in search of employment in the "belly of the beast".
There was little sympathy for the politicians who have crisscrossed the country in an exhausting campaign for the hearts and minds of the voters.
"They are all the same thieves, liars and pendejos (idiots)," said Ramiro Valdez, speaking at his busy taco stand in downtown Mexico city. "Pretty words today, pretty houses and pretty bank accounts manana."
Mr Valdez's cynical attitude is a fair reflection of how the average Mexican views their elected representatives. A brief reference to my country of origin elicits an angry flood of abuse against former president Carlos Salinas, who amassed a vast personal fortune while in office and was briefly exiled in Ireland.
The three main candidates in Mexico's presidential race have faced charges of corruption during their careers, but none of them have been convicted of wrongdoing.
Despite the weariness and cynicism of some voters, millions of Mexicans are convinced tomorrow's election is of vital importance to the nation's future. "This is Mexico's last chance to find a compassionate, humanist way forward," commented Lupita Miranda, a documentary film-maker backing centre-left favourite Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, known as Amlo.
A charismatic former mayor of Mexico City, Amlo revitalised the city with free outdoor concerts and pensions for the elderly, leaving office with an approval rating of 80 per cent. He is regarded by supporters as a radical reformer who can bring prosperity and equality to Mexico's deeply divided citizenry.
The nation's upper-class elite view him as a dangerous subversive and lackey of Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez, presenting a moderate face on the campaign trail before running the rich out of the country while in office.
"It's all scaremongering and political grandstanding," said Pepe Gil, political reporter for investigative weekly magazine Proceso. "Mexico has a mature electorate which is getting used to the cut and thrust of multiparty politics."
The Catholic church hierarchy favours right-wing hopeful Felipe Calderon, who was running neck-and-neck with Amlo in the final polls.
Roberto Madrazo, candidate for the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI), which governed Mexico for 70 years, has faded into third place.
In the old days, the PRI nominated a candidate every six years, combining populism, repression and fraud to maintain power. The Zapatista indigenous uprising in January 1994 paved the way for reforms which permitted the election of an opposition mayor in Mexico city in 1997 and the victory of Vicente Fox in the 2000 presidential elections.
The outcome of tomorrow's ballot will determine whether Latin America's progressive axis gains a valuable new member (Amlo). But, while Amlo, Calderon and Madrazo present different visions of Mexico's future, all three have pledged to pursue harmonious relations with the US government.
Mexico is virtually a US economic colony: 90 per cent of its exports head north; Walmart is now Mexico's largest private sector employer, with 140,000 employees; and remittances from migrants in the US reached $20 billion (€15.7 billion) last year. These small, monthly payments serve as a welfare net for millions of impoverished families, while thousands more migrants begin the arduous journey north each day.
The pursuit of an immigration deal for Mexicans living in the US will be a key foreign policy goal for any future president.
There are hints that a defeated PRI will seek some form of coalition with Amlo's Party of the Democratic Revolution (PRD), itself born out of a split in the PRI. The winner of tomorrow's contest will require opposition support if he is to persuade a divided parliament to endorse any major reforms.
The prospect of a dead heat has heightened tensions across Mexico, where 340,000 police have been mobilised in case of disturbances. In previous elections, the prevalence of fraud saw the final vote regarded as the starting point for a fresh round of street campaigning on behalf of candidates who suspected fraud cost them victory.
The vigilance of citizen election volunteers and the presence of thousands of observers will reduce the prospect of post-electoral conflict.