As they say, se esta poniendo buena la cosa in Tijuana, with the summer municipal and state elections taking ever-more dramatic turns. First, Jorge Hank Rhon, the multi-millionaire former mayor of Tijuana with the private zoo of exotic animals, was disqualified of his candidacy for governor of Baja California by the state electoral tribunal, a move some saw as politically motivated. The state government is run by the PAN; Hank, the populist son of a famous mayor of Mexico City, belongs to PRI, which currently rules in Tijuana. The tensions have been leading to unfortunate results in the law enforcement sector.
Hank took his case to the federal electoral tribunal in the capital, where rulings are final. The state decision was reversed, paving the way for a sweeping win for the come-from-behind Hank. The people at the weekly paper Zeta (R.I.P. Blancornelas) must be a tad displeased. All throughout the legal drama, Hank filled the Tijuana airwaves with pleasant gracias for the people's patience and support, while giving the impression a distant "they" were trying to rob the people of "their" assumed victory.
Hank's slate did not emerge unscathed from the "persecution" of the PAN state government; the PRI's candidate for mayor, Jorge Astiazarán, was disqualified because he was born in the U.S., a customary birth practice for those Tijuana families who can afford it, and did not fix his Mexican papers until 2003. I'm sure Hank is in mourning. The election is Aug. 5.