Jordi Orwell Barcelona CAT in English

Some names you can see at the Web page of Fair Elections:
Argentina: Luis Tonelli. He declares in an interview:

"LT:...In Albany black people are afraid of voting."
- Why?
- LT:...In these counties, those who lead the electoral process are far right-wing activists that put signs of the type: "Before you vote, pay your taxes"; or spread rumors that if one black person votes, this person may be a convict that cannot vote."
- Is that intimidation?
LT: The Democrats say it is. This year the Democratic Party is doing the impossible to make people vote. Because the election is so close, each vote counts. But for Republicans it is not convenient that people vote because their base is very well organized through organizations such as the National Rifle Association."

Well, this gentleman may be the hell of a good social scientist, but is he a "non-partisan observer"? This November 2nd, he will be in Missouri, "observing" the US elections.

Chile: Manuel Antonio Garreton. He writes four days after September 11:

Looking at the terrorist attack to the United States in this September, one could not avoid to remember similar images of twenty-eight years ago, at similar times, when, supported by the same United States and using planes bought by Chile to this country, a group of terrorists disguised - that time of generals and army members - bombarded and assaulted La Moneda [the presidential residence of Chile].

Everything is horribly similar, although the symbols chosen for the attack of the terrorists of this time were more related to the financial and military world of the victim country, and that chosen by the Chilean military terrorists were related to the republican and democratic life of victim Chile. And another difference: the generals of that September 11 of 1973 were more coward in terms of risking their lives.

Is he really a "non-partisan observer"?

Mexico: Sergio Aguayo. He is a prestigious figure in Mexico, with a tradition of receiving support from the Ford and Mac Arthur Foundations. He just obtain the Stephen P. Duggan prize. He declares:

"I accepted a recognition [from the International Education Institute] as an act of minimal reciprocity to Global Exchange, a civic organization that companied Alianza Cívica [his own NGO] in the observation of Mexican elections."

"This is s way of colaborating with a part of the American society, which discovering the little confidence there is in the elections in some states recurs to foreigners that, like me, have some experience in the combat to electoral fraud."

Is he really a "non-partisan observer"?
Well, there are so many prestigious and moderate figures. No doubt about their reputation, only about their agenda. They don't need to be ultra-leftists to be biased. It's just enough to be Jimmy Carter boys.
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