“We moving along wonderfully well,” assures Veracruz’s Governor Herrera Beltran.

That’s how a piece in La Jornada starts out… then they tell you the truth.

We had elections here in Veracruz on Sunday. Let me give you a brief overview of what it was like:

- There were reports of federal police officers in civilian clothing harassing voters.
- There was an anonymous call to a hotel in Boca del Rio regarding a mysterious package. This caused the immediate evacuation of guests. The PRI and the PAN pointed fingers at each other.
- A young man was killed in a shooting in the southern part of the state by supposed Partido del Trabajo or Labor Party militants.
- In Tonayan, there was a shooting against five militants from the PAN party.
- In Papantla, the leader of the party PRD was sequestered by members of the party PRI and then detained by police after being accused of buying votes.
- In Veracruz port, the sister of a candidate for PAN was caught with electoral material but unable to explain how or why she had it.
- In Cosoleacaque, people working for the PRI’s candidate, Gladis Merlin Castro, shot at members of the PRD party as well as at observers. No one was injured.
- At least 150 peasants blocked a highway while an armed group attacked political leaders and robbed electoral material.
- There were numerous reports of people from all parties buying votes.

An acquaintance of mine recently paid a visit to the Governor’s office in search of scholarship funds. You see, he’s known for handing out bills like candy to those who treat him like a king. He agreed, but didn’t hesitate to let her know that she needed to vote PRI in return.

My mother-in-law’s neighbor told us that there was a shootout involving military officers across from her daughter’s kindergarten. Everyone hit the deck and prayed that the children were all safely inside.

So, while the rest of Mexico tries to turn its back on the PRI and all the corruption that they planted over the course of 70 years, Veracruz is forever fiel.

Fidel Herrera Beltran