The controversy stemming from boxer Juan Manuel Márquez’s trunks continues in Mexico.

 

During his title fight on November 12 in Las Vegas against Manny Pacquiao, Márquez wore the logo of the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI) on his boxing shorts. Officials with rival political parties complained that the stunt amounted to free political advertising for PRI, as millions of voters in Mexico watched the match just prior to state elections that took place the next day.

 

As it turned out, PRI scored victories in Michoacán state, including the governorship and the mayor’s race in the capital city, Morelia.

 

Following the victories, the ruling National Action Party (PAN) complained that Márquez’s trunks amounted to a violation of rules prohibiting campaigning abroad before the election. In response to PAN’s complaint, the federal electoral tribunal nullified the results in the mayoral contest and ordered a new vote to take place in the next five months. A decision regarding the gubernatorial election has not yet been released.

 

In his defense, Márquez said he was given the shorts by his team and that he did not know there were elections happening in Michoacán.

 

Márquez and his trunks may prove to be the least of the obstacles to fair elections in Michoacán. Just before the November election, a local drug cartel ran a newspaper ad threatening anyone who voted for the PAN candidates.

-Noel Brinkerhoff, David Wallechinsky

 

Boxing Trunk Political Ad Leads to Cancellation of Mexican Municipal Elections (by E. Eduardo Castillo, Associated Press)