Azteca America Promotes Mexican Election Dialog in Washington With CSIS

Azteca America Promotes Mexican Election Dialog in Washington With CSIS

-Sergio Sarmiento Says He Sees 'No Indication of Systematic, Generalized Fraud.'-

-Television News Coverage of the Event by Azteca America in the U.S. and TV Azteca in Mexico-

LOS ANGELES, Aug. 22 /PRNewswire/ -- Azteca America, the fastest growing Hispanic television network in the United States, continues to support open dialog through participation in a roundtable discussion held in Washington DC by the Mexico Project of the Center for Strategic International Studies entitled Mexico's Post Electoral Quandary & its Implications.

The event held last week included panelists Sergio Sarmiento, member of Azteca America and TV Azteca editorial boards and a renowned political analyst; Raul Avila Ortiz, a former spokesman for Mexico's Electoral Tribunal; and Jeffrey Weldon, a professor at the Instituto Tecnologico Autonomo de Mexico (ITAM).

"We look forward to continued contact with the CSIS in the future, whether it be sponsoring analysts to participate in roundtables or other events," said Luis J. Echarte, chairman of Azteca America. "Open dialog about Mexico and the U.S. Hispanic population is always in the interest of our companies and our communities."

Sarmiento explained that every accusation presented by the leftwing coalition Por el Bien de Todos had been examined without any evidence of fraud being discovered. "Small errors of arithmetic have been found," he pointed out, "but no indication of systematic, generalized fraud."

Sarmiento said that he personally favors a full recount of the votes, which is the position supported by the leftwing candidate Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, "not for any indication of fraud, but just because the margin of victory is so small."

Raul Avila, a lawyer, explained that according to Mexican legislation, the Electoral Tribunal would first rule on every individual suit put forward by the parties, a process that it must complete on or before August 31. Then the magistrates have until September 6 to rule on the validity of the election.

Jeffrey Weldon pointed out that in spite of the close presidential vote, the pro-business National Action Party (PAN) of President Vicente Fox and winning candidate Felipe Calderon has become the country's largest party in Congress and could get a comfortable working majority if it reaches agreements with some of the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI) or some of the smallest parties in Congress.

The event was attended by over a hundred U.S. government officials and academics, and included television coverage by Azteca America in 51 markets across the U.S. and TV Azteca in Mexico.

About Azteca America

Azteca America is the fastest growing Hispanic network in the United States. The network is a wholly owned subsidiary of TV Azteca S.A. de C.V., one of the two largest producers of Spanish-language television content in the world. Azteca America currently has presence in 51 Hispanic markets, including: Los Angeles, New York, Miami, Houston, Chicago, Dallas, San Antonio, San Francisco-Oakland-San Jose, Phoenix, Brownsville-McAllen, Sacramento-Stockton-Modesto, Albuquerque, San Diego, Fresno-Visalia, El Paso, Denver, Orlando, Philadelphia, Tampa, Washington DC, Austin, Las Vegas, Boston, Atlanta, Tucson, Corpus Christi, West Palm Beach-Ft. Pierce, Seattle, Hartford, Bakersfield, Portland, Salt Lake City, Monterey-Salinas, Laredo, Naples-Ft. Myers, Colorado Springs, Odessa, Palm Springs, Santa Barbara, Lubbock, Amarillo, Yakima, Wichita, Oklahoma City, Reno, Boise, Omaha, Victoria, Chattanooga, Twin Falls and Charleston.

Visit: http://www.aztecaamerica.com/

Source: TV Azteca, S.A. de C.V.

CONTACT: Daniel McCosh, Grupo Salinas, +011-5255-1720-0059, or
dmccosh@aztecaamerica.com

Web site: http://www.aztecaamerica.com/
http://www.tvazteca.com.mx/

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