VOA标准英语2012--Amid Violent Drug War, Mexicans to Choose New President

 

Amid Violent Drug War, Mexicans to Choose New President

Campaigning around Mexico came to a close with lots of noise..

Ruling party candidate Josefina Vasquez Mota is upbeat, even though she trails in the polls.

Leftist candidate Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador is also behind in the polls, but claims they are wrong.

The polls favor Enrique Pena Nieto, the candidate of the Institutional Revolutionary Party, known here as the PRI, which ruled Mexico for decades.

Pena Nieto says the PRI has changed since losing power in 2000 and presents himself as the old party's new face.

But some young people do not buy that.

Members of the movement Yo Soy 132 or “I am 132,” which refers to 131 students at a private university posted a video on YouTube several weeks ago that has rallied support from students all over Mexico.

Their movement portrays¹ the PRI as a criminal organization.

“The PRI is using everything it has: narcotics² trafficking, organized crime, all the money it has gained from corruption³, to win the elections,” said Sergio Sanchez Navarro, one of the leaders.

But widespread violent crime is one reason many voters favor Pena Nieto.

Just this week gunmen killed three federal police officers in a busy terminal of Mexico City's International airport.

Pena Nieto promises in a campaign add that appears on his web site to reduce the violence. “As president of Mexico, I will commit myself to restoring tranquility,” he said.

But security analyst⁴ Alejandro Hope, of the Mexican Competitiveness Institute, says a new president is likely to follow the current anti-crime strategy. “No candidate yet has offered a radically⁵ different vision of how to deal with the security situation in Mexico,” she said.

Although some Mexicans believe the PRI will be able to work a deal with drug cartels to reduce violence, Hope says that is not likely.

“There has been a multiplication⁶ of gangs, so it is a more unstable⁷ environment," he said. "It is not like you can strike a deal with one big kingpin somewhere, and that is it.”

Many Mexican voters have already scaled down their expectations.

“It is important to change the government because jobs are scarce,” stated laborer⁸ Roman, explaining why it is time for a change.

Business owner Maria says she favors the leftist Democratic Revolution Party. “I think we need a change, something different. We already tried the other two parties, let's try the third,” she said.

But surveys show as many as 20 percent of voters are undecided, and that includes Pedro, 18. “I am thinking of not voting because there is no party that has convinced me,” he said.

Many Mexican voters say that no matter who wins the election, they believe it will take a long time to resolve the nation's problems, especially that of violent crime. 

1 portrays   

v.画像( portray的第三人称单数 )；描述；描绘；描画

参考例句：

• The museum collection vividly portrays the heritage of 200 years of canals. 博物馆的藏品让运河200 年的历史再现眼前。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The film portrays Gandhi as a kind of superman. 这部电影把甘地描绘成一个超人。 来自《简明英汉词典》

2 narcotics   

n.麻醉药( narcotic的名词复数 )；毒品；毒

参考例句：

• The use of narcotics by teenagers is a problem in many countries. 青少年服用麻醉药在许多国家中都是一个问题。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• Police shook down the club, looking for narcotics. 警方彻底搜查了这个俱乐部，寻找麻醉品。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 corruption   

n.腐败，堕落，贪污

参考例句：

• The people asked the government to hit out against corruption and theft.人民要求政府严惩贪污盗窃。
• The old man reviled against corruption.那老人痛斥了贪污舞弊。

4 analyst   

n.分析家，化验员；心理分析学家

参考例句：

• What can you contribute to the position of a market analyst?你有什么技能可有助于市场分析员的职务？
• The analyst is required to interpolate values between standards.分析人员需要在这些标准中插入一些值。

5 radically   

ad.根本地，本质地

参考例句：

• I think we may have to rethink our policies fairly radically. 我认为我们可能要对我们的政策进行根本的反思。
• The health service must be radically reformed. 公共医疗卫生服务必须进行彻底改革。

6 multiplication   

n.增加，增多，倍增；增殖，繁殖；乘法

参考例句：

• Our teacher used to drum our multiplication tables into us.我们老师过去老是让我们反覆背诵乘法表。
• The multiplication of numbers has made our club building too small.会员的增加使得我们的俱乐部拥挤不堪。

7 unstable   

adj.不稳定的，易变的

参考例句：

• This bookcase is too unstable to hold so many books.这书橱很不结实，装不了这么多书。
• The patient's condition was unstable.那患者的病情不稳定。

8 laborer   

n.劳动者，劳工

参考例句：

• Her husband had been a farm laborer.她丈夫以前是个农场雇工。
• He worked as a casual laborer and did not earn much.他当临时工，没有赚多少钱。