Luis Mandoki and 'Fraude Mexico 2006'

Agustin Gurza reviews Luis Mandoki's controversial documentary about Andrés Manuel López Obrador, the leftist opposition candidate who lost Mexico's 2006 election to President Felipe Calderón by a hair's breadth.

"Luis Mandoki has been called the Michael Moore of Mexico, a filmmaker whose overtly partisan documentaries preach messages to viewers who are already inclined to believe. But that's not the worst thing his critics had to say of Mandoki's most recent film, which purports to prove fraud in the Mexican presidential election of 2006. One writer compared the director, who is Jewish, to infamous Nazi propagandist Leni Riefenstahl, who championed her friend Adolf Hitler in the 1934 film 'Triumph of the Will.'

"Mandoki acknowledges he's a supporter of leftist candidate Andrés Manuel López Obrador, who lost by a hair to President Felipe Calderón of the conservative National Action Party, or PAN. But he argues there's a difference between producing propaganda and making films with a point of view.

" 'I'm not doing propaganda; I'm showing a piece of the truth,' says the veteran director of Hollywood films such as 'When a Man Loves a Woman' and 'Message in a Bottle.' "

Even though the elections are long over, AMLO (as López Obrador is popularly known here in Mexico) remains a loud critic of Calderón. His supporters call López Obrador Mexico's "legitimate" president.

Read the rest of the review of Manodki's documentary "Fraud" here.

Click here for more on Mexico and here for more on film.

-- Deborah Bonello, in Mexico City

Photo: A figure of Andrés Manuel López Obrador stands next to one of President Felipe Calderón during the Independence Day celebrations in Mexico City's Zocalo last week. A temporary "Fraud Museum" had been set up in the square by supporters of the left-wing Democratic Revolution Party (PRD) party to show how they think Calderón's National Action Party (PAN) stole the election in 2006. Credit: Deborah Bonello / Los Angeles Times.

Comments

[Mr. Monkey]

Laydies and Gentelman´s let me introduce to you the "Classic right winged comment", in the comment posted above. We have a lot of them on México. They are mainly ignorant/scared people or goverment employees (or related to).

[roberto crostwaite]

Contrary to the critic's opinion I though it was a surprisingly interesting movie, a movie that was moving because it was sensitive in letting you feel the calling of a very abused and violated people of Mexico and their desperate need for someone to believe in them and feel their pain and poverty that has showed his loyalty for the poor which is the majority in Mexico and he put his own personal interest and ego after the safety of his people which we all now if he would have wanted including friends of mine in wealthy positions in Mexico would have standed up in arms.

Congratulations Mr. Mandoki, contrary to what the Monopoly of the giant TVnetworks and the Federal Government in Mexico that did everything to stop you from showing your movie, I guess because it show the truth, the people of your country and others outside responsed to your call and supported you.

[THETRUTHABOUTHEELECTIONSINMEXICO]

SADLY WHAT MANDOKI STATES IS TRUE. SADLY BECAUSE OF MY FAMILY'S POSITION WE HAVE CLOSE ACCOUNTANCES IN TOP OFFICIAL POSITIONS IN MEXICO AND THEY CONFIRMED TO US THE TRUTH OF WHAT WE EXPECTED AS IT WAS LEAKED TO INDEPENDENT MEDIA THAT IT WOULD HAPPENED AND IN PART THE WAY IT WOULD HAPPENED SHORTLY BEFORE IT DID.

IT WAS VERY WELL PLANNED AND DELIVERED. THE MAIN KEY AS IN BUSH'S ELECTION THE CODIGO FUENTE (THE SOURCE CODE) IN THE COUNTING VOTE SYSTEM, PLUS OTHER ANOTHER "CAIDA DEL SYSTEM" (INTERRUPTION IN THE SYSTEM) DURING THE VOTE COUNTING ELECTRONIC PROCEDURE, PLUS OTHER ELEMENTS I CANNOT ELABORATE INTO, BUT SIMILAR TO THE US. THE RULING PARTY HAD THE HELP OF ANOTHER MAJOR PARTY IN IMPLEMENTING THE STRATEGY BEFORE, DURING AND AFTER THE ELECTION. SORRY MISS LASTIMA POBRELOPEZ PERDEDOR, I AM NOT PROUD OF THIS FORTUNATELY I ALWAYS THOUGHT THAT WHO EVER WON HAD TO BE RESPECTED, VOTERS HAE A RIGHT TO LAWFULL ELECTIONS.

[Lastima Pobrelopez Perdedor]

What a shame and embarrasment that a major political party in Mexico and its followers continues to fall for the cheap antics of politicians like AMLO and their creative artist supporters who in mexico try to pass of as intellectuals...

I think it says a lot about the current state of national development when you see Al Gore and John Kerry concede to an underqualified candidate, but in Mexico you have a professional protestor like AMLOser gather mass crowds that still listen to his gospel of conspiracy theories, no matter what facts and the rest of society and the other parties think, they choose an illusion.

Cheap tricks, populist politics, nothing more...