The following is a summary of what our group observed (the Humanitarian Law Project) on July 6th. I don't have a copy of our official release, as it is still being prepared by some of the group in D.F. Also, the Chiapas contingent arrived back in D.F. late last nite - after I left.
In regard to election fraud, it was my impression that, in scope, it was indeed present, but in terms of scale it had significantly decreased compared to previous elections. Also, most of the fraud occurred "at the ground level"; the computation done thru the Instituto Federal Electoral seemed clean, in that the results closely matched the most recent polls - in fact, the opposition (specifically, the PRD and PAN) did better than indicated by the polls.
1) casillas fantasma (ghost polling places) - We arrived at several official polling places, only to find that they didn't exist. In one case, one casilla had been relocated, however there was no info as to where it was. We tracked it down via the IFE - when we arrived, very few voters had shown up
2) boletas marcadas/compradas (premarked ballots/buying votes - I personally witnessed the arrest (or at least, taken into custody) of a PRIista who had premarked ballots in his possession near a casilla. He was paying voters 100 pesos to take in the premarked ballots under their clothing, deposit them in the urna, then return the blank ballot as proof of their "voto comprado"
3) raton loco (sending voters from casilla to casilla - "you aren't on our list" - in order to discourage them from voting - literally, turning them into a "crazed rat") - we witnessed numerous voters with proper credentials turned away and sent to "casillas especiales" (for voters in transit). Initially, they weren't allowed to vote, however when we returned to these casillas later in the day, they *were* allowing these voters to cast their ballots.
4) urnas emabarazadas (pre-stuffed ballot boxes) - we saw no evidence of this
5) coaacion/hostigamiento (coercion/harassment - numerous instances of this - often materialized as a PRI party rep (every party was allowed 2 reps in each casilla) standing next to the ballot boxes. The "x's" are easy to see on Mexico's ballots - one needs to fold them very carefully to protect the secrecy of the vote. Also, police stationed outside casillas were asking voters for their credentials - not legal.
6) Harassment of poll officials/election observers a) the casilla I returned to to observe clausura had a problem. It closed at 6:02 pm (voting ends at 6). Ten minutes later, 25-30 "voters" showed up, demanding to be allowed to vote. One was armed. They attempted to break down the metal gate (which the officials had locked at 6:02, at which time there was no line to vote). Then they demanded to see the PRI party rep from the casilla. All party reps agreed that no one should be let in. Four police were watching the incident (I climbed up the wall to get a look), but would not come to our aid. We were stuck there for 45 minutes, after which time the crowd dispersed.
b) Two of our delegates (Yolanda Gomez, aide to Lucille Roybal, and Evangeline Ordaz, prof at CSUN) arrived at a polling place that had closed 2 hours early. They were denied entry, and were told that "everyone had voted". When they pointed out that there were eight people outside waiting to vote, their Chicanismo was insulted ("your parents were traitors, leaving Mexico", etc), then they were chased out of the school by the polling officials. They tried to drive away, but were trapped at the end of the street by two vehicles, one of which was occupied by the polling president and the PRI party rep. Their car windows were shattered with rocks. Fortunately, they managed to get away without serious injury.
Most common irregularity: polling places opening 1-2 hours late, raining on the ballot boxes, too many PRI party reps in the casilla, PRI reps without IDs.
In general, it is my impression that while there were numerous irregularities along with the same classes of fraud found in previous elections, it didn't work this time. It appears to me (and this is just my opinion) that this was the cleanest election in Mexico in 60 years.
In terms of Chiapas, there were serious problems (23 casillas burned, probably by Paz y Justicia). This is something that the EZLN directive would not condone, even though they did encourage EZLN sympathizers to withhold their vote in protest. Many other incidents in Chiapas - however, I haven't been able to confirm them yet with our 5-member group that was roaming around Ocosingo during the elections.
One other comment: Alianza Civica was extremely disorganized. On the other hand, the Instituto Federal Electoral and the PRD were very well organized and seemed very "clean" in their operations.