Lost in the midst of this crazy news week here in the U.S. is the fact that there’s a presidential election happening in Mexico on Sunday, and it’s considered one of the most important in the nation’s history.
Mexican voters will elect a new president to serve a five year and 10 months term. They’ll also select 128 members of the Senate for a period of six years and 500 members of the Chamber of Deputies for three years. 3,400 seats are up for grabs at the local level.
The left-wing, populist candidate Andrés M. López Obrador is considered the favorite, and he’s going up against Ricardo Anaya from the center-right National Action Party; Jaime “El Bronco” Rodríguez, the independent; and José Antonio Meade, who is from the ruling right-wing Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI) and the a close friend of President Enrique Peña Nieto, an unpopular figure at the moment. The PRI has been in power for 77 of the past 90 years in Mexico.
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The two major Spanish-language broadcast networks here in the U.S., Univision and Telemundo, are providing in-depth coverage on the big day.
Here are their coverage plans:
TELEMUNDO:
- Noticias Telemundo announced details of México, the Final Battle, its 360° coverage of the Mexican presidential elections, this Sunday, July 1, live starting at 5 PM E/4 C/2 P on Telemundo, NoticiasTelemundo.com, the Noticias Telemundo mobile app, and the Telemundo news Facebook, Twitter and YouTube pages.
- Emmy-award winning anchor José Díaz-Balart will lead the coverage from the Zócalo in the heart of Mexico City, joined by a network of journalists across Mexico and the United States, including anchors Julio Vaqueiro, Felicidad Aveleyra and Paulina Sodi; reporters Raúl Torres, Issa Osorio, Javier Vega and Víctor Silva; and a team of political analysts and opinion leaders.
- México, the Final Battle will use focus groups and exit polls to present the projected and final results of these historic elections.
- “Mexico is at a historic crossroads and Noticias Telemundo will be there, analyzing key details of the electoral process and keeping viewers informed of the latest results,” said Noticias Telemundo’s Executive Producer Leticia Herrera.
- Telemundo News continues to elevate Social TV coverage by integrating Snapchat’s Snap Map into its elections broadcast. Together with Tagboard Technology, Telemundo News will curate real time moments from Snaps submitted by users to their public “Our Story” from specific geographical points in Mexico. Telemundo News will be the first Spanish language network in the United States to aggregate Snap Map content live during an on-air broadcast.
UNIVISION:
- In the lead to Election Day on July 1, ongoing in-depth digital coverage is available via UnivisionNoticias.com, Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, and Twitter, complemented on broadcast by updates and segments in the Noticiero Univision national newscast and all other Univision Network news shows. The all-platform coverage will reach its peak this coming Sunday as Univision News pulls out all the stops to provide U.S. Hispanics with the most complete, up-to-the-minute information regarding this momentous political process by which Mexican citizens will not only choose their next president but also elect 500 federal representatives, 128 senators and thousands of local officials.
- On Sunday July 1, Univision News anchors Ilia Calderón, Jorge Ramos, Patricia Janiot and Enrique Acevedo will be live in the heart of Mexico City, along with a team of correspondents and reporters stationed in Mexico and in U.S. cities with large Mexican populations.
- The Election Day coverage will kick off on Univision Network’s Sunday morning show, Al Punto, and continue with bulletins and updates on the evening and nightly editions of Noticiero Univision. A digital-only extension of Al Punto will begin on Facebook Live immediately following the program’s broadcast.
- Beginning at 7 p.m. ET, special programming will bring viewers LIVE coverage from voting centers across Mexico, the National Electoral Institute, and campaign headquarters, in addition to commentary and analysis from guest experts.
- Hosted by Calderón, Ramos, Janiot and Acevedo, three specials will air live on the Univision Network and livestream on com: 7 p.m. ET/6 p.m. C/4 p.m. PT; 10 p.m. ET/9 p.m. C/ 7 p.m. PT; 1 a.m. ET/12 a.m. C/10 p.m. PT.
- The following Univision journalists will report LIVE from the four presidential candidates’ campaign headquarters:
- María Antonieta Collins – Andrés M. López Obrador Campaign.
- Jaime García – Ricardo Anaya Campaign.
- Francisco Cobos – Jaime Rodríguez Calderón “El Bronco” Campaign.
- Alejandro Madrigal – José Antonio Meade Campaign.
- Facebook Live streams and Instagram stories posted from voting centers, the National Election Institute, campaign headquarters and more will also keep audiences abreast of every detail of this important day as the votes are cast, counted and announced.
- A liveblog on UnivisionNoticias.com will provide minute-by-minute information on developments, projections, reaction and final results.
- Through cutting-edge infographics, com will show the results of the presidential race, live.
- DIGITAL EXCLUSIVE HIGHLIGHTS – PRE-ELECTION DAY
- Profiles of the presidential candidates.
- Daily liveblog from the U.S./Mexico border and several Mexican cities.
- Original 4-episode podcast: “Mexicanos al grito de ¡Ya estuvo bueno!” (Mexicans’ cry out, That’s Enough!)
- Instagram stories on a variety of election-related topics.
- Facebook Live discussions featuring Univision News anchors Ilia Calderón, Jorge Ramos, Patricia Janiot, Enrique Acevedo, Leon Krauze, and special guests.
- Facebook Live reports from campaign headquarters.
- Photo galleries and slideshows, videos, and infographics.