From slogans to cigarettes

By T.W. | MEXICO CITY

FOR most of the 20th century Mexican elections were not very competitive affairs. Following the 1910 revolution, the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI) dominated presidential politics with a mixture of populism and cheating. It was not until 2000 that Vicente Fox of the National Action Party (PAN) broke the PRI's grip on power.

Despite the uncompetitive nature of early Mexican politics, candidates still came up with novel ways to promote their campaigns. A new exhibition at the Museo del Objeto del Objeto, or MODO, in Mexico City displays a century's worth of campaign memorabilia stretching from Mr Fox back to the dictatorship of Porfirio Díaz.

Alongside hundreds of metal pin-badges are some unusual finds. Adolfo López Mateos promoted his 1958 candidacy with PRI-themed cigarette lighters. Six years later his successor, Gustavo Díaz Ordaz, handed out party-branded cigarettes. The PAN's campaign in 2000 was jollied along by Fox-branded tequila bottles, which perhaps went down better than soft drinks bearing the face of Ernesto Zedillo in 1994.

Miguel Alemán (1946) and Miguel de la Madrid (1982) both gave out packets of seeds. Carlos Salinas, whose “victory” in 1988 is widely reckoned to have involved fraud, handed out canvas shopping bags emblazoned with pictures of tomatoes, peppers and corn. (The example at the exhibition is empty, but you can bet that at the time it contained a feast for loyal voters.)

Among the oldest exhibits are special “credentials” (ie, get-out-of-jail-free cards) that Porfirio Díaz made for his friends, which proved that they were pals of the feared president. There are also badges depicting Díaz's nephew, Félix, who never made it to the presidency despite having the same magnificent moustache as his uncle. Other badges promote Luis Donaldo Colosio, who was expected to become president in 1994 but was murdered—on orders that remain mysterious—a few months before the election.

The collection is a fascinating tour through Mexican political history, and a reminder of the lengths that candidates will go to in order to woo voters. This year's election, due on July 1st, will produce mountains more memorabilia. Candidates should remember that hand-outs can sometimes backfire, however: 700 people were taken ill a couple of weeks ago after eating egg tacos handed out at a PRI rally. Perhaps best to stick to badges in future.

"De Porfirio Díaz a Vicente Fox, Propaganda electoral en México durante el Siglo XX"opens at MODO on March 1st

Read more: "Mexico's presidential election: Diaspora apathy"