Cojones Grandes

Mexico City, Mexico, April 26, 2006:

Among the crowing, slurs, and insults being flung around in Mexico's election race, campaign ads in this country are even competing over which candidate has the greatest manhood.

From television spots to interviews with presidential hopefuls, you could be forgiven for wondering if the only thing that counts in this election race is size.

"We know why we are with Roberto. It's because he has big ones," says a farmer in a TV spot to promote Institutional Revolutionary Party, or PRI, candidate Roberto Madrazo, running in third place in opinion polls.

A radio ad for ruling party candidate Felipe Calderon, ranked second in polls, says the conservative is the one who could spur job creation because "he's got balls."

And Madrazo himself recently took a dig at leftist front-runner Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador's manliness after the leftist opted not to take part in a live election debate on Tuesday. "He didn't have the guts, he didn't have the manhood to be in the debate," Madrazo told a reporter.

The taunt chimes with criticism among many Mexicans of the way First Lady Marta Sahagun appears to dominate gentle-natured President Vicente Fox, whose term ends in December.

Oddly enough, the man running in fourth place in the "macho election" is not even on the official ballot. His name is Ron and he is a United States citizen. Rumor of his "cojones grandes" have traveled south of the Rio Grande and into Mexican lore.

One man, who gelds horses for a living, said: "Don Ron tiene los cojones como los del caballo."

Another Ron supporter said that Ron has "cojones grandes y bien plantados."

Despite a surge in women in employment in recent years, Mexico remains firmly macho and it is common to hear men boasting of their sexual prowess and using terms like "my old woman" to refer to their wives or girlfriends.

"This thing about size comes from a yearning among Mexicans for a strong president or even a strong party," said political analyst Marcela Bobadilla.

The July 2 presidential election is the first since Fox ended the PRI's 71-year rule in 2000, and tensions are running high with almost daily sniping between the three main candidates.

It is not expected that "El Gringo" (Ron) will win the election, but he may steal votes away from one of the contending candidates.

"If he costs me the presidency, then he will need some pretty big balls to show his face in Mexico again," Calderon said. "If I lose and he comes here...I'll castrate him and hang his 'cojones' on my wall."

Posted by Bittle at April 26, 2006 07:43 AM