Resumo

VAZQUEZ DEL MERCADO, Salvador. Contentious Discourse in Mexican Elections. Polít. gob [online]. 2016, vol.23, n.2, pp.243-278. ISSN 1665-2037.

How do Mexican voters react to contentious electoral discourse, particularly to accusations of fraud? Using a survey-embedded experiment that exposes respondents to vignettes in which the loser of an election makes accusations of fraud, Mexican voters are found to respond to them as if they were negative campaign statements. This means that the general electorate punishes the accuser for "going negative," yet voters who identify with the PRD reward the accuser, but only if the accusation is credible. These results illuminate the incentive structure faced by candidates who opt for protest and accusations when facing an electoral defeat, which have the potential to mobilize voters but also to alienate them.

Palavras-chave : elections; Mexico; electoral fraud; public opinion; framing; electoral contention.