CLASSIC: How Rigging Elections Works: Mexico, 1988

Stuff They Don't Want You To Know

iHeartPodcasts

Society & Culture

4.3 • 10.7K Ratings

🗓️ 25 November 2025

⏱️ 62 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

While democracy isn't always predictable, one thing's for sure -- no matter who wins an election, for any party, in any country, some part of the population will claim the game is rigged. That's what happened in Mexico in 1988, when Carlos Salinas de Gortari became president in a hotly-disputed election. For years rumors circulated about the illegal actions that led to this outcome, an opposition parties often accused Gortari's party of rigging the vote. And, in 2004, another person stepped forward to confirm the election was rigged. This wasn't a fringe journalist, either -- it was former President of Mexico Miguel de la Madrid, Gortari's predecessor, who had worked to ensure his chosen candidate 'won' the vote. Tune in to learn more about this strange story ... and what makes it so important today.

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Transcript

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0:00.0	fellow conspiracy realists, we're returning to you with a classic episode that some people will
0:05.8	argue is surprisingly relevant even five years after we recorded it. That's right. The course
0:13.0	of democracy did not always run straight nor smooth. Yeah. I mean, one thing is for sure. Since democracy became a thing, no matter who wins an election, any party, any country, any time of history, some part of the population will say, hold on, I'm going to tick. This game is rigged in different accents.
0:38.4	Absolutely in different languages.
0:41.4	Yep.
0:42.0	In this case, we're going to Mexico.
0:43.3	We're going to 1988 to a time when all of those rumors were swirling around intensely so.
0:50.1	And then a little weird thing happened.
0:52.4	Well, and if I'm not mistaken, guys, we were talking off Mike.
0:54.4	We released this at the time as sort of a teachable moment analogous to what was going on with a lot of accusations here in the states of rigged elections and election tampering and interference.
1:05.4	And to your point, Matt, we're in the thick of that, if not worse than it was back then.
1:10.8	And so shall we always be from this point forward.
1:13.8	Would seem so.
1:15.1	So let's get into it.
1:17.1	This is an I-Heart podcast.
1:19.6	Guaranteed human.
1:22.0	From UFOs to psychic powers and government conspiracies, history is riddled with unexplained events.
1:28.9	You can turn back now or learn the stuff they don't want you to know.
1:34.0	A production of iHeart Radio.
1:49.2	Hello, welcome back to the show. My name is Matt. My name is Noel.
1:55.2	They call me Ben. We are joined as always with our super producer, Paul Mission Control Deccant.
2:04.1	Most importantly, you are you, you are here, and that makes this stuff they don't want you to know. We live in interesting times, gentlemen. And it's time that we talk about elections. Seems basic stuff,
	...

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