Freemasonry at election times: The phenomenon of Bronco and anti-Masonry at Nuevo Leon, Mexico (2015)

Abstract

In Mexico’s state elections of 2015, Jaime Rodríguez Calderón “Bronco” astounded the public opinion as he won the election to become governor of Nuevo León. Close to the end of the political campaigns period, some videos appeared in YouTube signalizing “Bronco” as a mason, adjudicating a series of religious, moral, political and social messages. This article analyzes these videos in the context of the perceptions about the masonry in Mexico. I conclude that given a social and historical construction of a meaning about the masonry in Mexico, it has emerged an antimasonic political and electoral trend, with the objective of influence vote’s intentions and to manipulate social perceptions.