Slander, defamation and innuendo have come to the fore with such vengeance that an observer from Planet Zog might think the main issue is to elect the least dishonest pretender to the presidential sash.

Behind the scenes, where the dirtiest tricks have always been played, the situation worsens far beyond the realm of finger-pointing and questionable television spots.

Technology has created even more of a minefield for guardians of the fair vote, who must square off against those who care only about manipulating votes without regard for rules or honor ? of whom there are representatives in all three major parties.

A simple example is the exploitation of the poor and uneducated. Vote-buying has always been an integral part of Mexican election campaigns. To mitigate the temptation to take the money and vote as they pleased, those who received cash for votes were told that the party would know how they voted, though it wasn't explained how.

Today the uneducated are told that the party has satellites overhead that monitor voting, and a betrayal vote will bring dire consequences to the voter and his family.

The internet and message-receiving cell phones have registered at least 7 million anonymous messages saying things like, "López Obrador is a danger to Mexico." No one is sure who does this, but a finger of suspicion points at the National Action Party (PAN), whose candidate, Felipe Calderón, is running neck-and-neck with Andrés Manuel López Obrador, the former Mexico City mayor.

This type of electoral crime is easy to commit and extremely hard to prosecute.

In its 2005 annual report, the Special Prosecutor for Electoral Crimes (FEPADE) admitted, "The political and social conditions that motivated incorporation of electoral crimes in the criminal code in 1990 are not the same as those of today ? The current system of federal electoral justice has been overwhelmed by the reality of political conflicts, and because of this we have failed to fulfill some of the social expectations of democratic processes."

María de los Angeles Fromow, the head of FEPADE, said recently, "When we speak of new ways to commit a crime we are talking about crimes on the internet."

At a news conference last week, she said FEPADE has received no fewer than 240 complaints about electoral cheating ? so far. Even so, three-quarters of the population doesn't know that FEPABE exists, what it does, or how to report an irregularity.

"We receive complaints every day from all over the country," Fromow said. "They range from vote-buying to coercion and public servants who use public resources."

This represents a tremendous judicial challenge ? and an equally tremendous indictment on the tactics used by ambitious politicians. It's a testament to how far Mexico's politics have yet to go before they are truly democratic.

Many of today's vote-manipulating tactics are high technology, but some of the tried and true methods are still used ? though they have spread from the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI) to everyone with a realistic chance of winning on July 2.

Companies are told that they must contribute generously to a party if they are to expect post-election government contracts. Can the vague laws forbidding this practice be invoked to bring justice to perpetrators who do this in private conversations?

Who inspired Oaxaca teachers to occupy important buildings in recent days? Was it underpaid dissident teachers wanting to better their condition, or was it a show orchestrated to embarrass the PRI, which governs the state?

Was the miners' strike in Michoacan about labor issues or a national political gambit to discredit the PAN?

Will polling booths be mysteriously moved on Election Day, as has been done in the past, to discourage some voters from exercising their democratic right?

The number and variety of dirty tricks that can be played is limited only by the imaginations of campaign managers.

Discouraging though this may be, believe it or not, it represents progress.

Not so many elections ago most of this legerdemain took place without being reported or publicized, and with no possibility of redress. Mexicans suspected that all was not as it should be, but they didn't know exactly how the vote was manipulated. This peaked in 1988, when a mysterious "computer crash" during vote counting ended the hopes of Cuauhtémoc Cárdenas to topple the PRI and defeat its presidential candidate, Carlos Salinas.

In the 1990s two electoral institutions were set up that are not beholden to the administration ? the Federal Electoral Institute (IFE), which manages the electoral process, and FEPADE ? and that was a major step toward fair elections.

FEPADE may not catch all of the miscreants, and it may not always win in court, but its independence and its ability to report electoral crimes, alleged or proven, signify that Mexico is indeed moving closer to democracy. It's getting harder and harder to cheat.

President Vicente Fox claims that this election will be the cleanest in history. Despite his record of bluster, and despite the gutter level of candidates' campaigning and the sleight-of-hand that still goes on in the back rooms, it probably will be.

Kenneth Emmond is a freelance