MEXICANS went to the polls in crunch parliamentary and presidential elections yesterday amid allegations of fraud and a boycott by some of the country’s indigenous population.

The National Indigenous Congress (CNI), which describes itself as “anti-capitalist, from below and to the left,” warned that native Mexicans are being excluded from the political system.

Its candidiate Maria de Jesus Patricio Martinez,a Nahuatl woman known as Marichuy, was “excluded” from the ballot in May after she failed to gain the required number of signatures.

After that decision, CNI officials warned that they would not “look for or accept any alliance with any political party or candidate, nor call for voting or abstention” in yesterday’s election.

Official election campaign signs have been destroyed by residents in the state of Michocoan, while roadblocks have been set up to prevent government officials from delivering ballot boxes.

Election authorities declared that polling in 16 towns across the state was “unviable” as a result of the protests organised by the CNI, which is made up of groups from 43 indigenous nationalities.

The groups joined with the Zapatista Army for National Liberation in December 2016 to form the Indigenous Governing Council after a referendum approved by 523 communities in 25 Mexican states.

The council said it did not stand in elections to win votes but to “denounce Mexico’s entire political class and the capitalist system,” which it holds responsible for “the devastating violence, crumbling institutions, environmental destruction and thriving organised crime that now dominate Mexico.”

CNI spokesman Antonio Arriola warned: “The politicians haven’t done anything besides enriching themselves and they’ve left us behind,” as the towns of Aranza, Zopoco, Santa Fe de la Laguna, Sevina, Urapicho, San Felipe de Los Herreros, San Benito and Pichataro y Arantepaku announced that they would block election officials from entering.

Indigenous communities in the southern states of Chiapas and Guerrero also vowed to prevent authorities from establishing polling stations.

Despite the boycott, millions of Mexicans headed to the polls, with left-wing presidential candidate Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador the favourite, comfortably ahead of his closest rivals Jose Antonio Meade of the ruling Institutional Revolutionary Party and Ricardo Anaya of the National Action Party.

An international delegation has been in Mexico since Thursday to observe the elections amid allegations of fraud and corruption. 

The National Election Institute warned that over 20,000 ballots have been stolen across the country, with 1,770 intercepted in Oaxaca.