In a mass meeting at the Zócalo today, AMLO dispensed with any ambiguity and declared he is a candidate for 2012.
He has every right to, to be sure, and his "Legitimate Government" ad its 2-3 million or so adherents clearly forms the basis of a mass electoral movement.
I remember clearly two years ago when he and other members of this outfit explicitly denied that the members of the Legitimate Government would ever form the basis of an electoral movement. Clearly this was false. He either had a change of heart or intended so from the very beginning - it's hard to tell.
Regardless, while he has a democratic right to be a candidate, it does not speak well of AMLO that he is not a man of his word. In his recent book, as well as on countless other occasions, he declared he would not seek power for the sake of power, but rather decline in favor of a "better positioned" candidate, if one existed. This has now been proven an utter lie.
Rather than sticking to the deal, it is now clear that AMLO´s project is about one man: himself. To hell with anyone else; he is the only one capable of salvaging Mexico. The many posters carried by his supporters that stated, "Only the people can save the people," really mean: Only AMLO can save the people. And he would therefore completely risk splitting the left vote in the process.
From the first speeches by state representatives of the Legitimate Government to the many signs around the Zócalo, it was clear this was the launching of his candidacy.
The antipathy toward the PRD leadership was clear. When some of the speakers mentioned the "Chuchos" (Jésus Ortega and Zambrano, leaders of the majority faction that now controls the PRD), many were booing. While the Convergencia and PT leaders were up there with AMLO, as far as I could see no one from the PRD
His speech was pretty much a rehash of his "Alternative Proyect for the Nation" from the previous campaign, slightly updated. Of new proposals was to democratically elect Supreme Court Judges, and there was also a focus on "moral values" and of the family.
The latter drew my thoughts to Roger Bartra´s earlier characterization of AMLO as a conservative populist
Well, now we know. AMLO broke his earlier promises and has now launched his campaign for 2012 without waiting for anyone else. The next question will be: When and in what matter will he leave the PRD.
