Embarrassing picture of the day: Why AMLO's anti-alliance stance on "principles" ring hollow

That's the front cover Proceso magazine, March 7, 1999. "López Obrador: If in any primary Fox would win, I would vote for him." It refers to the talks between PAN and PRD to present a common presidential candidate ahead of 2000. AMLO, then PRD president, was clearly quite positive to the idea, which obviously undermines his and his backers' argument that their opposition to any PRD-PAN state alliances today are particularly principled.

Well, one might respond, this was about the  2000 election, where the opposition wanted to end a 71-year old rule of the PRI - surely this is different than today's situation? Yes, that's correct - but in that 1) we are not talking of the national level, but on a state-level alliance, and 2) in Mexico State, the pro-alliance forces within the two parties want to end what is now an uninterrupted 82-year long reign of the PRI, which in this state has used any means at its disposal to cling to power, and will almost inevitably succeed again in doing so if the PRD-PAN alliance fails.

There are many valid arguments, and many less so, why AMLO and his backers oppose a PRD-PAN alliance. But principled their opposition is not.

CSIS again off in analysis of the Mexican left

Duncan Wood of Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) analyses the PRD's potential 2012 presidential candidates, and get much right, though I take somewhat issue with his presentation of the two main camps within the PRD as the "center" vs. "more radical ideological" faction: I maintain that the issue is not so much about ideology, certainly not in left-right terms, as Ortega et al in many ways are more left than AMLO, but one of conception of the PRD - movement vs. party,the role of leadership, discourse, methods, tactics, strategies - but not chiefly about ideology.

Regardless: What I think is beyond interpretation is Wood's statement that "AMLO has said that he will not run for the presidency in 2012, and instead will throw his support behind Ebrard."

This is just plain wrong. To be frank, you must have truly been living under a rock not to have heard AMLO's countless pronunciations that he is indeed going for 2012; the first "official" declaration was his much-publicized July 2010 rally in the Zocalo, and he has repeated it ever since.

Human rights reform now passed in both houses

The Mexican Chamber of Deputies on Wednesday approved, in a remarkable 310-0 vote, a series of human rights reforms passed by the Senate (106-0) on March 8.

The reform elevates human rights to constitutional rank, and prohibits any discrimination based on ethnic origin, gender, age, disability, social condition, health, religion, and  sexual orientation (a gorup of PAN Senators tried to remove this part, but were rejected), and the reform has been hailed by the UN's Mexico office.

It also gives more power to Mexico's Human Rights Commission (CNDH), including the right to investigate cases of grave human rights violations, which until now has rested with the Supreme Court.

Also, no longer can a foreigner/immigrant be expelled from Mexico without the right to a proper hearing.

As this is a Constitutional reform, it must now be passed by half+1 of Mexico's states, which very unlikely will be a problem.

In sum: A great step forward.

PRI is anti-alliance - except from their own, signed yesterday

The PRI, the Green Party (PVEM), and Nueva Alianza (PANAL) formalized their electoral alliance - yes, alliance - ahead of the July 3 gubernatorial election in Mexico State. 


Does it get more hypocritical than this? This is the same PRI, to recall, that under Enrique Peña Nieto has done everything in its power - altering electoral law, government propaganda, likening it to organized crime - to block a PRD-PAN alliance, tagging said alliance as "unnatural" and the like. 


In PRI-PVEM-PANAL's defense, the three parties do indeed have quite a bit in common: They are highly opportunistic vehicles, vacuous of any serious programmatic convictions, where trying to grasp a hold of their ideology is akin to reaching into a bowl of jelly. 


Jesús Zambrano, new PRD leader, pointedly asked if PRI, which has attacked the "ideological incongruence" of a PRD-PAN alliance, also agrees with the Green Party's main campaign issue of reinstating the death penalty in Mexico, or with the absolute chiefdom of Elba Esther Gordillo over PANAL and the SNTE teacher union. 

Picture from Milenio. Pure ideological and programmatic congruence, mind you.