A bit of gossip on a likely 2018 contender: Rafael Moreno Valle

From Templo Mayor, the political "gossip" column in the Reforma newspaper:

QUÉ QUISQUILLOSO resultó el poblano Rafael Moreno Valle. EN SU VISITA a Tehuacán dejó muy mala impresión entre los organizadores de la tradicional matanza de chivos. Y ES QUE el gobernador primero no quería bailar, pese a que es la tradición. Luego su equipo exigió que no le dieran fruta ni comida cruda y, además, les advirtió que no tenía pensado realizar el típico brindis a pico de botella. DIJERON que Moreno Valle sí probaría el famoso mole de caderas, que se prepara precisamente en esta fiesta, pero sólo sin jitomate. Y, PARA REMATAR, su gente preguntó si el chivo desprendía olores intensos, a lo que los matanceros contestaron que sí, que normalmente los chivos huelen... ¡a chivo! ENTONCES los colaboradores del mandatario solicitaron que le pusieran algo a los animales porque a Moreno Valle le disgusta el mal olor. Pues les hubiera dado una rociada de su perfume, caray.

This is simply priceless.

On a more serious note, here is a very critical Proceso article (open access) on Moreno Valle, pointing out his very strained relationship with the media - critical media, that is.

I am on of those who saw his election to Puebla governor a major qualitative leap forward, given the end of the PRI reign and specifically that of pederast/rapist-protector Mario Marín, a man I still dream of seeing thrown in prison if only Moreno Valle could summon the courage. Yet with antics like this, it is hard to have even the slightest amount of appreciation of the Puebla governor, who dreams of being PAN's 2018 candidate.

Manlio Fabio Beltrones: NO to privatization of PEMEX

In what can be regarded a pretty direct reply to Enrique Peña Nieto's recent call for opening up the national oil company PEMEX to private capital, here is Manlio Fabio Beltrones, still a contender for PRI's 2012 nomination: It should develop, yes, but "without even a drop of oil passing into private and even less, foreign
hands"

The somewhat antiquated nationalistic bluster aside  - nobody is suggesting selling off PEMEX, but rather opening up for private investments in areas where it has little capacity, such as deep-see non-horizontal drilling - it is notable that Beltrones chose to jump right on top of this one to distance himself from Peña Nieto. Will we really have a genuine fight over the 2012 PRI candidacy, or is Beltrones merely trying to extract a higher price for declining?

Governor candidate debate held in Michoacán - no knock outs

The three candidates to be governor of Michoacán held their first and only debate yesterday. I haven't gone through full footage yet (available here), but it appears that none of the candidates landed any knock-out blow.

The most pathetic moment appears to be PRI's Fausto Vallejo Figueroa's comments that he is already thinking about what to ask the next president for (in his judgment, Enrique Peña Nieto) for, in other words launching a "vote for me because I'll be on better terms with the national president" argument.
It hardly inspires too much confidence in his own plans, which very vague and banal: "recover the well being,"  "reconciliation," and so forth

Luisa María Calderón, the president's sister, proposed fusing the state attorney general with the secretariat of public security, to create a unified Secretary of Justice.

Silvano Aureoles Conejo, of the PRD, proposed a secretariat of citizen participation, and to strengthen the state Auditor's office.

AMLO offers truce with Mexican media

Quite notably, Andrés Manuel López Obrador (AMLO) met for almost an hour with the Cámara Nacional de la Industria de Radio y Televisión (CIRT), or the Mexican chamber of the TV and radio industry.

AMLO emphasized that he was not looking for revenge, only equitable treatment for the 2012 contest, and that he would not withdraw concessions or expropriate any media.

AMLO has had hostile relations with CIRT for years, and for good reasons: The media conglomerates were behind much 'swift-boat'-style propaganda in 2006, and have rallied behind Enrique Peña Nieto of the PRI. Yet given that AMLO until very recently directly signaled CIRT as part of the "power mafia," the peace pipe proposal does ring a tad hollow.