Sunday, July 15, 2012

El País to Mexico's left: Drop AMLO

An editorial in Spain's El País offers a straightforward recommendation to Mexico's left:
The Mexican left has been failing since 1988 in its attempt to win the presidency. Lópese Obrador's brethrhen the time seems to have come to ask whether they should follow a twice-defeated leader prone to conspiratorial victimhood, and whose abrasive and stagnant style has alienated a part of its natural vote. Obrador is a drag.

Source:
Obrador es un lastre. El País, July 15, 2012.

2 comments:

  1. Big fan of your blog and I'm interested to hear your opinion on Marcelo as PRD candidate in 2018... How do you envisage him pitching himself and ultimately what kind of president would he make? AMLO has generally alienated the business elite and mainstream media over the years. Would Marcelo face similar problems given that the majority of the media in Mexico is unbearably right-wing?
    I've also found that Marcelo is not particularly well-known outside of D.F whereas AMLO had support nationwide. Can Marcelo - who doesn't really have that "earthy, man of the people" vibe of AMLO - really reach out to the PRD's traditional support?
    Thanks

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  2. Many thanks for kind words - not sure if you'll receive any replies as you appears as "Anonymous," but in short: Ebrard may not bring out all the hardcore AMLO voters, but his potential to reach the middle classes and the center vote is vastly higher. He has as well excellent relations with the business community, and remember that his successor in Mexico City won far more votes than AMLO. I don't think he would face a smear/blackout from the serious newspapers, but television is indeed a challenge - though they are also ultra-pragmatic and will go with any winner, be it PRD, PAN, PRI.

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