The once-powerful Mexico City Secretary of Social Development Martí Batres Guadarrama will likely leave the government of the Distrito Federal headed by Marcelo Ebrard in near future. After Ebrard made it tacitly (or not so tacitly) clear that Batres would not be the next Chief of Government of Mexico City, Ebrard stepped up his activism and participation of AMLO events. Ebrard retaliated by taking away several responsibilities from Batres' portfolio.
Batres is one of the top leaders of Izquierda Social, a social-movement oriented offshoot of the IDN, led by the Bejarano couple, and represents the most radical wing of the PRD - not necessary radical in terms of left/right, but radical as in having absolutely no respect for institutions, preferring to storm the Congress podium and engage in fistfights to seek to block legislation from being passed. Now, Batres has stepped up his criticisms of the PAN-PRD alliances, which are backed by Marcelo Ebrard, to the point of participating in AMLO's barnstorming of Mexico State to oppose them. Expect him to be replaced soon.
Showing posts with label Izquierda Social (IS). Show all posts
Showing posts with label Izquierda Social (IS). Show all posts
Tuesday, October 12, 2010
Wednesday, September 8, 2010
AMLO will seek to retake control of the PRD this weekend
Despite having failed to have Alejandro Encinas elected as PRD president in 2008 - a cochinero that took 8 months to resolve, and nearly tore the PRD apart - AMLO is going again on the offensive to retake control of the PRD, through calling upon his followers, loyalists or opportunists alike, to kick out the national PRD leadership.
This weekend, the movement-advocates within the PRD - those who are often labeled as "radicals," yet who like AMLO are often socially conservative and want the PRD to remain intimately tied to AMLO - are launching a direct attack on the leadership of Jesús Ortega and his social democratic Nueva Izquierda faction, which currently controls the party.
Eight corrientes have signed on to a declaration that calls for Ortega to step down in December 2010, but that also attacks the recent alliances with PAN. Judging by the statements of some, the goal is also to simply have Ortega ousted as leader this weekend.
Ortega, to recall, only started his 3-year presidency in December 2008 and his three-year term would then end in 2012. More important still, party disunity and yet another harrowing internal fight - the 2008 internal election took eighth months to resolve, and nearly destroyed the party - is simply the last thing the PRD needs. Especially given the hugely important elections in Guerrero and above all Mexico State next year, it seems hard to fathom that Ortega's opponents are going on the war path. Yet this infighting can only be understood from the logic of movement-advococates: While Ortega and Nueva Izquierda, along with his principal ally Alianza Democrática Nacional (ADN), seek to build an institutionalized organization autonomous of its old strongman, AMLO and the movement-advocates want the PRD to remain a loose movement-like party that is chiefly a tool at the disposal of a "cause," which, it is now clear, remains AMLO's presidential bid. Amazingly, AMLO and the movement-advocates are willing to risk yet another brutal internal party war by launching their nth attack on Ortega.
This weekend, the movement-advocates within the PRD - those who are often labeled as "radicals," yet who like AMLO are often socially conservative and want the PRD to remain intimately tied to AMLO - are launching a direct attack on the leadership of Jesús Ortega and his social democratic Nueva Izquierda faction, which currently controls the party.
Eight corrientes have signed on to a declaration that calls for Ortega to step down in December 2010, but that also attacks the recent alliances with PAN. Judging by the statements of some, the goal is also to simply have Ortega ousted as leader this weekend.
Ortega, to recall, only started his 3-year presidency in December 2008 and his three-year term would then end in 2012. More important still, party disunity and yet another harrowing internal fight - the 2008 internal election took eighth months to resolve, and nearly destroyed the party - is simply the last thing the PRD needs. Especially given the hugely important elections in Guerrero and above all Mexico State next year, it seems hard to fathom that Ortega's opponents are going on the war path. Yet this infighting can only be understood from the logic of movement-advococates: While Ortega and Nueva Izquierda, along with his principal ally Alianza Democrática Nacional (ADN), seek to build an institutionalized organization autonomous of its old strongman, AMLO and the movement-advocates want the PRD to remain a loose movement-like party that is chiefly a tool at the disposal of a "cause," which, it is now clear, remains AMLO's presidential bid. Amazingly, AMLO and the movement-advocates are willing to risk yet another brutal internal party war by launching their nth attack on Ortega.
Yet while eight corrientes or internal party factions have signed on to the war document against its leadership, they do not appear to have the votes: Only IDN, led nominally by Dolores Padierna but de facto by her disgraced husband René Bejarano, has a significant number of councilors, but all the others, including Izquierda Social of Martí Batres, who holds the powerful portfolio of secretary of social development in Mexico City, and Red de Unidad Nacional de las Izquierdas (RUNI), which was recently launched by AMLO ultraloyalist Alejandro Encinas and also attracts some old cardenistas, have still very little presence on the PRD's National Council, and it seems doubtful they will get the 160 or so votes required to oust Ortega.
Miguel Borbosa, who took over as national coordinator of Nueva Izquierda after Jesús Zambrano, in turn, accused some of the Ortega opponents within PRD to be tied to Enrique Peña Nieto. To be sure, should Ortega be ousted, the PAN-PRD alliance in Mexico State will tumble, and Peña Nieto is almost certain to have a priísta succeed him as governor of Mexico State. As such, Peña Nieto can only hope that Andrés Manuel López Obrador's attack on Ortega will be successful. Regardless, expect quite a ruckus this weekend.
Tuesday, August 31, 2010
Alejandra Barrales declares her candidacy for Mexico City... of sorts.
Alejandra Barrales, the flight attendant-cum-leader of the legislative assembly in the federal district (ALDF), announced during her report on the activities of the ALDF that she had "an aspiration, an aspiration that many of those here share with me; you know very well, because you know me, that I will work incessantly to achieve this aspiration." While likely the entire crowd took the message to be her declaration for candidacy, she then meekly added, "my aspiration is that in this city we can guarantee the right of every citizen to happiness." If Barrales didn't have the guts to take it all out - the field for candidates is getting quite crowded already - consider it at the very least a feeler, from a very likely candidate who is moreover one of AMLO's favorites for the position as chief of Mexico City.
Barrales, a member of the more radical Izquierda Social faction of the PRD, has held a range of public positions, from secretary general of the union of airline attendants (ASSA) to federal deputy to secretary of tourism in Ebrard's government to president of the PRD in Mexico City to now head of the ALDF. She has hardly excelled in any of these positions.
Barrales, a member of the more radical Izquierda Social faction of the PRD, has held a range of public positions, from secretary general of the union of airline attendants (ASSA) to federal deputy to secretary of tourism in Ebrard's government to president of the PRD in Mexico City to now head of the ALDF. She has hardly excelled in any of these positions.
Wednesday, July 21, 2010
Who will lead the PRD after Ortega?
It seems like only months ago that Jesús Ortega was finally granted the party presidency of the PRD, after a ruling by TEPJF, the electoral tribunal. The party election was amazingly held by mass vote by the party base, even though every single election through this mechanism has led to a disaster, and particularly since the party by 2008 was more bitterly divided than at any point in history. My heart sinks just thinking the thought that the next election might in the end be held by this manner again.
It is my opinion that the PRD´s disastrous electoral result in 2009 was hardly the fault of Ortega, but rather of the refusal of his internal party opponents to accept his leadership and instead continue their "friendly" fire, and of AMLO´s decision to turn his back on his old party and campaign for the PT and Convergencia in that year's federal mid-term election.
This article in El Universal gives a decent run-down of some of the frontrunners, yet I digress strongly with its warning against trying out the proposed new method of electing party president, namely by a 60% supermajority in the PRD's national council. First, given the many cochineros of internal elections in the past, isn't it worth trying? How many times shall one keep doing the same thing and expect a different result? As for the internal division in the PRD I believe it remains as strong as ever, and now a new fault line as well is adding to the others, namely whether to push for AMLO in 2012 or not. And so what if this means the corrientes will need to pact a majority agreement? Isn´t that exactly the point? The andresmanuelistas has again and again showed they are terribly poor losers that generally tend to refuse to accept losses, particularly within PRD's own institution. This might serve to keep them on, rather than a zero-sum pro-AMLO or a pro-Nueva Izquierda president. Moreover, a supermajority requirement would be (somewhat) akin to a version of parliamentarism, which many in the PRD has long advocated.
The post also mentions Dolores Padierna as a possible candidate. It is my opionion that if Padierna, wife of the infamous René Bejarano, gets control of the PRD, the party is truly doomed. No one has done more to sow internal party division and create bad blood than the people of the corriente IDN, which, to recycle an overused saying,is hardly of the left but socially conservative and stalinist (I for izquierda), certainly not internally democratic but lead with an iron hand by Bejarano/Padierna (D for democrática), and hardly national (N for nacional), as its main strength lies with the clientelistic networks maintained by Bejarano in Mexico City. Only Nueva Izquierda, of Ortega et al, has proven capable, or rather, bothered to build a national organization. Padierna yet again recently called for Ortega to step down, demonstrating yet again IDN's failure to accept its loss.
One candidate that is not mentioned is Michoacán Governor Leonel Godoy. Every single perredista in the upper echelons of the PRD that I´ve talked to have been full of praise for Godoy´s 2003-2005 interim presidency of the PRD following the utter disastrous presidency of Rosario Robles. The contrast to his successor Leonel Cota, who was regarded as completely subservient to AMLO, was also remarkable.
He could again be somewhat of a, for lack of better word, "unity" candidate.
Yo voy con Godoy.
It is my opinion that the PRD´s disastrous electoral result in 2009 was hardly the fault of Ortega, but rather of the refusal of his internal party opponents to accept his leadership and instead continue their "friendly" fire, and of AMLO´s decision to turn his back on his old party and campaign for the PT and Convergencia in that year's federal mid-term election.
This article in El Universal gives a decent run-down of some of the frontrunners, yet I digress strongly with its warning against trying out the proposed new method of electing party president, namely by a 60% supermajority in the PRD's national council. First, given the many cochineros of internal elections in the past, isn't it worth trying? How many times shall one keep doing the same thing and expect a different result? As for the internal division in the PRD I believe it remains as strong as ever, and now a new fault line as well is adding to the others, namely whether to push for AMLO in 2012 or not. And so what if this means the corrientes will need to pact a majority agreement? Isn´t that exactly the point? The andresmanuelistas has again and again showed they are terribly poor losers that generally tend to refuse to accept losses, particularly within PRD's own institution. This might serve to keep them on, rather than a zero-sum pro-AMLO or a pro-Nueva Izquierda president. Moreover, a supermajority requirement would be (somewhat) akin to a version of parliamentarism, which many in the PRD has long advocated.
The post also mentions Dolores Padierna as a possible candidate. It is my opionion that if Padierna, wife of the infamous René Bejarano, gets control of the PRD, the party is truly doomed. No one has done more to sow internal party division and create bad blood than the people of the corriente IDN, which, to recycle an overused saying,is hardly of the left but socially conservative and stalinist (I for izquierda), certainly not internally democratic but lead with an iron hand by Bejarano/Padierna (D for democrática), and hardly national (N for nacional), as its main strength lies with the clientelistic networks maintained by Bejarano in Mexico City. Only Nueva Izquierda, of Ortega et al, has proven capable, or rather, bothered to build a national organization. Padierna yet again recently called for Ortega to step down, demonstrating yet again IDN's failure to accept its loss.
One candidate that is not mentioned is Michoacán Governor Leonel Godoy. Every single perredista in the upper echelons of the PRD that I´ve talked to have been full of praise for Godoy´s 2003-2005 interim presidency of the PRD following the utter disastrous presidency of Rosario Robles. The contrast to his successor Leonel Cota, who was regarded as completely subservient to AMLO, was also remarkable.
He could again be somewhat of a, for lack of better word, "unity" candidate.
Yo voy con Godoy.
Tuesday, July 20, 2010
Leftist sectarianism a la mexicana
Gerardo Fernández Noroña is at it again. The rambunctious former spokesman for the PRD, who bailed his old party when his favored candidate Alejandro Encinas failed to win the party presidency in 2008, is a living manifestation of the sectarianism of the Mexican left. Now a diputado for PT, Noroña appearently threatened to "expose" what he claims to be shady property deals by PRD Vice Coordinator Guadalupe Acosta Naranjo, if the PRD supports a proposal for a general value-added tax.
(Acosta Naranjo, to recall, is a noted member of Nueva Izquierda, the faction that currently controls the PRD's national secretariat).
Beyond the accusations itself, which I find highly dubious given Noroña's credetials, what happened to the calls for unity on the Mexican left?
La Jornada puts its usual pro-AMLO, pro-Encinas, anti-Nueva Izquierda spin on the issue.
Yes, value-added tax on its own is regressive taxation that hurts the poor more than the rich, but the point is exactly what the added revenue generated by the IVA is used for. If it is used for extensive social programs, the whole picture changes regarding whether IVA is truly a "tax on the poor." Don't expect Noroña to capture this anytime soon.
(Acosta Naranjo, to recall, is a noted member of Nueva Izquierda, the faction that currently controls the PRD's national secretariat).
Beyond the accusations itself, which I find highly dubious given Noroña's credetials, what happened to the calls for unity on the Mexican left?
La Jornada puts its usual pro-AMLO, pro-Encinas, anti-Nueva Izquierda spin on the issue.
Yes, value-added tax on its own is regressive taxation that hurts the poor more than the rich, but the point is exactly what the added revenue generated by the IVA is used for. If it is used for extensive social programs, the whole picture changes regarding whether IVA is truly a "tax on the poor." Don't expect Noroña to capture this anytime soon.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)