Mario Delgado steps down from Mexico City mayor contest

Long regarded the dauphin of Mexico City Mayor Marcelo Ebrard, education secretary Mario Delgado nonetheless stepped down from the contest yesterday, having failed to gain much traction, and in doing so, clearing the path further for Miguel Mancera, the city's popular attorney general-procurator.

I am currently in Mexico City and can't help but note how electoral law is being quite shamelessly flouted by pretty much every one of the many candidates to be the left's mayor, in spirit at the very least. It is unfortunately quite understandable, as the left coalition will decide its candidate by a poll - which is to a large extent about name recognition for many at this stage. What better way to get your name known than plastering your posters all over the city, "giving" interviews that will get you on the front cover of news magazines, or holding well-publicized informes or speeches on the results of your (secretariat, legislative, etc) work.

Also, a lot of exhortations to denounce illegal behavior of all sorts to "www.tuprocu.mx" or "your attorney general." Sure, it's a great idea to bring the office and services of the city's attorney general closer to the people; it is also an excellent way to publicize what you do.

Count on Mancera snapping the nomination, and to likely be the mayor of Mexico City 2012-2018.

Update: Mancera stepped down from the government to pursue the candidacy.

Beatriz Paredes, PRI's candidate for Mexico City mayor in 2012

It's been long known that former PRI president Beatriz Paredes Rangel has had her eyes on her party's nomination to be the mayor of Mexico City, and yesterday she came out and officially declared her intentions.

Note that she ran as well in 2006 against Ebrard, when she came in third.

Ironically, given PAN's difficulties in finding a decent candidate, it seems that its 2012 candidate will be Demetrio Sodi, who also ran in 2006 and then came in second.

Ebrard, as the rumor mill has it, is going back and forth between Mario Delgado and Miguel Mancera - secretary of education and attorney general of Mexico City, respectively.

Mario Delgado: Ebrard's favorite to be next Mexico City mayor

Technically it was only an event in "defense of education," so Mario Delgado's presence was quite natural given his position as education secretary in Mexico City. Yet given that his boss Marcelo Ebrard was there as well (the two arrived together, doing the hand-shaking pasarela together), along with key PRD elites such as Jesús Ortega and even historic leftwing leaders such as Salvador Martínez della Rocca , this is about as close to a formal endorsement by Ebrard of Delgado as his favored successor as it gets.

Martínez della Rocca, a 1968 student leader and political prisoner, referred to Ebrard as "chingón" - essentially, "fucking great." There you have it.

Senator Carlos Navarrete, a rival for the nomination, has recently stepped up his criticism of Ebrard, and won't be very happy about yesterday's event