Carlos Loret de Mola has a great column today where he points out an irony of irony, history repeating itself etc - pick your cliché. Remember the 2005 desafuero, Vicente Fox' idiotic assault on AMLO which almost tore Mexican democracy apart?
AMLO was impeached ostensibly for contempt of the law, for failing to abide by a court order demanding that the city government cease building an access road to a local hospital in the Encinos area, close to Santa Fe.
Now, someone else is trying to do the very same thing, namely continuing opening up that road, which was never completed.... the PAN delegation chief of Cuajimalpa, Carlos Orvañanos!
Friday, July 15, 2011
Former Spanish prime minister Felipe González criticizes the Mexican left, sees return of PRI
When Felipe González speaks, most pay attention - the former (82-96) Spanish prime minister remains an acute political observer and analyst, also of things Mexican. González recently said he sees a PRI return to power in Mexico very likely, and also criticized the Mexican left for having wasted a chance to present a progressive and modern left platform for the 21st century.
I wish he were wrong on both accounts.
The PRD remains torn between what is certainly a very modern and progressive, socially liberal, social democratic sector, and another, tied to AMLO, that consists of a weird amalgam of "revolutionary nationalism" à la PRI in the 1970s, which is moreover quite socially conservative, and the ultraleft positions of some of his most radical followers.
As for 2012, Ebrard represents the first option, and Ebrard the latter.
I wish he were wrong on both accounts.
The PRD remains torn between what is certainly a very modern and progressive, socially liberal, social democratic sector, and another, tied to AMLO, that consists of a weird amalgam of "revolutionary nationalism" à la PRI in the 1970s, which is moreover quite socially conservative, and the ultraleft positions of some of his most radical followers.
As for 2012, Ebrard represents the first option, and Ebrard the latter.
Ebrard: No alliance with Gordillo or her PANAL party for 2012
Marcelo Ebrard maintained there will be no alliance with Elba Esther Gordillo and her PANAL party for 2012.
Recall that just a couple of days ago, Jorge Castañeda claimed, quite improbably, that Ebrard was Gordillo's first choice for 2012.
Recall that just a couple of days ago, Jorge Castañeda claimed, quite improbably, that Ebrard was Gordillo's first choice for 2012.
Thursday, July 14, 2011
How education mattered for vote choice in Mexico State, July 3
This image, based on a Mexico City exit poll on July 3 and courtesy of Parametría / Animal Político, is truly revealing: The graph below shows how education mattered for the vote choice:
 |
| Based on exit polls on July 3, 2011, Mexico State |
El País editorial: What the Spanish think of Enrique Peña Nieto
A recent editorial in the great Spanish newspaper El País that had gotten by me sums up Enrique Peña Nieto nicely:
For next year, the PRI, located in a vague center-left, could count as a candidate Enrique Peña Nieto, despite that some of the economic and social indicators of Mexico State are down in the ground. Peña Nieto has learned to adapt with great professionalism to the new times and the demands of television.As for practical results - he's been a big disappointment. The contrast with Marcelo Ebrard, who has been an excellent mayor of Mexico City, could hardly be greater.
Wednesday, July 13, 2011
Calderón: Gordillo had "no license to plunder"
Noteworthy language from President Felipe Calderón: Asked by a journalist on the political agreement that saw Elba Esther Gordillo appoint three top-level political positions in return for her electoral support on voting day, July 2 2006, he responded:
"This does not imply, and this is an important clarification, that there was a license to plunder these institutions"
"This does not imply, and this is an important clarification, that there was a license to plunder these institutions"
Arturo Valenzuela: PRI has changed
Arturo Valenzuela is nearing the end of not an exactly stellar tenure as Subsecretary for the Western Hemisphere - the U.S. State Department's highest diplomatic post for Latin America - and one might expect him to speak a bit more freely on a few subjects.
To a group of Mexican journalists, he gave his opinion of the PRI:
"I do not agree with the idea that here there is a party of dinosaurs... Frankly, I see renovation in the PRI. I see new sectors. I see new people. One has done an enormous effort to try to modernize the party."
As for his analysis, I couldn't disagree more. What "modernization" have we seen in the PRI, when the "new" faces of Humberto Moreira, Eruviel Ávila, Enrique Peña Nieto etc, merely continue exactly the same clientelistic and authoritarian practices of the "old" PRI?
What a parting gift to the PRI! Thanks for nothing, Arturo.
To a group of Mexican journalists, he gave his opinion of the PRI:
"I do not agree with the idea that here there is a party of dinosaurs... Frankly, I see renovation in the PRI. I see new sectors. I see new people. One has done an enormous effort to try to modernize the party."
As for his analysis, I couldn't disagree more. What "modernization" have we seen in the PRI, when the "new" faces of Humberto Moreira, Eruviel Ávila, Enrique Peña Nieto etc, merely continue exactly the same clientelistic and authoritarian practices of the "old" PRI?
What a parting gift to the PRI! Thanks for nothing, Arturo.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)