It's a classic story: María Elena Orantes López is a senator, and was until recently a prominent member of the PRI - until that party denied her the nomination to be its gubernatorial candidate in Chiapas.
The left stepped in, negotiated, and Manuel Camacho Solís, coordinator of the PRD-PT-MC-MORENA electoral alliance, just announced her candidacy for the left coalition to be 2012-18 governor of Chiapas..
The mayor of Tuxtla Gutiérrez, Yassir Vázquez (PRD) is not happy. He was also the delfín of current governor Juan Sabines (also an ex-PRI member recruited by the left when, you got it, he, too, was denied its nomination in 2006), and need to be awarded some kind of consolation price.
Given that the PRI is also in turmoil in Chiapas for much of the same reasons, Orantes stands a good chance of winning, and was also strongly backed by AMLO, who noted her alleged progressive record as Senator.
We'll see.
Friday, February 10, 2012
Three million more poor in three years
What a damning indictment of PAN and Calderón's social and economic policies: According to CONEVAL, there are now 3.2 million poor in Mexico when compared with 2008. Mexico's indigenous are particularly hard hit:
Josefina Vázquez Mota is running, much like Calderón in 2006, on a campaign of continuity with PAN's policies. For the poor of Mexico, that is a terrible choice.
Of the indigenous population, 40.5% have nutritional deficiencies, exacerbated by their condition of marginality and exclusion.See CONEVAL's full report here.
Josefina Vázquez Mota is running, much like Calderón in 2006, on a campaign of continuity with PAN's policies. For the poor of Mexico, that is a terrible choice.
Wednesday, February 8, 2012
2012 election: It could hardly be more fascinating
I venture the 2012 election is even more exciting and interesting and possibly consequential than 2000:
* It could be the return of the PRI, a dreadful scenario
* It could be the victory of Mexico's first women president, a remarkable historic development
* It could be the first victory of the left in Mexico's history, also a remarkable achievement
I rank these in reverse preference order, and instead in order of likelihood.
Yet things are far more open now than I ever thought imaginable when 2011 rang out.
* It could be the return of the PRI, a dreadful scenario
* It could be the victory of Mexico's first women president, a remarkable historic development
* It could be the first victory of the left in Mexico's history, also a remarkable achievement
I rank these in reverse preference order, and instead in order of likelihood.
Yet things are far more open now than I ever thought imaginable when 2011 rang out.
Cárdenas strongly backs AMLO - and gay marriage!
Now this is what I call a remarkable evolution, and for both parties involved.
First, hats off to Cuauhtémoc Cárdenas: In his manifest "A Mexico for all," he comes strongly out in favor of gay rights, including marriage and adoption, as well as reproductive rights for women. Bravo! The evolution of Cárdenas toward the agenda of the modern, international and socially liberal left is very welcome, and speaks volumes of this man's character.
Yet there is more: It is news in itself that AMLO and Cárdenas meet, given the bitter and likely consequential fights between them in the past (Had they been resolved in 2006, for instance, AMLO might now be president). They just did for the presentation of Cárdenas' project (available here), where the three-time presidential candidate now came out strongly in favor of AMLO's candidacy.
Yet then AMLO actually declares he supports Cárdenas' manifest, including all said socially liberal issues. This is nothing short of remarkable, given that AMLO has long been quite conservative on the social front, never touching the abortion issue and moreover operating actively against gay marriage in Mexico City (details to follow in my upcoming book).
Let's repeat it, as it begs so: AMLO declares in favor of promoting abortion rights and gay rights for his presidential campaign.
And a remarkable photo of left unity:
In terms of left evolution and left unity, the importance of these developments should not be understated. As Joe Biden would put it, it's a...
First, hats off to Cuauhtémoc Cárdenas: In his manifest "A Mexico for all," he comes strongly out in favor of gay rights, including marriage and adoption, as well as reproductive rights for women. Bravo! The evolution of Cárdenas toward the agenda of the modern, international and socially liberal left is very welcome, and speaks volumes of this man's character.
Yet there is more: It is news in itself that AMLO and Cárdenas meet, given the bitter and likely consequential fights between them in the past (Had they been resolved in 2006, for instance, AMLO might now be president). They just did for the presentation of Cárdenas' project (available here), where the three-time presidential candidate now came out strongly in favor of AMLO's candidacy.
Yet then AMLO actually declares he supports Cárdenas' manifest, including all said socially liberal issues. This is nothing short of remarkable, given that AMLO has long been quite conservative on the social front, never touching the abortion issue and moreover operating actively against gay marriage in Mexico City (details to follow in my upcoming book).
Let's repeat it, as it begs so: AMLO declares in favor of promoting abortion rights and gay rights for his presidential campaign.
And a remarkable photo of left unity:
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| Terra |
In terms of left evolution and left unity, the importance of these developments should not be understated. As Joe Biden would put it, it's a...
Another politician with no shame: Zeferino Torreblanca,
Zeferino Torreblanca Galindo was a professional politician for the PRD from 1992 until 2010, despite never bothering to become a member of the party. When he failed to have his chosen successor imposed as the PRD candidate in 2010, he very publicly broke with the party, which he referred to as "bandits, mercenaries, poisoners."
His abysmal administration is currently being audited.
Yet Torreblanca - to recall, a former governor - is hardly done with politics, and now aims for the mayorship of Acapulco - for the PAN.
PAN is almost non-existent in Guerrero, and apparently they see in Torreblanca the possibility to make inroads in the state, yet given his unpopularity I doubt he'll stand a chance - and only serve to label the Guerrero PAN as highly opportunistic.
His abysmal administration is currently being audited.
Yet Torreblanca - to recall, a former governor - is hardly done with politics, and now aims for the mayorship of Acapulco - for the PAN.
PAN is almost non-existent in Guerrero, and apparently they see in Torreblanca the possibility to make inroads in the state, yet given his unpopularity I doubt he'll stand a chance - and only serve to label the Guerrero PAN as highly opportunistic.
The Rick Santorum of Guanajuato
Here's a profile of Miguel Márquez Márquez, who won the PAN's primary to be its candidate for governor in Guanajuato, a stronghold for the party it is highly expected to win.
Márquez Márquez, a member of the far-right catholic Yunque and a staunch social conservative, is essentially the Santorum Santorum of Guanajuato.
Márquez Márquez, a member of the far-right catholic Yunque and a staunch social conservative, is essentially the Santorum Santorum of Guanajuato.
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