For all those who might have harbored a suspicion that AMLO might be bluffing - he never does - with his earlier announcement that he would back a separate candidate in the upcoming Mexico State gubernatorial election, Sunday's rally in Toluca should lay these doubts to rest. Having completed yet another tour of Mexico State's 124 municipalities, the last one remaining was the state capital. Here, in front of a crowd of thousands of supporters, he announced his candidate will be chosen by a "poll." As it stands, the four choices appear to be Horacio Duarte (PRD), Alejandro Gertz Manero (Convergencia), Yeidckol Polenvsky (PRD), and Óscar González Yáñez (PT). The chosen one will need to literally sign on to AMLO's program - talk about candidate independence! - that he has deemed "10 Commitments." They are:
• Promote job creation
• Establish unemployment insurance
• Loans and grants for rural producers
• Meal centers/eateries
• Universal pension to elderly
• Medical care to people without social security
• Scholarships to students from poor education
• Construction and improvement of housing in deprived areas
• Programme of public services in poor neighborhoods
• Better roads and construction of three subway lines
As soon as the candidate is chosen - and this could be by opinion poll, a primary, or, in AMLO's conception of democracy, a public plebiscite of hand-raising - AMLO will hit the road again for another round of Mexico State's 125 municipalities. He is truly putting everything in this fight against his old party, and clearly believes that should a PAN-PRD candidacy, to which he is utterly opposed, come out winning, his chances at the 2012 presidency are shot.
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