PRD reacts to AMLO's "leave of absence"; AMLO would "step aside" for Ebrard

PRD rejected AMLO's request from a "leave of absence" - so that he can again campaign for other parties to the detriment of PRD - and quite logically so, as this mechanism simply doesn't exist in the party statutes. The party openly lamented AMLO's decision and asked that he reconsider, as many leading members also criticized the decision. National deputy Jesús Zambrano put it most starkly:

"If he doesn't want to serve in the party, then say so clearly, and don't go around with ambiguities... It seems like the desire of Andrés Manuel is that the PRD is under his command, or otherwise he won't help the party. Either he has a party at his liking, or he won't be in the PRD... why don't he say it clearly." 

(In the PRD, notably, its national political commission also voted in favor, 9 to 3, of having the poll in Mexico State over the possible PAN-PRD alliance, which AMLO adamantly opposes).

Cuauhtémoc Cárdenas, PRD's founder and once-political godfather of AMLO, also opposed the move.
Notably, though, AMLO did not succeed in his plan to have Alejandro Encinas do the same thing; Encinas' respect for the party is supremely higher than that of AMLO. While I doubt that an imminent AMLO-Encinas break is imminent, this is nonetheless highly significant: Should Encinas leave as well, the party would receive a truly tremendous blow.

Finally, Marcelo Ebrard also lamented AMLO's move, as it clearly will damage the party, and emphasized the importance of a single 2012 presidential candidacy for the left. In an interview, AMLO did declare, though, that if Ebrard will become the PRD's candidate, he would not only accept it, but to campaign for him.

I find that very, very hard to believe.