Senator Graco Ramírez (PRD), the man who in 1988 introduced AMLO to Cárdenas (when the latter sought to recruit him to run as opposition candidate to PRI as governor of Tabasco), will himself finally be the candidate of the left to be governor of Morelos, it was announced yesterday
Ramírez stands a pretty good chance, both thanks to the relative strength of the PRD apparatus there, and due to his own popularity within Morelos. Suerte.
Update: Interview here
Saturday, February 11, 2012
Friday, February 10, 2012
Profiles of Josefina Vázquez Mota, The Guardian
A Josefina Vázquez Mota profile in The Guardian (by Luis Hernández Navarro, opinion editor of La Jornada) is well worth a read. It draws attention to traits pretty much ignored the past days, such a quite worrisome one:
Her religious zeal.
Also, from the very sharp Shannon O'Neil, a profile in Foreign Affairs.My only quibble is that while she notes the PAN candidate has "substantial political experience," she could also have dug a bit more to note that she has, either in government or as a federal deputy, achieved very, very little.
Indeed, except from a public spat with Elba Esther Gordillo, I can't hardly even remember her grabbing the limelight for anything substantial the past six years.
Her religious zeal.
Also, from the very sharp Shannon O'Neil, a profile in Foreign Affairs.My only quibble is that while she notes the PAN candidate has "substantial political experience," she could also have dug a bit more to note that she has, either in government or as a federal deputy, achieved very, very little.
Indeed, except from a public spat with Elba Esther Gordillo, I can't hardly even remember her grabbing the limelight for anything substantial the past six years.
Chiapas: Senator Orantes left's governor candidate
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.
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.
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...
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