2018, ELECTIONS YEAR IN MEXICO
– Left or right… or left AND right?
After a few days off, (well, all right, a few ‘weeks’ off), we come back to try and help explain some of the intricate national and local Mexican politics and political system; also, our New Year’s goal is to set up a weekly local news section, for all non Spanish speakers who read NotiSLP… we will strive to give you a general overview of what’s going on in San Luis Potosi.
So, after apologizing and promising, let’s get started…
You may have heard that there are several ‘pre-candidates’ from either one of the political parties, or trying to run as independents; all that in itself is part of the Mexican political system, which we’ve talked about previously.
So, the main ‘wannabes’ at this point, have managed to put together three coalitions: one led by president Peña’s party, the PRI, running together with the Green Ecologist Mexican Party (PVEM) and the New Alliance Party (PANAL), with ex Finance Secretary, Jose Antonio Meade at the head.
Another coalition, is the one headed by perennial left winger candidate (it’s his third presidential run) Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, with his own party, National Regeneration Movement (MORENA), together with the Work Party (PT), and Social Encounter Party (PES).
Finally, the only other party which has won the presidency in Mexico, the National Action Party (PAN), with the center-left Democratic Revolution Party (PRD) and Citizens Movement (MC); who, for all practical purposes, will run with the ex PAN head, Ricardo Anaya.
Before we go into the independents, lets give these coalitions a closer look:
PRI-PVEM-PANAL: Not an uncommon partnership, the first two have gone together in the last two presidential elections and several local ballots, and with the PANAL (a teachers union party) they’ve also teamed up with other candidates. What’s in it for each? Well, current President Peña would not have been elected, if he had only been a PRI candidate, as the race against Lopez Obrador was cutting edge close, so these two parties decidedly gave him enough for him to win by barely a nose. On the other hand, each party needs at least 5 % of the vote to keep their registration and thus be able to be included in public funding.
An interesting maneuver here, was putting Meade as a virtual candidate, since he was the least ‘priista’ of the hopefuls linked to the government, and as things are right now, that is a big plus. And so, the presidential ‘dedazo’ or literally ‘big finger’, pointed in Meade’s direction, and all other contestants on this side, stepped aside and, at least on the outside, gave him their support.
MORENA-PT-PES: This coalition would also not be anything out of the ordinary, except for two things: PES party is kind of social conservative, led by Evangelical pastors and their main postulates seem to clash with MORENA and PT, both of which are very left of center, and in things like abortion, gay marriage, sexual rights recognition, they just do not seem to see eye to eye.
But Lopez Obrador is arguably on a very strong position now, since he’s been pretty much on the campaign path the last twelve years and widespread corruption and rampant insecurity have been the mark left by the current administration., leading to him actually being in front in pretty much every survey or poll in the last year. So, ideals and ideas be damned, what matters are voting percentages.
That being the case, we can start checking the last coalition: PAN- PRD-MC, which is a real mixup: PAN is a right of center party and PRD has been, for over twenty years, the strongest left-liberal party, being elected to head Mexico City’s government for years now… it just doesn’t add up, it’s a water-oil situation, again purely with electoral reasons in mind, but since PRD has received several hard blows from the other major (and new) leftist party, MORENA, they’ve had to balance pragmatism with idealism, trying to salvage something from several electoral throwbacks.
Anyway, these are the three most important candidates and the parties they’re running for… next week we’ll analyze the new wave of candidates that are trying to run without party support, the “independents”, where they come from, what their chances are and what their impact will be on the Mexican political stage.
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