JULY 2010 EDITION: Business & Politics Outlook
A Strange Political Environment
The assassination of Rodolfo Torre Cantu a few days before Mexico’s July 4 elections shocked Mexico. Mr. Torre was the Institutional Revolutionary Party’s (PRI) candidate for the governorship of the State of Tamaulipas. In response to Mr. Torre’s assassination, President Calderon called for dialogue and national unity. Some joined the President’s call; others took advantage to reiterate their political discourse, while others characterized the President’s call as unacceptable. The reactions to the President’s call show the current polarization of Mexican politics. Indeed, the President’s call came at a difficult and untimely moment. A few days after the assassination of Rodolfo Torre, all political forces in Mexico clashed in the election of twelve governorships and seats in the legislature and mayors in fourteen states of Mexico. The PRI’s leader, Beatriz Paredes, strongly criticized President Calderon and the National Action Party (PAN), claiming that the PRI only establishes dialogue with legitimate leaders, which alludes to the characterization of the President as an illegitimate president that has been promoted by leftist political groups in Mexico, and especially by Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador. The political climate has deteriorated further with the replies and declarations made a few days before the July 4 elections. Lopez Obrador took the opportunity to come out and propose conditions for dialogue that were so difficult to meet that such effectively rendered the dialogue impracticable. Lopez Obrador said he would agree to a national dialogue if the current administration’s economic policy changes, sufficient jobs are generated, the needs of young Mexicans are addressed and if there is an effective coordination to combat organized crime. On the other hand, the Head of Government for the Federal District, Marcelo Ebrard, from the Party of the Democratic Revolution (PRD), agreed with the President’s call, as the PAN naturally did. After the elections, there are no signs that the President’s call for national dialogue will take any form. There are so many events that change Mexico’s reality on a daily basis, which leave no space for a true dialogue that leads to the common ground that Mexico needs. Hopefully the direction in which the upcoming changes occur will foster a better political climate, a safer environment and confidence by the Mexican people in Mexico’s future.